Traditional hearing aids amplify sound and operate on one frequency at a time, ignoring how frequencies interact. This can be distracting to people with hearing impairments. McMaster University’s Sue Becker teamed up with Vitasound Audio Inc. to deal with the problem. Their hearing aid, the Neuro-Compensator, is designed to mimic an optimal signal from the root of the auditory nerve to the brain. In other words, it mimics the normal way of hearing, based on the science of the brain.
The Neuro-Compensator responds on several frequencies rather than just one, and it is constantly adjusting itself to external sounds. This means it can be especially helpful when there are many competing sounds, such as a crowded room full of many conversations.
