Research into teaching tougues to hear

Colorado State University College of Engineering researchers are investigating tongue mapping as an alternative method to cochlear implants whereby the tongue 'hears'.

To read more  about the research : http://www.iflscience.com/technology/new-device-could-allow-individuals-hear-through-their-tongues

Youth created iPhone app - Phrase Me

NDCSBuzz.org.uk

Phrase Me is an app, created by 18 year old Adam from Antrim in Northern Ireland. "The new iPhone app has been created for deaf and hard of hearing people to help them communicate with hearing people more easily.

The app works by displaying phrases or sentences of your choice on a large text display for other people to read. Users can save the phrases in the app, ready to use again. You can also share phrases with other app users."

To read the full Buzz article click here

NDCS Technology Test drive

Last month the NDCS Listening Bus came to Peterborough. They shared information about the NDCS Technology Test Drive. This loan service offers deaf children and their families throughout the UK the opportunity to borrow radio aids and other equipment to assess in the comfort of their own homes and at school.

Technology Test drive is provided to members free of charge so, if you are interested, please contact our Freephone Helpline on 0808 800 8880 or email helpline@ndcs.org.uk.

Alternatively, you can see what is available online and download the application forms you need.

http://www.ndcs.org.uk/family_support/how_ndcs_can_help/grants_and_equipment/technology_test_drive/

Gadget News: iPhone app turns phone into hearing aid

Researchers at the University of Essex have developed a free mobile app that turns an iPhone or iPod into a hearing aid, using the phone’s microphone and a set of headphones.

Unlike standard hearing aids that simply amplify all sounds, the BioAid app is inspired by biology and replicates the complexities of the human ear. Its creators say it puts the user in control, is available to anyone, anywhere, without the need for a hearing test, and potentially holds the key to a future where tiny, phone-based hearing aids can be dispensed and adjusted remotely.

BioAid, which is available on iTunes, has been developed by Professor Ray Meddis of Essex’s Department of Psychology with Nick Clark, formerly a Research Officer in the Department and Dr Wendy Lecluyse of University Campus Suffolk. Unlike standard aids that have a single setting, BioAid has six fixed settings each of which has four fine-tuning settings allowing the user to find the perfect match for their deafness.

Professor Meddis explained: “It’s not inconceivable that we’ll wear phones on our wrist in the near future, or even as tiny devices behind the ear. With the BioAid algorithm and wi-fi technology, we could see dispensers able to remotely adjust the settings on a phone-based aid and even monitor use to ensure the user is getting the most out of it.”

The development of BioAid, which has been funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and Phonak, is part of a research project to influence the future of hearing aids. The researchers want to hear about people’s experiences using BioAid so that they can continue to perfect the technology. Users can get in touch, and find further information at: http://bioaid.org.uk/.

Download BioAid, the biologically inspired hearing aid, at iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/bioaid/id577764716

Photo credit: Yuichirock

Originally posted on Limping Chicken

New BSL iPhone app!

Check out this new app available for iPad and iphones called Sign It Lite.

So the blurb says it's the world's first online BSL video dictionary but I'm pretty sure someone beat them to it? Maybe this is the first iPhone version.

The reviews for this app are all good and it seems that the signs in the dictionary are done by local children. Sweet!

Gadget News: HTC Windows Phones update for hearing aids

HTC has released an update which allows better call volume for its Windows Smartphones creating a better experience for hearing aid wearers. This comes after Apple recently registered patents for hearing aid compatibility for its iPhone.

Interestingly, HTC's U.S. site reveals that many HTC Smartphones reach the highest standard of hearing aid compatibility already, working with the T switch system and reduced interference with the maximum M4/T4 rating.

Gadget News: Apple registers patents which could benefit deaf users of iPhones

News from Apple Insider today that the global technology company have registered two patents for ideas which would allow the iPhone or iPad to be used as an assistive device for deaf people.

The first patent outlines how a device could be used to change speech which is difficult to understand and make it easier to follow. This is done by using voice recognition technology to pick up the speech and then relay it in a consistent computer-generated way so that the problem of listening to accents, for example, is minimised. It could also change the tone of the speech to match the hearing range of the listener.

The second patent describes how the iPhone could be used to alert people to sounds around the home, like the telephone or doorbell. This turns the iPhone into a pager, like the bellman pager for example, which is a fixture in the homes of many deaf people. More here. Apple have also been reported to be working on ideas to connect the iPhone to compatible hearing aids.

This news comes hot on the heels of a new development, that we reported last week, which uses smartphone technology to make the lights flash at home when a message or call is received.

Hat-tip Azza

Gadget News: Flashing light alerter app coming?

Want to invest in future technology for deaf people? Check out this idea called 'Spark' which switches the lights on and off when your mobile phone alerts .. how cool is that? So it means you can be alerted to texts, calls, whatsapp messages or email.. You could even use your phone to switch off the lights or dim them..The inventor is a CODA (child of deaf adult) himself and was inspired by the flashing lights at home when he was a kid.

The inventor is looking for donations to kick-start this project through Kickstarter.com where you can find out more. Check out the video too..

**Update - this video has subtitles .. hat-tip Nick B and David in the comments**

Via Nick Beese

New techology aid - converting sign to speech

This month news of the latest technology device to aid communication between sign languages and non signers was released. This aid is based on gloves that use a combination of different sensors and other electronic components to convert the movements of the person wearing the gloves into speech via a text-to-speech unit.

Check out the maker's presentation to a Canadian audience. Note the interpreter is not using BSL and speech is in French. But there are subtitles!!!

Free BSL dictionary app

This month the University of Bristol Centre for Deaf Studies have announced the launch of a free British Sign Language dictionary app – MobileSign with a library of over 4000 signs. For more information follow this link http://www.bris.ac.uk/deaf/english/news/2012/121.html.

Don't forget the fingerspelling app we posted about back in January http://www.pddcs.co.uk/2012/01/bsl-fingerspelling-app-for-android.html

Hackers make Xbox Understand Sign Language

Old News but MSNBC reported that hackers have found a way for Microsoft's Xbox to understand sign language.

The Xbox's Kinect add-on, which allows people to use their body as a controller, was paired up with software that can recognise a small vocabulary of ASL (American Sign Language) signs with a 98% accuracy. Apparently they are working on it to make it understand more signs and be more accurate.

Read the full story here:

Gadget News: Ear Gear

Sometimes complex problems are solved with the simplest solutions. My son was William finding that his Med-El Opus 2 cochlear implant speech processor was would suddenly stop working when he was playing football. After a night in the drying machine, they would come back to life but with his first season in the Under 10's football (soccer) league, a solution had to be found. William had already had a double-breakdown during a friendly match due to moisture.

Selection of Ear Gear

The implant centre at the world-renown Addenbrooke's University Hospital in Cambridge suggested that a good temporary fix would be to use sticky tape to cover the joins where the battery pack connects to the speech processor.This could stop moisture getting on to the tiny contacts that connect the two bits together. When moisture does get to those contacts - the speech processor shuts down.

Maybe I used the wrong kind of tape but the tape fell off at sometime during training. Another solution had to be found so the next stop was a product called Ear Gear that I known about for some time but had never considered.

Ear Gear comes in various shapes and sizes and is marketed as a way to protect hearing aids or cochlear implant processors against sweat, moisture dirt and loss. Basically, Ear Gear is a material cover made of a nylon-spandex blend, they come in various colours and have versions which have cords and clips so they don't get lost or damaged.

From the pictures I'd seen of Ear Gear in a catalogue, I thought that the cochlear implant version simply wouldn't be the right shape. The pictures, taken without hearing aids or implants inside, were deceptive because it did fit well. To my surprise, almost perfectly, due to the curvature and elastic properties of the material. Ear Gear easily stretched to cover the processor.

Another good design feature are the holes at the top and bottom of the Ear Gear that allow for radio-aid receivers to be used if necessary and the use of a 'huggy' (plastic tubing to hold equipment to the ear) which is essential when playing vigorous sport.

So far so good then. But would Ear Gear keep the implants working during football training that night? Light rain was beginning to fall outside as William chose the colour of the Ear Gear he would wear. He had a choice of camouflage, blue, black and a crazy orange camouflage style pattern. The training kit his team wears is blue, so William chose the blue.  

A couple of things to note about Ear Gear which are on the downside. Getting them on the processor when using a huggy is fiddly and I can imagine getting frustrated and giving up with it. The way it has to be done is not the way recommended in the instructions. Also, changing batteries is something that sometimes needs to be done quickly so Ear Gear covers will slow that process down. I found a way to change batteries quickly without taking the Ear Gear completely off  but again, that wasn't in the instructions and I found that out for myself.

Back to the training ground now to pick up the boy and the light rain had steadily grown heavier. This really was going to be proper test. I fully expected that William would have taken off the processors long ago because they had got wet or damp but no! They were both still on and working under the Ear Gear covers which had, despite the openings here and there, kept them completely dry. I was amazed! This was a revelation and the football season looks like it wont be interrupted by processor breakdown followed by more breakdowns due to moisture or rain.

The Opus 2 processor is a slender by design so the Ear Gear does make it look a touch bigger or bulkier and that will be the same for hearing aids too. William commented that with the Ear Gear on, the processor felt softer against his skin and he thinks they look good too. William wore the camouflage version for school the next day and he's tried the orange and brown (his hair colour) versions too. He tells me his friends have noticed..

Ear Gear can be purchased across the world - check the official site for distributors. In the UK, they are available online here from Connevans and via the Action on Hearing Loss Shop Catalogue (request catalogue online) for between £5 for the baby version and £20 for double cord and clip adult versions.

Gadget news: LightOn

The Black LightOn

This handy little device solves a common problem for deaf people - how do you know if your mobile goes off when it's not in your pocket? Well this solves that problem by brightly flashing when the mobile vibrates. And it keeps flashing..and flashing..and flashing until you press the button on the front to tell it to stop. There is no time limit..

The lights that flash are an array of bright blue strobe lights that should almost certainly catch your attention if you are in the same room. It can be fooled though - any vibration can set off the Light-On, so put it somewhere sturdy, unless you like false alarms, that is.

One potentially annoying good thing (that's an oxymoron, I think) is that there is a little flashing light to tell you if the battery hasn't run out..and it goes off every 15 seconds or so. It is good to know that the battery still works but may not be so good to continually be fooled into thinking that you've got a message, just to realise that you haven't.  It's only a small flash and probably easy to ignore but worth knowing before you get the wallet out.

The unit is capable of cradling big smart phones like iPhones or the HTC Desire easily, but if your phone charges from the bottom, then you'd have to place the phone on its side or upside down to charge it at the same time as using Light-On. Phones that charge from the top or side are unaffected and it doesn't matter at all if you're not charging the phone up, does it?

Other handy features are that it can connect to the Bellman alerting system's Telephone Transmitter so any Bellman receiver will go off when your mobile phone does. Also the battery life is 6-8 months based on up to 18 messages per day, although I suppose that depends on how quickly the button is pressed to stop the flashing. It also comes in two colours, white and black.

The cost is around £50 from Action on Hearing Loss' shop although after a good search, it doesn't seem to be available from anywhere else except South Africa at the moment, which seems odd!