Listen Up

With the exception of those people on infomericals with the big rigs on their heads, most people who use hearing aids prefer to be somewhat more discrete in their use, particularly in public. Consequently, some of these people have found themselves in awkward situations at social or business events because they didn’t want to have to go through the all-too-obvious and often-complicated volume-adjustment routine. So they simply agree and end up with. . .an anchovy pizza.

This issue formed the impetus behind the development of new “sweep” touch volume activation technology developed by design firm Stuart Karten Design and Starkey Laboratories for Starkey’s new S Series line of hearing aids.

The bottom half of the hearing aid is completely touch-activated, allowing for quick and easy volume adjustment. An upward sweep of the finger along the surface turns the volume up, while a downward sweep results in lower volume. A quick touch of the device switches operation between digital listening modes.

“By giving patients more control over their hearing aids, I hope we’re giving them a greater sense of freedom in their lives,” says Ron Pierce, SKD’s director of strategy and research. Finding a way to mix design and technology in a form that can make people’s lives easier should be the goal of every product developer.