The Hindu Business Line : C-DAC develops advanced digital hearing aid

THE Hardware Design Centre at the Centre for Development for Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Thiruvananthapuram, has developed a low-cost digital hearing aid, with ``several advanced features'' for the hearing impaired. .

Sources in C-DAC informed Business Line that field trials of the prototype units had been carried out at the National Institute of Hearing Handicapped, Kolkata, in the last six months. The Hardware Design Centre was looking for a suitable manufacturing partner for the product.

According to sources, there was no equivalent to the product in its cost-effective and body-worn format. The product, sources said, was especially suitable for a country like India, which has a huge population with a hearing disability, a majority belonging to the poorer sections of society.

C-DAC hoped these unique features would help in selling the product idea to potential partners for volume manufacture and deployment.

Called DHA-1, the digital hearing aid was developed using an indigenously evolved Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) technology. Using sophisticated digital signal processing techniques, the product offers superior and stable amplification over a wide dynamic range. The digital volume control eliminates the crackling and popping noise associated with conventional hearing aids.

The frequency-dependent filter matches the audiogram of the specific user with individual hearing losses over a period of time. All this high technology is available in a low-power package thanks to ASIC technology.

The DHA-1 works on an easily available rechargeable battery, which has a low cost of ownership and maintenance and has a long operating life. The product is amenable to high-volume manufacture with low testing costs.

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