New Hearing Aid Uses Your Tooth To Transmit Sound 93
kkleiner writes to share a new device from Sonitus Medical that transmits sound to the inner ear via the teeth and jawbone. Dubbed "SoundBite," the device captures sound using a microphone in the ear and transmits to an in-the-mouth device that in turn sends the sounds through the jaw. "There are other hearing aid devices that utilize bone conduction. Most, however, use a titanium pin drilled into the jaw bone (or skull) to transmit sound to the cochlea. SoundBite seems to be the first non-surgical, non-invasive, easily removable device. While they are likely years from retail production, Sonitus Medical plans on having SoundBite ITMs fitted to each individual's upper back teeth and fabricated fairly quickly (1 to 2 weeks). A complete system is planned to include two ITMs, 1 BTE, and a charger. In the wider world of cochlear implants, SoundBite may only be fit for relatively specialized use. Still, the ability to easily upgrade or replace individual components makes the device competitive. A similar device could be adapted to provide audio for a personalized augmented reality system. Perhaps the Bluetooth headset of the future will involve actual teeth."
Prior Art: Beethoven (Score:2, Interesting)
Didn't Beethoven hook a wire between his teeth and clavichord (small piano-like instrument) to aid in composing his music when is ears were failing?
What on earth took so long? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Prior Art: Beethoven (Score:1, Interesting)
Or Tooth Tunes. [wikipedia.org]
Alarm Clock (Score:3, Interesting)
Assuming it could attach well enough that swallowing/choking wouldn't be a concern, this would be very nice to use an alarm clock that wouldn't wake up other people in the same bed / dorm room / apartment.
Re:Poor deaf people (Score:2, Interesting)
What's that... I couldn't hear you over the crunching of the Doritos I'm eating...
No... really...