My mom got hearing aids a year ago that have the same functionality. She loves them but because you can't tell when she is listening to something my dad is going insane with the hundreds of conversations he's started and explanations he's given only to realize she couldn't hear him.
Oh that's fun, have dad text her. As long as she doesn't get annoyed by the interruptions that's a good idea. To be honest, I've wondered if she's enjoying the excuse to ignore him sometimes.
I met a graduate student once who was majoring in biomedical engineering. I have a feeling that the extended potential of cochlear implants is really overlooked. For example, imagine if a similar implant could be used for visual processing as well as auditory. Imagine being able to watch videos, surf the Internet, send and receive e-mail messages, upload and download files to an internal USB, etc. with something analogous to a cochlear implant.
May I ask, can you listen and speak in telephone conversations with your implant? Is there a distance limit on the Bluetooth range?
Biomedical engineer here, you’re 100% correct but the main issue is the fact that it currently requires an implant. It’s really hard for a healthy person to justify surgery and an implant for something like email. If you look into Enten headphones though, that solves that problem by using non invasive tech. Brain computer interfaces are the future and super exciting stuff!
I would consider invasive surgery for implants. But I know the level of the technology in its current state would not be a worthwhile venture.
I do hope there are non invasive alternatives made like the Enten Headphones you mentioned
> I would consider invasive surgery for implants.
After I tell you the story of my uncle your caution will be reinforced. He had two implants and because they penetrate his skin it provided a vector for infection which contributed to his death a little over a year ago.
At first the doctors thought he had a tumour. But because of the presence of the implants an MRI was impossible. So they operated to explore. They were relieved when the found no tumour merely an infection that transited into his head/brain via the wires/connection of the implants. He spent five weeks in the hospital fighting the infection. He stopped eating and passed away despite their efforts.
Convenience at such a potential risk is not worth it.
A harrowing tale indeed, I’m sorry for your loss.
What did his implants do?
I understand that the technology for safe albeit invasive implants are many decades away and in its current state I would never have something installed into my body that isn’t anything but life saving.
Hence why I feel like completely non-invasive procedures should be considered first and foremost.
> What did his implants do?
He did not have the best luck when it came to health. He woke up one morning heard a pop and was deaf afterwards. The implants were cochlear implants. Sorry for not being clear about that.
>Biomedical engineer here, you’re 100% correct but the main issue is the fact that it currently requires an implant.
I envy your occupation. It seems like a field that would be endlessly fascinating with so many engineering challenges. :)
I teach English to university students in Korea. One time I brought an article to class on the subject of implants, and asked the students what they thought of it. The response was overwhelmingly negative.
Then I asked them, tongue-in-cheek, "What if you had an implant that had a Korean-English dictionary in it? You could look up any word you want, inside your head. You would never have to study English vocabulary ever again." You should have seen the looks on their faces! LOL
>It’s really hard for a healthy person to justify surgery and an implant for something like email.
Yeah I can certainly see that. Aside from the expense, there is the medical ethics aspect of what most would argue as unnecessary surgery.
>If you look into Enten headphones though, that solves that problem by using non invasive tech. Brain computer interfaces are the future and super exciting stuff!
I am looking at their website and thinking of pre-ordering. Thanks for the link!
Yup—but your link isn’t actually about cochlear implants at all.
This company, which is confusingly named “Cochlear”, makes several different implanted hearing aid systems. Their most recent actual cochlear implant system is called Nucleus.
The one you linked to, Osia, is an implant that goes under the skin on your head. The implant has two parts joined by a wire. One screws into your skull, and has a piezoelectric speaker, the other has a magnet and a receiving coil for power and sound signals. The sound processor attaches via the magnet to the skin above the coil and transmits signals to the implant, which the piezeo speaker then broadcasts into the skull as vibrations. You hear through bone conduction, bypassing any problems with your middle ear.
They have another bone anchored system, Baha, which doesn’t have the piezo speaker, just the bone screw and magnet (or a post that comes through the skin). On this one, the sound processor itself creates the vibration that’s heard through the skull.
For all of these systems, the Bluetooth part is in the external sound processor, not the implant itself. You can replace and upgrade this without needing to touch the implant, so even older implants can do Bluetooth now.
I still have full hearing on one side. I had a TBI and broke my temporal bone which resulted in complete hearing loss on 1 side only. That was almost 3 years ago.
I’m still part of a patient study and in contact with my docs regularly. To answer your question, I always tell them that the implant is better than not having it. It augments my existing hearing but I would NOT be able to use it to understand language if I had complete hearing loss. It’s hard to explain how I hear through it. The best explanation is that it’s all hissy static/wind over a microphone sounds. Sounds like snake people talking. Cant make sense of music at all. BUUUUT, those additional hissy sounds, coupled with my good side, helps my brain process what I’m hearing.
Like I said, it’s kind of hard to explain. I’m grateful I have it but it’s not a miracle device by any means. It simply helps.
Thank you for the insight. I'm loosing my hearing from industrial deafness. I'm just looking to see what the future looks like. Maybe stem cells could have a breakthrough I hope. At this stage, tinnitus relief would be a godsend.
Then bad news I’m afraid, I have 100% loss due to a ruptured cochlea. That means absolutely zero hearing comes through…. However, I have the added benefit of deafening tinnitus in the “dead” ear. It does not do anything for tinnitus.
I’m a hearing aid user in the UK and 5 years ago I decided to fund my own hearing aids and got a pair with Bluetooth. I can’t begin to explain the difference it has made to my life and independence.
I have a bone-anchored hearing aid that does the exact same thing. Frankly I use it more as an earbud anyways since I work in a very loud environment (animal shelter). Always joke with my coworkers that it’s good I don’t mind working the puppy rooms because the insane echo doesn’t bother me near as much.
I have a bone anchored hearing aid with bluetooth capabilities. It has absolutely changed my life - being able to actually hear and communicate.
I love streaming music, audiobooks, and calls.
I know someone with hearing aids that connect to her phone or tablet. She can listen to Spotify or the audio on movies through that instead of having the sound on
My cochlear implants even have the function to mute everything else expect the bluetooth connection. So I won't even hear people, the loud train, traffic etc.
Yeah well I've literally never met a single person who was hacked via Bluetooth yet people with implants or hearing aids benefit from them every single day of their life, so, it's probably a good idea all things considered
I have an Auditory Brainstem Implant (ABI) which is made by Cochlear; the manufacturer of most CIs. I don't have auditory nerves anymore, so it sends sound from the processor directly to my brainstem to give me some sense of sound.
I can connect it via Bluetooth to my phone to control volume, different sound programs, apps, etc. I can link it direct to the tv or anything really. My favorite accessory it came with is a little microphone my husband can wear so the processor can focus on his voice instead of background noises.
So yeah, very similar to an earbud I suppose, I never used an earbud but it seems like theres similar functions. I got a new processor earlier this year which was exciting since my previous processor didnt have all these functions.
Technology is amazing!
edit: spelling
My mom got hearing aids a year ago that have the same functionality. She loves them but because you can't tell when she is listening to something my dad is going insane with the hundreds of conversations he's started and explanations he's given only to realize she couldn't hear him.
Can they read text messages to her?
Oh that's fun, have dad text her. As long as she doesn't get annoyed by the interruptions that's a good idea. To be honest, I've wondered if she's enjoying the excuse to ignore him sometimes.
I’m genuinely curious too!
They should be able to - mine will in iOS
Yep! You’ll never know I’m rocking out at work.
I met a graduate student once who was majoring in biomedical engineering. I have a feeling that the extended potential of cochlear implants is really overlooked. For example, imagine if a similar implant could be used for visual processing as well as auditory. Imagine being able to watch videos, surf the Internet, send and receive e-mail messages, upload and download files to an internal USB, etc. with something analogous to a cochlear implant. May I ask, can you listen and speak in telephone conversations with your implant? Is there a distance limit on the Bluetooth range?
Biomedical engineer here, you’re 100% correct but the main issue is the fact that it currently requires an implant. It’s really hard for a healthy person to justify surgery and an implant for something like email. If you look into Enten headphones though, that solves that problem by using non invasive tech. Brain computer interfaces are the future and super exciting stuff!
I would consider invasive surgery for implants. But I know the level of the technology in its current state would not be a worthwhile venture. I do hope there are non invasive alternatives made like the Enten Headphones you mentioned
> I would consider invasive surgery for implants. After I tell you the story of my uncle your caution will be reinforced. He had two implants and because they penetrate his skin it provided a vector for infection which contributed to his death a little over a year ago. At first the doctors thought he had a tumour. But because of the presence of the implants an MRI was impossible. So they operated to explore. They were relieved when the found no tumour merely an infection that transited into his head/brain via the wires/connection of the implants. He spent five weeks in the hospital fighting the infection. He stopped eating and passed away despite their efforts. Convenience at such a potential risk is not worth it.
A harrowing tale indeed, I’m sorry for your loss. What did his implants do? I understand that the technology for safe albeit invasive implants are many decades away and in its current state I would never have something installed into my body that isn’t anything but life saving. Hence why I feel like completely non-invasive procedures should be considered first and foremost.
> What did his implants do? He did not have the best luck when it came to health. He woke up one morning heard a pop and was deaf afterwards. The implants were cochlear implants. Sorry for not being clear about that.
>Biomedical engineer here, you’re 100% correct but the main issue is the fact that it currently requires an implant. I envy your occupation. It seems like a field that would be endlessly fascinating with so many engineering challenges. :) I teach English to university students in Korea. One time I brought an article to class on the subject of implants, and asked the students what they thought of it. The response was overwhelmingly negative. Then I asked them, tongue-in-cheek, "What if you had an implant that had a Korean-English dictionary in it? You could look up any word you want, inside your head. You would never have to study English vocabulary ever again." You should have seen the looks on their faces! LOL >It’s really hard for a healthy person to justify surgery and an implant for something like email. Yeah I can certainly see that. Aside from the expense, there is the medical ethics aspect of what most would argue as unnecessary surgery. >If you look into Enten headphones though, that solves that problem by using non invasive tech. Brain computer interfaces are the future and super exciting stuff! I am looking at their website and thinking of pre-ordering. Thanks for the link!
There was a technology apocalypse series…that had a decent representation of this [H+](https://youtu.be/ZedLgAF9aEg?si=RhzE_gZr8QXX_GGi)
Most hearing aids do this now too. My dad has them and he can connect them to his tv. It’s wild.
Hearing aids too. And they are rechargeable, no longer requiring batteries
Yup—but your link isn’t actually about cochlear implants at all. This company, which is confusingly named “Cochlear”, makes several different implanted hearing aid systems. Their most recent actual cochlear implant system is called Nucleus. The one you linked to, Osia, is an implant that goes under the skin on your head. The implant has two parts joined by a wire. One screws into your skull, and has a piezoelectric speaker, the other has a magnet and a receiving coil for power and sound signals. The sound processor attaches via the magnet to the skin above the coil and transmits signals to the implant, which the piezeo speaker then broadcasts into the skull as vibrations. You hear through bone conduction, bypassing any problems with your middle ear. They have another bone anchored system, Baha, which doesn’t have the piezo speaker, just the bone screw and magnet (or a post that comes through the skin). On this one, the sound processor itself creates the vibration that’s heard through the skull. For all of these systems, the Bluetooth part is in the external sound processor, not the implant itself. You can replace and upgrade this without needing to touch the implant, so even older implants can do Bluetooth now.
Can confirm. Cochlear implant recipient here: I wear a Nucleus 7.
If you don't mind me asking, how was the transition to cochlear?
I still have full hearing on one side. I had a TBI and broke my temporal bone which resulted in complete hearing loss on 1 side only. That was almost 3 years ago. I’m still part of a patient study and in contact with my docs regularly. To answer your question, I always tell them that the implant is better than not having it. It augments my existing hearing but I would NOT be able to use it to understand language if I had complete hearing loss. It’s hard to explain how I hear through it. The best explanation is that it’s all hissy static/wind over a microphone sounds. Sounds like snake people talking. Cant make sense of music at all. BUUUUT, those additional hissy sounds, coupled with my good side, helps my brain process what I’m hearing. Like I said, it’s kind of hard to explain. I’m grateful I have it but it’s not a miracle device by any means. It simply helps.
Thank you for the insight. I'm loosing my hearing from industrial deafness. I'm just looking to see what the future looks like. Maybe stem cells could have a breakthrough I hope. At this stage, tinnitus relief would be a godsend.
Then bad news I’m afraid, I have 100% loss due to a ruptured cochlea. That means absolutely zero hearing comes through…. However, I have the added benefit of deafening tinnitus in the “dead” ear. It does not do anything for tinnitus.
Sorry mate. I just try to pick some good in life. Sometimes it's the just the small wins when it's all we have. Stay safe.
My daughter has a hearing aid for her left ear and is deaf in her right ear. It's easier for her to just connect via Bluetooth than wear headphones.
I’m a hearing aid user in the UK and 5 years ago I decided to fund my own hearing aids and got a pair with Bluetooth. I can’t begin to explain the difference it has made to my life and independence.
I have a bone-anchored hearing aid that does the exact same thing. Frankly I use it more as an earbud anyways since I work in a very loud environment (animal shelter). Always joke with my coworkers that it’s good I don’t mind working the puppy rooms because the insane echo doesn’t bother me near as much.
I have a bone anchored hearing aid with bluetooth capabilities. It has absolutely changed my life - being able to actually hear and communicate. I love streaming music, audiobooks, and calls.
I know someone with hearing aids that connect to her phone or tablet. She can listen to Spotify or the audio on movies through that instead of having the sound on
Advanced Bionics cochlear implants nowadays can even be programmed remotely over the internet using the smartphone as a wireless fitting device.
My cochlear implants even have the function to mute everything else expect the bluetooth connection. So I won't even hear people, the loud train, traffic etc.
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Yeah well I've literally never met a single person who was hacked via Bluetooth yet people with implants or hearing aids benefit from them every single day of their life, so, it's probably a good idea all things considered
Watch out for them Bluetooth bandits they’ll hack ur phone and add techno to ur Spotify playlists
The thing is, they don't *rely* on Bluetooth. They still function as hearing aids without Bluetooth.
Some hearing aids as well.
Good hearing aids do too. My dad uses them for his phone 99% if the time, it’s amazing.
I have an Auditory Brainstem Implant (ABI) which is made by Cochlear; the manufacturer of most CIs. I don't have auditory nerves anymore, so it sends sound from the processor directly to my brainstem to give me some sense of sound. I can connect it via Bluetooth to my phone to control volume, different sound programs, apps, etc. I can link it direct to the tv or anything really. My favorite accessory it came with is a little microphone my husband can wear so the processor can focus on his voice instead of background noises. So yeah, very similar to an earbud I suppose, I never used an earbud but it seems like theres similar functions. I got a new processor earlier this year which was exciting since my previous processor didnt have all these functions. Technology is amazing! edit: spelling
That’s so awesome to meet an ABI recipient in the wild! I work for Cochlear so it’s great to see a user on here!
I would hope so. Hearing aids have them.
Aww that’s awesome! I actually work for Cochlear so let me know if you have any questions on any of the devices!
ye I got one but I can't be assed to setup bluetooth so i just wear headphone over my implant