Sharp, a major consumer electronics company, will start demonstration research on a newly developed in-ear hearing aid that can be remotely controlled on the island of Toshima in the Izu Islands on the 16th.It is a project that is being promoted in collaboration with Toshima Village in Tokyo, the Toshima Village Social Welfare Council, the National Hospital Organization Tokyo Medical Center, and Kanagawa Institute of Technology.
According to Sharp, this ear canal type hearing aid is a "medical listening plug."Using an app installed on a smartphone, a qualified person in a remote service center adjusts your hearing online.A hearing checkup app developed by Kanagawa Institute of Technology makes it possible to perform checkups in places where there is no dedicated equipment.
In mid-June, Sharp conducted a group hearing checkup in Toshima, recruited hearing-impaired people to participate in the empirical study based on the results, and asked the participants to use an in-the-ear hearing aid for half a year. In December, we will have a hearing test again and conduct an interview survey on the fit.Cognitive function tests will also be conducted at the same time, as there are reports that hearing loss affects cognitive function decline.
In order to use hearing aids effectively, they must be fitted to each user's individual hearing needs by a qualified person.However, adjustments are generally made face-to-face multiple times, making it difficult for people in areas like Toshima, where there are no hearing aid stores or otolaryngology medical institutions nearby, to receive appropriate support.
