Neosensory, a technology company pioneering non-invasive brain-machine interfaces to help people with hearing loss, just added a new product to its lineup of hearing solutions. Clarify is said to be “the first hearing aid alternative that trains the user’s brain rather than simply amplifying sound”.
Equipped with Neosensory’s patented machine-learning algorithm, the wristband’s four motors vibrate in response to certain phonemes that are difficult to distinguish when high-frequency hearing loss is present.
In less than four weeks, the brain adapts to these new inputs and the wearer can interpret vibrations as speech.
“When I first started wearing the band, I was very cognizant of the fact that the band is buzzing when I heard different sounds in conversations the d-sound versus when I heard the s-sound. Now, it’s going immediately and directly into my brain. I don’t have the perception of the buzz on the skin anymore, I only have the impression of the word in my brain. And I know exactly what the speaker has said.”
Another user, John P., said, “You turn it on and it lights up your senses, it’s just like turning on some electronic device that helps you see.”
According to studies conducted by Neosensory, users have reported better outcomes in understanding conversations than the average hearing aid user (as quantified by the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit, or APHAB score).
To make the technology as accessible as possible, the band is said to work out of the box and does not require a doctor’s visit. Because Clarify does not amplify sound, “there is no risk of further damage to the ears, sound distortion, or hearing aid fatigue”.
“We’ve married the latest neuroscience with cutting edge machine learning to build a sleek, almost-invisible technology that is changing the lives of people with hearing loss.”
–David Eagleman, PhD, Neosensory CEO
According to the company, the Neosensory Clarify is currently available for $999, or $42/month with interest-free financing. Interested readers can get an additional 10% off by using the code CLARIFYLAUNCH at checkout.
For more information, visit Neosensory.com/product/clarify.
About Neosensory
Founded by the lab of Stanford neuroscientist David Eagleman, Neosensory builds a non-invasive brain-machine interface to revolutionize the hearing space. Neosensory’s revolutionary technology expands the brain’s sensory capacity. Neosensory’s wearable devices take in information streams and translate them into patterns of vibration on the skin. With practice, the brain learns to understand this information at a direct perceptual level.
Source: Neosensory
