Why (and how) we created new audio products for hearing impaired persons Music to my brother’s ears 1 Company Confidential Bowen Innovation Consultants,

Why (and how) we created new audio products 

for hearing impaired persons

Music to my brother’s ears

1Company Confidential Bowen Innovation Consultants, Ltd. © 2009

Introduction

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Prepared for

Positive Lifestyles Panel (Friesen Conference 23 April 2009)

ByMorley Lipsett (semi-retired)

SFU Centre for Policy Research on Science and Technologyand

Earl Lipsett (retired musician/educator)

With inspiration from

Naftaly Ramrajkar (Product developer, audiophile & sage)

My brother (and his ears)

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Meet the guy that introduced

me to classical music

65 years ago

Predicament

& the germ of an idea • My visit to Edmonton• Aging ears – and in a

hospital• What, no iPod?• How hearing loss

became a virtue

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My ‘cool’ gear (on the plane)

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Meanwhile at the hospital

Physical discomfortNo tvNo CDsNo audio-visual

enjoyment availableMy iPod unsuited to

Earl’s ears, with or without hearing aid.

So I went shopping for a remedy. –None existed!

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And this begins our story -

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Disconnects

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Hearing aid culture

InvisibilityLow power/tiny batteryNot mp3-friendlyLimited dynamic range

tiny transducerslow voltage

Annoying to wear; easy to misplace

Associated with ageism

iPod cultureCoolVisible & fashionableSuperb sound quality

for ‘normal hearing’Music, music, musicTrendy earphones

Butneglects personal

hearing deficits

Not enjoyed (yet) by persons with hearing

loss

Company Confidential - Bowen Innovation Consultants, Ltd. © 20099

Such asRock MusiciansAge related

(Boomers)PilotsOccupational

damageSlow degradation

over timeMost everyone, sooner or later

In factMost people don’t

know what they’ve been missing

They just gradually got used to

less brilliancelack of localizationreduced claritymuffled sounds

Hearing acuity

Often assumedNot normally measured until deafness is

suspected

Frequently a matter of opinion rather than accurately

assessed.

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Yet audiograms are like eye exams

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Person with hearing loss

Person with ‘normal’ hearing

So we set out To match the sounds of the world

To Earl’s hearing spectrum

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By using musician-quality equipment.

(i.e. audiophile, hi-fidelity, studio-quality stuff)

Technical objectives

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Restore audiophile listening experience

i.e. beyond today’s youthFor recorded performances

andLive events

How we did it (eventually)

Implementation

1. Developed a special, prototype interface device to precisely compensate (SpectraPhonics Normalizer technology)

2. Fed studio quality earphones/headphones (as used by artists and audiophiles)

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Obvious, perhaps, but unavailable

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Demo

Company Confidential - Bowen Innovation Consultants, Ltd. (c) 200916

We got it to work!

At first with

headphones

and CD’s

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Company Confidential - Bowen Innovation Consultants, Ltd. (c) 200918

Then with

mics, re

ady for

rehearsals

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Resulting experience (field trials)

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Like putting on glasses and seeing clearly - again.

20/20 listeningThrilling!

Technology & Gerontology

Today’s media - MP3/Video players, video games, downloaded content, and live performances rely on hearing.

Yet hearing profile (loss) has been and continues to be neglected by these marketsExcept for hearing aidsWhich are marketed as if for the infirm, the old, the

defective.

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Our ‘positive lifestyles’ vision

to make it cool to be custom fitted for ‘ear glasses’.

Let’s enjoy 20/20 listening; Let’s redefine ‘normal’!

Any questions?

Does anybody here care to get involved in this work?

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We wish to thank all of

you, and a special

thanks to the

conference organizers

...M & E