I’ve posted this question over at CrackBerry too. But you are my go-to guys.
My hearing is starting to go. I will need aids within a few years.
In the mean time, I was wondering if it might be possible to turn the storm into an ad-hoc hearing aid.
Let the mike pick up sounds, and then amplify them back out through the ear buds. For say, listening to TV so it does not need to be so loud (I know I listen to it louder than my wife likes it).
I’m a programmer, but have never developed anything for a PDA. I thought this might be an interesting exercise for me to get into mobile device programming. I’m thinking and hoping it could be done in .NET.
A bit of searching through the iPhone App Store reveals the iHear Hearing Aid app ($.99), which basically does exactly what you’re talking about. I’d be tempted to buy it just for the novelty factor, but it only works with the regular iPod earbuds, since the iPhone headset’s microphone overrides the iPhone’s microphone.
A call to whom. Myself? I would much rather develope an app to do this.
As much as I hate blue tooth ear buds, I think that something like this might help me untill I get hearing aids. Something like this (if it could work) would have been a great help to me at my FIL’s funaral last week. At dinner perhaps, in a noisy room if I could just set the phone in front of my Wife or at the middle of the table, I think I could pick up more. Loosing your hearing is nothing to joke about.
Thank you Lightning for your reasoned response. I suspect if something is available in the iPhone for this that BB is not far beyond. And yes, it may just be a novelty to some, but I am in a spot where I need some help before I can afford hearing aids. And I might be able to write the code to do it.
Hearing aid user for 35 years here. I can tell you that modern hearing aids are specifically tailored to your hearing loss and are complicated pieces of machinery.
What you’re talking about will amplify all sounds, which would probably not work for a person with any degree of hearing loss.
If you just want to make your television a little louder without disturbing other people, it sounds like it would work. If you have actual hearing loss, go see an audiologist.
I’ve been to an audiologist. I will go again this year. I have severe tinnitus.
I’m not trying to run from my problem. And understand that it is my problem. I had thought that some RIM/BlackBerry developers may point me in the right direction. As I said, I think it would be an interesting app to try to develop for my first time. I was also wondering if such an app would be even remotely feasible.
I have heard of apps that could turn your storm into a voice recorder. Perhaps they also let you hear what you are recording live over a bluetooth headset. Don’t know but it might accomplish what you are trying to do . . . heres one example.
