App can soon make use of hearing aids redundant

PUNE: Using hearing aids may soon become a thing of the past.

City-based technologists Anurag Sharma and Paresh Patel have developed an app called Q+ Hearing Aid to help those with hearing disabilities. They say that it can get rid of the hassles of carrying hearing aids, changing batteries and the social stigma of being seen with one.

Q+ uses mobile technology to enable the hearing impaired customize their listening experience by using results of a simple, interactive hearing test. Sharma and Patel, both IIT alumni, began developing it three years ago, soon after they launched Quadio Devices Pvt Ltd in 2009.

Sharma said that the app first judges the level of hearing loss and then, processes all sounds accordingly and sends it through a compatible earphone to the user. Headsets or earphones which have a microphone would catch the sound or conversation, and send it to the app for processing. In case of group conversations, the user can hear if a person speaks slightly close to the phone's microphone. If headsets or earphones without microphones are used, then the phone's microphone would automatically switch on and the app's noise reducing algorithm will work to render clean and legible sounds.

Anurag Sharma said that the headsets which come with the phone would be most suitable for the best sound quality as they have been calibrated accordingly. "Though any headset can be used, if a third-party earphone is used, the sound quality would be slightly reduced. In the future, we would include support for third-party headsets as well," he said.

The idea for this app was floated by Patel, who had suffered hearing loss due to an overdose of Malaria medicines when he was young. With age, Patel realized that the hearing loss only increased, leading to gaps in communication. Sharma, whose father also suffered from hearing loss, joined him and the two began the development of what they call a "disruptive technology".

"The phone can now work as a hearing aid and moreover, there are settings which can be used to alter the quality of voice as per the environment whether indoors or outdoors," Sharma said.

He added that it can be used effectively by people who suffer from moderate to severe hearing loss, for one-on-one conversations or even group meetings. The user, however, would not be able to access phone calls during that time as mobile operating systems do not allow apps access to calls.

Sharma explained that Q+ uses various algorithms which Quadio has developed. "There is an algorithm which amplifies the sound according to each individual's hearing loss at the respective required frequencies. Another algorithm then handles the amplification and ensures it is not too loud, so as to not lead to further hearing loss. The background noise is cut out through a noise reduction algorithm."

"Going forward, we would also include a music player in the app, which would access the phone's library and act just like a music player in other cases," Sharma said.

Senior citizen Gopal Deshpande (83) has been using the app for almost a year, since its beta phase. He said he has decided not to go back to his hearing aid. "In old age, we often become forgetful and we have to carry hearing aid devices apart from mandatory mobile phones. It becomes a problem if one of them is left behind. With this app, only a cellphone is needed and it allows me to adjust settings according to the environment. The settings on hearing aids are delicate and handling them is tough for a person of my age."

Deshpande said that it was initially awkward to use the app, but so was using the hearing aid. when he started using one and was teased by friends. "But later I realised that most youngsters these days have earphones plugged in their ears all day, and people did not notice much if I did the same," Deshpande said.

The app is currently available for use on iPhone 4s and above and Android phones with Android Lollypop or higher on iTunes and GooglePlay. Around 100 users, with some from outside India, have already downloaded the app.

Sharma said that in low-end Android phones, the sound lag is quite a bit with as much as 300 milliseconds in some cases. "Humans can identify lags beyond 50 milliseconds, hence as of now the app works smoothly with good hardware and software where the lag is less and we need Android 5 and above version for this," he explained.

Sharma added that Q+ is the only app which does proper calibration and works according to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) norms of audiometry.

Q+ comes in two versions Pro and Lite. The Lite version is available for free, while Pro is available for a one-time payment of Rs 500.

Source | Times of India (Pune) | 31 May 2016

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