Tim Cook hails Apple’s ‘breakthrough’ cochlear implant technology

By

implant
For those who need it, this device is a game-changer.
Photo: Cochlear

Tim Cook has shared an article on Twitter, detailing Apple’s “accessibility breakthrough” in the form of a collaboration with hearing aid manufacturer Cochlear to develop an in-ear implant for people with hearing loss.

The article, written by Steven Levy, tells the story of 49-year-old Mathias Bahnmueller, a man who suffers from hearing loss, and has been testing out Apple and Cochlear’s technology.

“Now that he has the implant, he can hear his daughter the first time she speaks,” Levy writes. “Using his new device, he listens to audiobooks streamed directly to his skull. And when he recently went to a noisy brewpub on date night with his wife, he pulled out his phone, changed the settings, and focused only on what she said. Everyone else in the place was probably shouting to be heard. But the guy with the implant could hear his wife’s voice very clearly.”

The implant received FDA approval back in June. It works by sitting in the inner ear and receiving sound via Bluetooth LEA (Low Energy Audio) from an Apple device, which means music, podcasts, or other sounds. A “Live Listen” feature developed by Apple also lets Bahnmueller use his iPhone as a microphone.

“While our devices have been built to support hearing aids for years, we found that the experience of people trying to make a phone call was not always a good one,” Sarah Herrlinger, Apple’s director of global accessibility policy, is quoted as saying. “So we brought together a lot of people in different areas around the company to start investigating ways to make the process easier.”

Elsewhere in the article she notes that, “Our goal was to get rid of all those extra things that need batteries and can get in the way, so when a phone call comes in you just hit the button to answer it and that sound is streaming into your hearing aid.”

Apple’s accessibility advances

Accessibility has been a big drive of Tim Cook’s during his time as Apple CEO, although it has long been an area Apple has focused on. For a history of Apple’s work in this domain, check out my colleague Charlie Sorrel’s article “How the iPhone made accessibility accessible to everyone” here.

Apple recently debuted a series of “Designed for” videos on its YouTube channel, depicting how Apple’s Accessibility features can help users such as a visually-impared DJ who uses the company’s award-winning VoiceOver feature to work.

Last year Apple opened a new section of its online store where shoppers can find a range of accessibility gadgets. These are split up into vision, physical and motor skills, and learning and literacy categories, and feature products for Mac, iPhone, and iPad.

While tools like Apple’s cochlear implant aren’t going to be used by the majority of the people reading this site, for those — like Mathias Bahnmueller — who do require them it could be far more of a game-changer than s slightly-improved iPhone camera or the latest cool photo-sharing app could ever be.

Source: Wired

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.