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SoundWatch

November 9, 2020/in News, Sound Watch /by admin

SoundWatch: New Smartwatch App Alerts Hard-of-Hearing Users To Sounds

Original story on the Hearing review.com    

By Sarah E. McQuate, PhD, Science Writer | University of Washington News & UW College of Engineering

Smartwatches offer people a private method for getting notifications about their surroundings — such as a phone call, health alerts, or an upcoming package delivery.

Now University of Washington researchers have developed SoundWatch, a smartwatch app for deaf, Deaf, and hard-of-hearing people who want to be aware of nearby sounds. When the smartwatch picks up a sound the user is interested in — examples include a siren, a microwave beeping, or a bird chirping — SoundWatch will identify it and send the user a friendly buzz along with information about the sound, according to an article on the UW News website.

The team presented these findings October 28 at the ACM conference on computing and accessibility.

“This technology provides people with a way to experience sounds that require an action — such as getting food from the microwave when it beeps. But these devices can also enhance people’s experiences and help them feel more connected to the world,” said lead author Dhruv Jain, a UW doctoral student in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering. “I use the watch prototype to notice birds chirping and waterfall sounds when I am hiking. It makes me feel present in nature. My hope is that other d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing people who are interested in sounds will also find SoundWatch helpful.”

The team started this project by designing a system for d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing people who wanted to be able to know what was going on around their homes.

“I used to sleep through the fire alarm,” said Jain, who was born hard of hearing.

The first system, called HomeSound, uses Microsoft Surface tablets scattered throughout the home which act like a network of interconnected displays. Each display provides a basic floor plan of the house and alerts a user to a sound and its source. The displays also show the sound’s waveforms, to help users identify the sound, and store a history of all the sounds a user might have missed when they were not home.

The researchers tested HomeSound in the Seattle-area homes of six d/Deaf or hard-of-hearing participants for three weeks. Participants were instructed to go about their lives as normal and complete weekly surveys.

Based on feedback, a second prototype used machine learning to classify sounds in real time. The researchers created a dataset of over 31 hours of 19 common home-related sounds — such as a dog bark or a cat meow, a baby crying, and a door knock.

“People mentioned being able to train their pets when they noticed dog barking sounds from another room or realizing they didn’t have to wait by the door when they were expecting someone to come over,” Jain said. “HomeSound enabled all these new types of interactions people could have in their homes. But many people wanted information throughout the day, when they were out in their cars or going for walks.”

In the second prototype of HomeSound, the tablets sent information to a smartwatch, which is how the researchers got the idea to make the standalone app. Jain et al./CHI 2020

The researchers then pivoted to a smartwatch system, which allows users to get sound alerts wherever they are, even in places they might not have their phones, such as at the gym.

Because smartwatches have limited storage and processing abilities, the team needed a system that didn’t eat the watch’s battery and was also fast and accurate. First the researchers compared a compressed version of the HomeSound classifier against three other available sound classifiers. The HomeSound variant was the most accurate, but also the slowest.

To speed up the system, the team has the watch send the sound to a device with more processing power — the user’s phone — for classification. Having a phone classify sounds and send the results back to the watch not only saves time but also maintains the user’s privacy because sounds are only transferred between the user’s own devices.

The researchers tested the SoundWatch app in March 2020 — before Washington’s stay-at-home order — with eight d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing participants in the Seattle area. Users tested the app at three different locations on or around the UW campus: in a grad student office, in a building lounge and at a bus stop.

People found the app was useful for letting them know if there was something that they should pay attention to. For example: that they had left the faucet running or that a car was honking. On the other hand, it sometimes misclassified sounds (labeling a car driving by as running water) or was slow to notify users (one user was surprised by a person entering the room way before the watch sent a notification about a door opening).

The team is also developing HoloSound, which uses augmented reality to provide real-time captions and other sound information through HoloLens glasses.

“We want to harness the emergence of state-of-the-art machine learning technology to make systems that enhance the lives of people in a variety of communities,” said senior author Jon Froehlich, an associate professor in the Allen School.

Another current focus is developing a method to pick out specific sounds from background noise, and identifying the direction a sound, like a siren, is coming from.

The SoundWatch app is available for free as an Android download. The researchers are eager to hear feedback so that they can make the app more useful.

“Disability is highly personal, and we want these devices to allow people to have deeper experiences,” Jain said. “We’re now looking into ways for people to personalise these systems for their own specific needs. We want people to be notified about the sounds they care about — a spouse’s voice versus general speech, the back door opening versus the front door opening, and more.”

 

Images/Media: Jain et al./CHI 2020, YouTube

https://honiton-hearing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/SoundWatch.jpg 640 1140 admin https://honitonnew.leecurran.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/honitonhearinglogo.png admin2020-11-09 14:45:002022-01-02 15:41:07SoundWatch

Loud Music Can Lead to Early Signs of Hearing Damage

September 21, 2020/in Hearing loss, News /by admin

BBC Looks at How Loud Music Can Lead to Early Signs of Hearing Damage

 

BBC Looks at How Loud Music Can Lead to Early Signs of Hearing Damage

Those who frequently attend loud concerts and music events may be more likely to have earlier signs of hearing damage according to an article in BBC Science Focus Magazine.

The article examined a study from researchers at the University of Manchester, which suggests that although the damage observed is not enough to be diagnosed as a full-blown hearing loss, it could potentially have a cumulative effect on hearing later in life. Out of the 123 people tested, researchers found that those exposed to loud music had less functional hair cells.

To prevent this kind of damage, the researchers suggest avoidance of noisy situations, reduction of volume, or the use of hearing protection such as earplugs or earmuffs.

To read the article in its entirety, click here for the BBC Science Focus website.

Source: BBC Science Focus Magazine

https://honiton-hearing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Honiton-hearing-.jpg 358 500 admin https://honitonnew.leecurran.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/honitonhearinglogo.png admin2020-09-21 09:26:342020-09-21 09:26:34Loud Music Can Lead to Early Signs of Hearing Damage

Devon ear wax removal centre

October 9, 2019/in Earwax removal, News /by admin

Devon ear wax removal centre

Available at the Honiton hearing centre near Exeter

 

 

Ear wax removal doesn’t have to be a chore. We are a fully accredited ear wax removal specialist centre that covers the whole of Devon and Somerset, handily located in Honiton close to Exeter.  We are a family run business and cherish that we serve our local community, also people from a far.  We use the traditional ”Ear syringing” technique, which is actually called water irrigation and isn’t anything like a carry on film. You can watch Colin Eaton talk about ear syringing here in this video. He will explain in detail what that was all about and what is now the gold standard.

Devon Microsuction

The Gold standard these days is called Microsuction or Micro-Suction depending where you read. It is basically a very very small hoover type of device that gently sucks up the ear wax in a safer manor than hitting the ear with pressured water which they did in the bad old days. Ears are very delicate, with todays techniques the risk is a lot lower.

You can watch how Micro-Suction is performed by watching this video here conducted again by Colin Eaton who is the lead audiologist here at the Honiton hearing centre.

https://honiton-hearing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ear-syringing-mp4.m4v

Devon ear wax removal centre

We look forward to seeing you if you haven’t been here before, if you could please call Sam on reception or you can make an online booking by clicking here. 

 

https://honiton-hearing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Microsuction-tube-inside-speculum.png 720 1280 admin https://honitonnew.leecurran.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/honitonhearinglogo.png admin2019-10-09 11:01:172019-10-09 17:26:56Devon ear wax removal centre

Devon Ear syringing centre

August 27, 2019/in Devon Ear syringing centre /by admin

Devon Ear syringing centre

 

We talked ear health very seriously here at our Devon Ear syringing centre. Bellow is some information regarding going away and hitting the beach or pool.

The Honiton hearing centre is a leading ear wax removal centre.

 

As many people set out for holiday in coastal towns during the hot summer days, more attention should be paid to ear health. With people taking a dip at every opportunity the risk of an outer ear infection can increase significantly. An early diagnosis of external otitis can prevent any serious infection. Here are the causes and treatments of outer ear infections.

Don’t neglect your ear care

Outer ear infection is common in the summer, when more people cool off in the sea or in a pool. The outer ear remaining wet, contact with dirty pool water, seawater or foreign bodies, allergy, other skin conditions and chronic diseases like diabetes are the main factors that increase the risk of an outer ear infection.

Stephen Neal the Bath audiologist specialist based at the Keynsham hearing centre is available for all types of ear wax removal.

Devon Ear syringing centre

 

This is why patients who have previously had an outer ear infection suffer from the same disease again if attention is not paid. Outer ear infection is often caused by bacteria and fungi, while viruses and parasites can rarely be a factor. The chronic condition of the outer ear infection, which often occurs in the form of acute infections, is called “swimmer’s ear,” which is very difficult to treat.

Ways to avoid outer ear infection

The main principle for avoiding outer ear infection is to remove risk factors. The ways of avoiding can be listed as follows:

Treat and keep your chronic diseases under control.

Do not keep water in ear and do not use ear sticks during shower.

Do not swim in dirty and low chlorine pools and in dirty parts of the sea.

Use silicone stopper when swimming in order to prevent water from getting into outer ear.

Remove the water escaping to the ear after swimming with head movements.

You can use a few drops of vinegar to ensure the optimal PH level in the outer ear after swimming.

Outer ear infection includes clinical cases including serious life-threatening infections. For this reason, diagnosis should be made at the earliest stage of complaints and treatment should be started quickly.

Smelly earwax in your ear

The outer ear is a canal shaped, extending from earlap to eardrum, with one end opening outward and the other closed by eardrum. The outer ear is a structure that is susceptible to infections due to being a canal with one end open, poor ventilation and its humid environment. It is possible to list the three main symptoms of outer ear infection as pain, discharge and hearing loss. The pain can be severe and increase when you touch your ear. The discharge is yellow-green and usually smells bad. Hearing loss results from outer ear edema and discharges from outer ear due to infection. The disease can be easily diagnosed by a simple ear examination in the patient with the aforementioned complaints. In diagnosis, it is important to distinguish that the discharge is not from middle ear, but from outer ear. Therefore, a specialist examination is recommended.

After the examination, the specialist doctor will determine the best method of treatment. The outer ear should be thoroughly cleaned during treatment. Local antibiotic drops, cortisone drops and painkillers are used. Since ear

drops cannot reach the canal in patients with highly edematous and closed outer ear canal, suppositories should be placed in outer ear for a few days to ensure that the drops reach the canal.

More severe in diabetic patients

Systemic antibiotic use and rarely hospitalisation may be required for advanced outer ear infections in people with risk factors, such as diabetes. During treatment, ears should be protected from water and water sports should be suspended. Materials such as hearing aids, headphones and stoppers should not be used during this period as they make the treatment harder.

Ear syringing Devon

 

If you do end up having any hearing or ear issues please see your GP as soon as you can.  However if you have or think you have ear wax and need this removed please book in for an appointment at the Bath Ear syringing centre.

https://honiton-hearing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/start-irrigation.png 720 1280 admin https://honitonnew.leecurran.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/honitonhearinglogo.png admin2019-08-27 10:52:562019-08-27 10:52:56Devon Ear syringing centre

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Areas that Honiton Hearing Centre services:

Exeter, Exmouth, Lyme Regis Bridport,Taunton, Wellington Tiverton, Honiton, Sidmouth, Ottery St Mary, Sidford, Axminster, Charmouth, Horton, Ilminster,Dunkeswell, East Budleigh, Sudbury, Branscombe, Beer, Seaton,Whimple, Clyst Honiton, Topsham, West Hill, Fairmile, Culmstock, Wiveliscombe, Dulverton, Bampton, Oakfordbridge, Morebath,Rackenford, Cove, Catworthy, Norton Fitzwarren, White Ball, Huntsham, Milverton, Bishops Lydeard, Chard, Beaminster, Crewkerne, South Petherton, Tytherleigh

Honiton Hearing Centre

12 New St, Honiton Devon
EX14 1EY

01404 47070 or 01884 255722

Please note: WE DO NOT SUPPLY GOODS OUTSIDE THE UK

Opening Hours

9:00-17:00 Mon-Fri
Closed on Saturday
Closed on Sunday

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