World's first hearing implant made for iPhones
The world’s first hearing implant that can stream sounds directly from the iPhone has been developed.
Hearing solutions company Cochlear developed the device so users can hear, control, monitor and customise their hearing on an iPhone, iPad or iPod.
The Cochlear Nucleus 7 Sound Processor was approved by FDA earlier this year. It is the company’s smallest and lightest behind-the-ear implant available on the market.
Chris Smith, Cochlear CEO and president, said: “The approval of the Nucleus 7 Sound Processor is a turning point for people with hearing loss, opening the door for them to make phone calls, listen to music in high-quality stereo sound, watch videos and have FaceTime calls streamed directly to their cochlear implant. This new sound processor builds on our long-standing commitment to help more people with hearing loss connect with others and live a full life."
The Nucleus 7 Sound Processor includes a new hearing tracker which can record when the sound processor coil doesn’t detect the implant coil, and a time in speech feature which measures the amount of time spent in speech environments.
If users lose their implant they can find it through the Nucleus Smart App to determine the last place the sound processor was connected to the paired device.
The Nucleus 7 Sound Processor is expected to go on sale in September 2017 in the US and Canada.
Cochlear is also offering a combined solution for those with hearing issues through the use of a cochlear implant in one ear and a hearing aid in the other. This enables both devices to provide synchronised streaming to both ears from a compatible Apple device.
Jan Janssen, senior vice president, Research and Development, Cochlear, said: “The ability to control both hearing solutions through an iPhone or iPod touch and provide a seamless hearing experience between them is a remarkable technological step forward. At Cochlear, we design devices to give recipients greater flexibility to personalise their settings and manage their hearing loss on a daily basis, and these new solutions offer that experience like never before."