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Scientists Create Mind-Controlled Hearing Aid That Allows the Wearer To Focus On Particular Voices

Friday May 17, 2019. 02:03 AM , from Slashdot
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: A mind-controlled hearing aid that allows the wearer to focus on particular voices has been created by scientists, who say it could transform the ability of those with hearing impairments to cope with noisy environments. The device mimics the brain's natural ability to single out and amplify one voice against background conversation. Until now, even the most advanced hearing aids work by boosting all voices at once, which can be experienced as a cacophony of sound for the wearer, especially in crowded environments.

The hearing aid first uses an algorithm to automatically separate the voices of multiple speakers. It then compares these audio tracks to the brain activity of the listener. Previous work found that it is possible to identify which person someone is paying attention to, as their brain activity tracks the sound waves of that voice most closely. The device compares the audio of each speaker to the brain waves of the person wearing the hearing aid. The speaker whose voice pattern most closely matches the listener's brain waves is amplified over the others, allowing them to effortlessly tune in to that person. The scientists developed an earlier version of the system in 2017 that, while promising, had the major limitation that it had to be pre-trained to recognize speakers' voices. Crucially, the latest device works for voices it has never heard before. The study has been published in the journal Science Advances.

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