Improving the hearing aid for the deaf

A PhD student in Cambridge has been doing some interesting work in the field of hearing and hearing aids.

It has been known for some time what causes hearing loss but there have been two issues surrounding hearing aids which caused users problems; The first is that we have always needed the patient to tell us during the test what they can and cannot hear and so hearing aids have always needed to be fitted when the patient reaches a certain age. The second problem has been that hearing aids have just generally amplified the sound which has meant that the region of the ear that do not work still get this sound which is wasted on them.

However Dr Kluk believes that by measuring patients brains during tests whilst the patient is asleep she can work out the hearing ranges patients can and cannot hear without asking them.

For more information and the technical jargon of this, visit: http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4736476.stm