Apple has teamed up with Australian-based Cochlear [1]to bring iPhone users the first made for iPhone Cochlear implant.
Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in June, Cochlear’s Nucleus 7 Sound Processor can now stream sound directly from a compatible iPhone, iPad or iPod touch to a patient’s surgically embedded sound processor.
The device also allows those with the implant to control and customize the sound from their iPhone.
There have been other implants and hearing aids that have used iOS apps to control sound and other features and Nucleus’s own app[2] can be downloaded to do the same. However, Cochlear’s newest processor is controlled by the phone itself and does not require an app download.
More than 50 million Americans[3] have experienced some sort of hearing loss due to one reason or another. Apple saw the hearing loss problem and has spent a number of years developing a hearing aid program within the company.
Apple soon developed a protocol the company offered for free for hearing aid and implant manufacturers to use with their devices.
“We wanted to see something that could become ubiquitous out in the world,” Apple’s Sarah Herrlinger, senior manager for global accessibility policy and initiatives told TechCrunch. “We want everybody to use our technology and to say ‘wow my iPhone is the best piece of technology I’ve ever used before’…with every iteration of our operating system our goal is to add in new accessibility features in order to expand the support that we can give to people all over the world.”
Accessing the control settings for your Cochlear implant is relatively easy. Those who get the new Nucleus 7 Sound Processor or other made for...
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