This is a project to develop advanced hearing aids in which size is not a primary constraint. Basic analog and digital units are planned, employing binaural headphones of the Walkman (TM) type with circuitry and batteries in an enlarged headband. In the basic version, effort will be concentrated on directivity to reduce interfering noise; component positioning to minimize feedback; and power supply and amplifier design to maintain lowest distortion. The digital unit, envisioned as a module added to the basic unit, would exploit new digital signal processing chips and algorithms for compression, limiting, interference rejection and feedback reduction. Appearance design will receive special attention.
