Dental hearing aid gets approved in Europe

The device, called SoundBite, directs sound through the jawbone and into the inner ear.

It is placed onto the upper left or right molars and is custom-made for each patient.

However the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) in the United Kingdom warned that it may not be suitable for everyone with hearing problems.

While conventional hearing aids use air conduction to increase the volume of sound travelling through the air, SoundBite uses a different approach – bone conduction.

First, a network of mini microphones placed behind the impaired ear pick up the sound in the environment and cancel out the noise.

The sound is transmitted wirelessly to the prosthetic in the mouth.

The device sends the vibrations through the teeth and bones directly to the cochlea – the auditory part of the inner ear – bypassing the middle and outer ear.

This way it can help those who are deaf in one ear to hear in stereo.

The company that makes the system, Sonitus Medical, said that the mechanism is the first ever non-surgical device to use bone conduction.

There are around nine million deaf or partially deaf people in the UK alone.

According to the RNID, only six million of them require a hearing aid – and out of those six million, only about two million actually wear one.

Many do not like the look of it, and there are those who find it difficult to convince their GP to prescribe one, said Angela King, RNID senior audiology adviser.

And there are no guarantees that the new device will enjoy a warm reception in the UK, she added.

“Just by looking at it, you can’t imagine it being very comfortable.

“Also, if they do not like conventional hearing aids, they are not going to like this either because it involves wearing something behind the ear as well,” said King.

About SoundBite

SoundBite hearing system is the world’s first and only non-surgical and removable hearing solution designed to imperceptibly transmit sound via the teeth to help people who are essentially deaf in one ear regain spatial hearing ability and rejoin the conversation of life. It employs a well-established principle called bone conduction to deliver clear, high quality sound to the inner ear. Nearly invisible when worn, the SoundBite system consists of an easy to insert and remove ITM (in-the-mouth) hearing device – which is custom made to fit around either the upper left or right back teeth – and a small microphone unit worn behind the ear. No modifications to the teeth are required.

SoundBite is different than conventional hearing aids, which employ air conduction to simply turn up the volume of sound travelling into the ear. As a bone conduction device, SoundBite hearing system does not require a functional middle or outer ear to deliver sound. SoundBite hearing system is designed to allow sound to travel via the teeth, through the bones, to both cochleae, bypassing the middle and outer ear entirely. By using bone conduction via the teeth, SoundBite is intended to restore normal hearing to patients with single sided deafness, conductive, or mixed hearing loss, all without surgery. The SoundBite hearing system consists of both a BTE (behind the ear) microphone unit, housing the receiver, wireless transmitter, and attached microphone, and a discreet, removable ITM (in the mouth) hearing device. An inductive charger unit is provided to charge the BTE microphone unit and ITM hearing device.

SoundBite is designed to detect sound using a tiny microphone placed in an open-fit dome within the ear canal of the impaired ear. This nearly invisible microphone is attached by a thin tube to a transmitter unit called a BTE worn behind the ear. Placing the microphone in the ear canal is intended to allow the SoundBite hearing system to capitalise on the natural acoustic benefit provided by the patient’s own pinna or outer ear to capture and direct sound.

Once sound is captured by the microphone, it is processed by the BTE digital audio device. The BTE wirelessly transmits sound to the removable ITM (in the mouth) hearing device, which is custom made for your own teeth for optimal comfort and function. The ITM hearing device in turn uses advanced technology to produce imperceptible sound vibrations that are conducted via the teeth, through bone, to the both cochleae. In this way, the SoundBite hearing system is intended to provide clear, high fidelity sound and thus restore normal hearing to patients who are essentially deaf in one ear with no surgery or modifications to the teeth required.

SoundBite hearing system is intended for patients who suffer from single sided deafness, conductive hearing loss, or mixed hearing loss and seek a non-surgical, non-invasive, hearing device that delivers high fidelity sound.

Beyond using bone conduction to transmit sound via the teeth, the SoundBite hearing system is different than a bone anchored implant in important ways.To take advantage of the natural acoustic benefits provided by the patient’s own ear, sound in the environment is picked up by a tiny microphone placed within an open fit dome worn in the canal of the impaired ear and connected to the BTE by a small translucent tube. The BTE uses a digital signal processor to process the sound, a second microphone for noise cancellation, and a wireless chip to transmit the signals to the ITM hearing device, which in turn sends imperceptible vibrations via the teeth near-simultaneously to both cochleae. SoundBite hearing system is intended to deliver sound across a broad frequency range of 250 to more than 12,000 Hz.

SoundBite Oral DeviceThe ITM device is custom made to fit around either the upper left or right back teeth, does not require any alteration of the teeth, and is easily inserted and removed by the wearer.
It contains electronics, a sealed,
flat, rechargeable battery, wireless capability that picks up sound transmissions from the BTE, and a small actuator that converts those signals into vibratory energy. All of these miniaturised components are hermetically sealed inside a dental grade acrylic that has been safely used for making dentures for many years.
SoundBite ChargerBoth components are designed with rechargeable batteries. A charger is also provided to recharge the batteries in the devices.

The charger is a standard power outlet base that has docks to simultaneously recharge multiple ITMs as well as a dock to directly charge the BTE.
Treatment is intended to begin with a visit to an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor (also known as an ENT doctor, otolaryngologist, or otologist).
Following this visit, the next step will be for the patient to be referred to a Sonitus certified partner dentist for dental consultation.

The role of the Sonitus certified partner dentist will be to examine the patient for dental health and take a dental impression. Before dental impressions are taken, the partner dentist will evaluate the patient’s oral health and structures to assure that there are no oral health issues that preclude the use of the SoundBite hearing system.
Once the dental professional determines that the patient is well-suited for the device, dental impressions will be taken and sent to Sonitus Medical.
From the impression, Sonitus Medical will fabricate the custom made ITM (in the mouth) hearing device for maximum fit and comfort.
Courtesy bbc.com and sonitusmedical.com