Poor Man's Hearing

View from the new Listening Post

Oticon (or other manufacturer) software hearing aid software running, say, on a iPhone. Though I documented this idea before, I have since got the Alta Pro hearing aide. The iPhone has more than enough processing power and memory, even one microphone (rather that right and left ears) and ear buds for each side

Would it grow revenue/profit for the maker of hearing and aids? Here is why I am leaning toward yes:

Reverse engineering the audio signal processing might involve some or all of these steps.

1) Discover algorithm functions by listening over time to state-of-art hearing aids.
2) Code them and dynamic scripts calling them in the iPhone preferred language.
3) Set up a system for growing user interaction. Automate parts of it when appropriate.

People that can not afford the price of the hearing aids hardware/software would be a market for the smart-phone based app. Argualbly, that is an unserved segment that is time to address.

NOTE: Some of the foregoing in this BuzzTheHill post is not fictional. Consider its appearance here as a public disclosure and as such, to the degree something novel and not obvious to those skilled in the art has been discussed herein, the specific intent was/is to put it in the PUBLIC DOMAIN.

© 2015 Buzz Hill