Cochlear trialling next-generation, fully implantable hearing aids

The Australian Financial Review reports that Cochlear is trialling a completely internal version of its hearing devices on one patient, and is looking to do so in 10 or so patients over the next two years.

Current devices feature an external sound processor, and do not work in all situations (e.g. in the shower or while asleep).

It had originally trialled a fully-implantable device in 2005/06, but there were issues in cancelling internal bodily noises.

The current trial is being lead by the HEARing CRC.

“It really is an amazing next step,” Associate Professor Robert Briggs, the surgeon leading the trial with Robert Cowan of the HEARing CRC, told the AFR. “The hope is certainly that it will lead to a commercially available implantable device.”

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