Carina implantable hearing aid gets showed off

We've been hearing about cochlear implants of various sorts some time for some time now, but it looks things are about to get a whole lot more implantable, with a pair of fully implantable hearing aids now in clinical trials. One of those is developed by the folks at Envoy Medical, while the other comes from Otologics of Boulder, CO, which the MIT Technology Review got to check it out first hand, so to speak. Dubbed "Carina," the hearing aid consists of four separate pieces that are designed to be countersunk into the skull, including a microphone the size of a fingernail that sits behind the ear and a main processing unit that also houses the rechargeable lithium-ion battery that powers the device. That, as you're no doubt wondering, gets replenished by a charging unit that's held in place with a magnet and must be worn for an hour or two a day. As the Review heard straight from one of the device's early users, the entire setup appears to work remarkably well, delivering a "natural feeling of hearing." As it's quick to point out, however, the device still has a long ways to go, with the study currently only having twelve of the 70 to 80 users it needs to complete "phase II" of the trials. And, of course, there's that small matter of price, with the Carina currently ringing in at a cool $20,000 (for one ear), none of which is covered by insurance.

[Technex @ Dec 20th 2007 5:05PM]

Pretty expensive, but good news nonetheless. The more they make, the cheaper they become!

[Nick Franklin @ Dec 20th 2007 5:08PM]

Hello!

[Nickff @ Dec 20th 2007 5:10PM]

What?

[Timerider @ Dec 20th 2007 5:23PM]

Does anyone see the potential problem with a lithium-ion battery implanted in your skull?
The exploding cellphone issue just got worse.

[DarkLightConnection @ Dec 20th 2007 5:49PM]

That's exactly what I was going to say... i'll not be recommending this until they move to a safer kind of battery or energy source

[blaktornado @ Dec 20th 2007 6:32PM]

Well I'd rather not have a solar panel glued to my forehead either so this will do :P

Now makes camera to be implanted into our over-strained, nerdy eyes and I'll be happy. ;)

[ethana2 @ Dec 20th 2007 11:16PM]

Well you gotta implant /something/. We all know your body isn't incapable of powering /itself/. I mean, it's not like the power just floats around waiting for you tap into it with the right technology or anything.

...Once they figure out the /right/ way to power them, I'll be interested to see what they come up with.

[Timerider @ Dec 21st 2007 4:27PM]

Li-ion can be dangerous but it's rare.

[Bryan @ Dec 20th 2007 5:26PM]

What I want to know is when devices like these that obviously improve your life WILL be covered by insurance. Or will things like this divide social classes even further, whereas the people who can afford these things can and will, and the people who live pay check to pay check (and subsequently pay exorbitant insurance premiums) will not be able to. Social divides will be taken one step further, as the rich people will have super hearing and super strength while the middle class (what's left of it) will have trouble getting expensive (and neccessary) surgery covered by their insurance companies.

[wickedpheonix @ Dec 20th 2007 6:08PM]

I dunno where you come from dude but hearing aids are almost never covered by insurance... at least in the US. It sucks, and they should be covered, but they're not.

My only question is whether this is a *cochlear implant* or a *hearing aid*. They are entirely different, look it up, main one here is that hearing aids are NOT implants, they are devices that you stuff in your ear and can take right out afterwards and no surgery is needed.

Other than that, welcome news I guess :)

[HenryJonesJr @ Dec 20th 2007 6:57PM]

Waah, waahhh...social divide, boo hoo. Yeah, let's have it covered by insurance where the price will never come down and our insurance prices will continue to skyrocket. Great idea. Look at LASIK eye surgery. What was once several thousand dollars can now be had for several hundred. You think that would have happened if it was covered by insurance? Nope. There would never have been any incentive to bring the price down. Insurance is the problem not the solution.

[Mike @ Dec 20th 2007 7:00PM]

Are you friggin' kidding me? Social divides? What an irrelevant comment. It's expensive because it's experimental. If these are successful and are ever mass-produced, I doubt they're gonna cost $20k.

[Bryan @ Dec 21st 2007 9:41AM]

I guess I never looked at it from the angles you guys provide. Makes sense. My bad.

[revaaron @ Dec 20th 2007 5:56PM]

that's my gf's name... means "beautiful" in italian.

[DarkLightConnection @ Dec 20th 2007 6:13PM]

That's what I thought after thinking of the exploding Li-Ion batteries...

Carina is a female name

[Bryan @ Dec 20th 2007 6:31PM]

wickedphoneix:
Essentially the point I'm trying to make, is eventually the market will be flooded with devices that are implantable and more advanced prosthetics. It's just a shame that there will come a time when the poor won't be able to lead normal lives, and the rich will.
I mean what the hell is medical insurance for anyway?

On another note, I'll wait until the technology exists for these things to be powered by a bio-nano generator os something that could harness electricity form the body. THEN this stuff will be interesting.

[Mike @ Dec 20th 2007 7:05PM]

But if the market becomes "flooded" with devices, they'd have to be cheap devices.

It's not evil that rich people can afford more things than poor people can, even when it comes to health.

[Dan @ Dec 20th 2007 7:06PM]

"...gets showed off"? Ugh. The titled messed it up. Oh well.

[Ryan Worrell @ Dec 20th 2007 7:06PM]

Showed off? Seriously wtf no editing?

[Mike @ Dec 20th 2007 7:26PM]

Save the 20k and go to a televangelist "healing revival"... heck, you might get a souvenir in the process... if you sow a $50 faith seed.

::sarcasm::

[BCre8v @ Dec 20th 2007 7:49PM]

Folks, I am deaf.
I lost most of my hearing in the military (effectively 600 Hz and above). Although I do not need cochlear implants, I benefit from the highly tunable DSP units that are regularly coming down in price.
As far as insurance, many programs cover UP to a certain amount (a subsidy).
Personally, I am glad that I can participate in conversations, actually determine when someone is sarcastic (hint, hint Engadget users), and not miss what my young son has to say.
I welcome these technology marvels and hope no-one here (hear?) needs an assitive device especially with our generation cranking up the earphones.

[DarkLightConnection @ Dec 20th 2007 8:08PM]

"especially with our generation cranking up the earphones."

Thanks for reminding me I shouldn't use the earphones too loud... I've been educated not to do so, but sometimes I forget

[Michael Chorost @ Dec 20th 2007 9:03PM]

I'm the author of the Technology Review story being discussed. To be sure, the issue of putting lithium-ion batteries inside the body is not a trivial one. Lithium-ion batteries store a lot of energy in a small space. But Otologics explained to me that their lithium-ion batteries are the same ones as are used on the Mars rovers, and are made to much higher quality standards than the ones used in laptop batteries. So it's not accurate to extrapolate from laptop batteries to the ones used in the Carina.

The Technology Review story has a nice video where I explain the Carina in detail. The article's here:

http://www.technologyreview.com/Biotech/19872/

Also, I talk about implantable hearing devices and other body technologies at more length on my website, http://www.chorost.com.

[vcx @ Dec 20th 2007 9:16PM]

To Michael Chorost:
Hey, I read you article in the "The Best American Science Writing
2006" about that(I forget) sonata. Pretty impressive!! Do you have a
an online copy of that article? Thanks.

[Michael Chorost @ Dec 20th 2007 9:28PM]

Thanks! Yes, the story, "My Bionic Quest for Bolero", is here:

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.11/bolero.html

I also wrote a book about learning to hear the world with a cochlear implant - see here:

http://www.amazon.com/Rebuilt-Journey-Back-Hearing-World/dp/0618717609/ref=ed_oe_p

And I just got my other ear implanted with a cochlear implant, so when it's activated, I'll be hearing the world in stereo for the first time in many years. I'll be writing about that on my blog, and perhaps in print as well.

[Ganesh Kumar @ Dec 21st 2007 3:18AM]

Fantastic article, Michael! I have been hard of hearing from birth (nerve impulses) and wear hearing aids. Your article certainly resonates with me. Finding hearing aids that can handle the intracacies of music and somehow hear them well is difficult. Headphones sometimes aren't good enough since they are not designed for hearing aids. Direct audio inputs are good albeit cumbersome. I'll be waiting for high quality bluetooth hearing aids that can handle music.

I'm glad new technological advances have been made. Would you say that the quality of your hearing is better with your new implants rather than your old hearing aids?

[Timerider @ Dec 21st 2007 4:26PM]

Well, I know there are safer, more durable Li-ion batteries around and others being developed. I guess when you have an expensive device like this it's doubtful that they'd skimp on the batteries.
Li-ion batteries can be dangerous, but it's rare.

[nic @ Jan 11th 2008 1:57AM]

My hearing loss requires me to use hearing aids @60 desiples

Hoping for something soon I hate my hearing aids the look the feel etc.

I wish the best for all others suffering

[Ninty @ Dec 21st 2007 10:58AM]

My boyfriend uses digital hearing aids, and not a cochlear implant mainly because his parents wanted him to decide on his own if he ever wants one. He is profoundly deaf, so right now he is unable to hear on phones at all. I know that if they were to improve this implant, at least with the surgery aspect of it, that he could see this as viable for him-especially for work. The only other downfall that I see is that price tag of it, 20,000 is just way too high for him right now as the insurance would never cover it all. They don't even cover his hearing aids.