[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/10429\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EImproving hearing in an increasingly noisy world\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMeeting a few friends in a noisy caf\u00e9 can mean straining to hear all the conversation. It can be more of a struggle, with age, to make out what a companion is saying in a busy pub or restaurant. Whatever else may improve with time, a person\u2019s hearing does not.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EYet when people complain of poor hearing, they might go for a test only to be told that nothing is wrong.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMissed connections\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The doctor says your audiogram is normal\u0026nbsp;\u2013 you don\u2019t have a clinical hearing problem,\u2019 said Sarah Verhulst, a professor of hearing technology at Ghent University in Belgium.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThat doesn\u2019t mean the people were imagining their difficulties, however. The hearing trouble may lie elsewhere.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAgeing and loud noise cause wear and tear on the hairs or nerve cells in the inner ear. This damage is what most tests are designed to detect.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EBut the auditory nerve itself can get impaired, reducing the number and quality of points of connection to brain cells. These junctions are known as synapses.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018This is a new kind of hearing impairment where the synapses attached to hair cells that transmit the sound to the brain are damaged,\u2019 said Verhulst.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThis synapse harm can be missed in standard hearing tests.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAmplifying sounds using a hearing aid can compensate for fewer hair cells but is less effective in cases of injury to the nerve and its connecting synapses.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENerve numbers\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn healthy hearing, each hair cell has about 15 nerve connections that transmit to the brain, according to Verhulst.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile only one synapse is needed for sound detection, having multiple transmission routes becomes important when trying to tune into specific sounds in an environment with many of them \u2013 such as a crowded bar with the music turned up.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003ESynapse damage is normal in the new generations who are constantly exposed to noise.\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EProfessor Sara Verhulst, RobSpear\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWith 15 independent channels to transmit the same sound from the inner hair cell to the brain, a person can average this signal and tune out the background acoustic noise. In a noisy environment, someone with fewer synapses will struggle to distinguish sounds.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAuditory difficulty increases with age and can\u2019t be solved with hearing aids. As part of the EU-funded \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/678120\u0022\u003ERobSpear\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;project, Verhulst developed an alternative in her laboratory in the Belgian city of Ghent.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EShe measured brain activity using electroencephalograms, or EEGs, to diagnose loss of hearing synapses in people. She then devised algorithms to tweak the sound in a way that is helpful to the remaining nerve connections\u0026nbsp;\u2013 for example by enhancing silent periods and sharpening peaks in sound.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We wanted to stimulate the nerves optimally, but first we needed to understand them,\u2019 Verhulst said.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EFollowing the end of RobSpear, which ran for five and a half years into 2022 and was funded through the European Research Council, she hopes her algorithms will be used in all kinds of wearables including hearing aids, headphones and other devices.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe new algorithms could help everyone in environments with lots of background noise, not just people with hearing impairments.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAlarming loss\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EMore than\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.who.int\/europe\/news-room\/events\/item\/2023\/03\/03\/default-calendar\/world-hearing-day-2023--ear-and-hearing-care-for-all!-let-s-make-it-a-reality\u0022\u003E190 million\u003C\/a\u003E people in the 53 countries that make up the World Health Organization\u2019s European region live with some degree of hearing loss. This figure is projected to rise to over 230 million by 2050.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EModern-day machines, traffic and entertainment all mean that people are more exposed to loud sounds than their ancestors.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018This sort of synapse damage is normal in the new generations who are constantly exposed to noise, such as listening to headphones,\u2019 said Verhulst. \u2018People are going to be hearing impaired at a younger age than for our previous generations.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EToday, those who are deaf or severely hard of hearing can benefit from a cochlear implant. This small device bypasses damaged parts of the ear and stimulates the auditory nerves.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Cochlear implants are amazing devices for hearing-disabled people,\u2019 said Haluk Kulah, a professor of biomedical engineering at the Middle East Technical University in Turkey\u2019s capital Ankara.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWith existing devices, however, a receiver needs to be attached on the ear close to the auditory nerve.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EOne major complication is that the external part of the hearing aid is power hungry and users sometimes need to change the battery as often as every day.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThere are other disadvantages too. Hearing aids are expensive and vulnerable to damage from exposure to water or physical activity. They can also be lost or create for a stigma for wearers. Furthermore, they aren\u2019t very aesthetic and limit users\u2019 activities such as swimming.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPromising device\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EKulah spent six years working on a device that will avoid all of these troubles by developing a high-performance, fully implantable cochlear implant as part of the EU-funded \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/682756\u0022\u003EFLAMENCO\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;project, which ended in 2022. This initiative was also ERC funded.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003ECochlear implants are amazing devices for hearing-disabled people.\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EProfessor Haluk Kulah, FLAMENCO\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EOne of the challenges was how to fit the acoustic sensor and electronics, as well as a reliable power source, all within a space of around five by five millimetres. And other hurdles confronted Kulah.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The electronic circuit should consume minimal amounts of power and any battery should last for five years or more,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EOne idea was to use sound waves to help charge the battery, an approach shown to work in lab tests with hearing-impaired guinea pigs. The result was a cochlear implant with the lowest power consumption recorded, according to Kulah.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EMore recently, his lab achieved wireless recharging of the device, making it even more convenient for users.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EKulah believes that almost everything possible in a university setting has been done and that it\u2019s time for the next phase to begin: commercialisation.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EEarlier this year, he received fresh\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/info\/funding-tenders\/opportunities\/portal\/screen\/how-to-participate\/org-details\/999999999\/project\/101113418\/program\/43108390\/details\u0022\u003EERC funding\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;to move the device ever closer to patients. His plan is to work with four companies already involved in the production of cochlear implants.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EResearch in this article was funded via the EU\u2019s European Research Council (ERC). 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