SBIR Phase I: Software Technology for Improved Perception of Speech/Audio to Self Personalize Hearing Aids/Devices

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will result from helping 50 million Americans (or 1 billion people worldwide) who have hearing loss to hear clearly. Hearing loss is now the fifth leading cause of years lived with disability worldwide and will climb higher with aging of the population. For older adults, hearing loss is the third most common physical condition after heart disease and arthritis. Moreover, half of people with hearing loss are actually working age and younger, and there is a significant association of hearing loss with decreased employment and lower income. As hearing solutions become more affordable and accessible like glasses and contact lenses, more manufacturers (including manufacturers of consumer headsets) will look for a standard platform to turn their product into a hearing aid. This novel solution is a software technology to turn any hearing device/aid into a self-customizable hearing aid, which will dramatically improve access. The innovation will enhance scientific and technological understanding of how to attain optimal hearing clarity. Hearing loss will no longer be a challenge, and hearing aids will become as easy to access, afford, and wear as lenses. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop a direct and repeatable way for people to set up their hearing aids or hearing devices at home. Unlike the current hearing test, which measures hearing thresholds and requires expensive sound booth equipment and middlemen professionals, this novel technology optimizes for improved perception of speech and is similar to the vision test where one looks through lenses and is asked which lenses are clearer. The technology provides personalized sound profiles for every user and enables the entire process of attaining hearing clarity to be done at-home. In other words, people can personalize and try out their hearing profile before purchasing a hearing aid/device (through their own smartphone and earbuds), and then set up their hearing aid/device in a similar way. This improves access and satisfaction while significantly decreasing price. Development will utilize mobile, web, and cloud technologies, as well as IoT connectivity, machine learning, and data analysis. This Phase I project will establish feasibility of the technology and is expected to result in a connected mobile/web software app that is able to consistently arrive at optimal personalized user sound profiles. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.