The world’s first modular hearing aid is here, and it could change the game for people with total or partial hearing loss.
Melbourne-based hearing aid designers Blamey Saunders won Australia’s prestigious Good Design Award of the Yearand the CSIRO Design Innovation Award for their groundbreaking device, dubbed Facett, at a glitzy ceremony at Sydney Opera House on Thursday.
So, what makes this hearing aid different to other models? The device works with a core, linked to an app, and is powered by a rechargeable module, which magnetically clicks into place — for anyone who’s tried to change a hearing aid battery in the dark, or had to have someone else change it for them, this is pretty neat.
Plus, while rechargeable batteries for hearing aids are pretty widely available now, zinc-air button disposable batteries are commonly used — and these can be super fiddly and often difficult for people with partial dexterity.
Instead, the Facett lets you store one of two pairs of modules in a small portable drying and charging pod, which you can plug in when you go to bed, and it’ll charge overnight for a day’s listening.
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