The idea for this innovation sparked when he saw the trouble his grandfather went through during the testing and fitting process of hearing aids.
Mukund Venkatakrishnan from Loiusville, Kentucky, is a student at DuPont Manual High School. After two years of research, he created an affordable hearing aid that won him an award at the Kentucky State Science and Engineering Fair. This device can be used with the cheapest set of headphones, and is first subjected to test hearing by playing a number of different sounds at seven different frequencies. After tuning, it programs itself as a hearing aid that amplifies volume based on the test results.
“It eliminates the need for a doctor altogether. It is really, in essence, just amplifiers, just increase the volume based on how much hearing loss you have and it is crazy that they cost $1500 each, when you can do it for $60,” says Mukund. He also mentioned that the most expensive part was the processor meant to amplify volume, which costs about $45, and other parts cost around $15. When he had gone to visit his grandparents in India, he helped his grandfather to get tested and fitted for a hearing aid. He realised that it was an expensive and complex process, and was inspired to find an alternative.
"Since audiologists are specialists, even finding and getting an appointment with one in India was really hard. And then we got ripped off,” Mukund said. They had spent about $400-500 on doctor’s appointments and about $1900 on the hearing aid. Mukund was concerned that hearing, a fundamental sense, was almost a luxury that many people in developing countries could not afford. Hence, his creation.
Unlike traditional hearing aids, if the ear piece gets damaged here, it will not be expensive to get it replaced as you can simply buy another set of earbuds. In its current form, the device is about two inches long, and looks like a computer processor that fits into a pocket.
This summer, Mukund intends to visit his grandfather in Bangalore, India, and give it to him.
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