Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Teeth: To help restore Hearing Loss?


       Teeth: To help restore Hearing Loss?

The SoundBite system relies on bone conduction. Bone conduction is the ability of sound waves to travel through the teeth to bones inside the skull. Not exactly a hearing aid, which amplifies sound in frequencies pinpointing exactly where hearing is diminished. Instead this device targets people who are completely deaf in one ear often from an issue in the cochlea; the spiral shaped structure within the ear (check out blog on anatomy of the ear http://www.hearing-clear.com/2012/06/anatomy-of-human-ear-relation-to.html ).

SoundBite can also help people with untreatable conductive hearing loss caused by trauma to the ear drum or chronic ear infections. This system uses a tiny microphone placed in the deaf ear to pick up sounds. A processor worn behind the ear carries the signals to a receiver hooked over the person’s back molars like a tiny retainer. This process sends sound waves through the teeth and into the skull, sending signals to the brain.

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