Definitely hearing aid from low to high notes...Developing the world's first new concept of bone conduction hearing aid
Apr 23, 2025
|
A research team led by Professor Choi Joon of ear, throat, head and neck surgery at Korea University Ansan Hospital (first author Baek Hyun-woo, PhD, Medical Life Research Center) proposed a hybrid bone conduction hearing aid with Professor Park Sung-hoon of Soongsil University (first author Lee Dong-kwan, graduate student Kang Byung-ho), Professor Lee Sang-hyun of Korea University of Technology, and Professor Son Il-soo of Seoul National University of Science and Technology for the first time in a research paper titled 「Improving the sound pressure output of a graphene-based hybrid bone conduction hearing aid through the combination of electromagnetic and electrostatic forces」. In recognition of its academic contribution, the study was selected as the cover paper of the April issue of the renowned international journal 'Nano Research' in the field of nanoscience.
In the case of the existing attachable bone conduction hearing aid, the electromagnetic single drive method showed high performance only in the low-frequency band. The sound pressure level was also relatively low and non-flat, so the overall sound volume was small and jagged depending on the frequency.
To overcome the limitations of existing bone conduction hearing aids, the research team constructed a hybrid driving system that combines electromagnetic and electrostatic methods, and developed a new bone conduction hearing aid that combines it with graphene, a two-dimensional nanomaterial. Graphene is an ultra-lightweight and high-performance diaphragm material that can accommodate both electromagnetic and electrostatic forces, and is characterized by providing stable performance in high-frequency areas.
The research team measured the sound pressure levels of each of the electromagnetic mode, electrostatic mode, and hybrid mode in an anechoic chamber without sound reflection to accurately compare the acoustic performance of hybrid bone conduction hearing aids. As a result, the new bone conduction hearing aid in hybrid mode showed excellent sound pressure levels of up to 11.6dB and 20dB, respectively, compared to electromagnetic and electrostatic modes, and showed flatter and more stable frequency responses in all frequency bands. In addition, an auditory brain stem reaction experiment using a rabbit model with a structure similar to that of a human skull also confirmed the actual auditory aid effect.
Professor Choi Jun emphasized, "This study was initiated through the Alkimist Project (Innovative Technology Development Support Project) conducted by the Korea Advanced Medical Center, and four research teams worked together for four years to achieve the results. It is of great significance in that we developed the world's first hybrid bone conduction hearing aid based on graphene and scientifically proved the effect of improving hearing through animal experiments." It is also expected that medical use will be high as a non-invasive hearing aid for subjects who have difficulty transplanting bone conduction hearing aids such as children and the elderly", he explained.
In the future, the research team will confirm the possibility of commercialization through clinical trials on humans, and develop it into a personalized high-performance hearing aid by reducing the weight of the device, optimizing the wearable design, and converging with artificial intelligence-based smart algorithms.
|
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
