High school students invent cheap hearing aids

After coming to India to visit him, a 14-year-old teenager noticed the cost of examining and installing hearing aids. Boys want to find a cheap alternative to the poor.

Two years ago, Mukund Venkatakrishnan (Indian origin living in the United States), then 14 years old, came to India with a "mission" to take him to a medical examination and install a hearing aid. Realizing that this is a costly and difficult process, he wants to find a cheaper alternative to help low-income blind people.

Male high school students said, Indian people spend about $ 400 to $ 500 for appointments with doctors and $ 1,900 to buy hearing aids. Venkatakrishnan realized that hearing aids were too expensive, even many people in developing countries could not afford.

"The average income of every household in India is 616 USD a year. Thus, if people save all year and do not spend any money, people still cannot afford to buy hearing aids," Venkatakrishnan said.

Teenage devices are special in that they not only test hearing with a series of beeps, but also have hearing aids. This device costs about 50 USD and can be used with the cheapest headphones.

Venkatakrishnan, 16, invented a low-cost hearing aid while sitting in a school chair.(Photo: CNN).

Hearing aids cost 50 USD

Unlike traditional hearing aids, if a part of the headset is broken, people just need to buy a new headset, no need for replacement.

Venkatakrishnan's device is about 5cm long, looking like a computer processor. High school boys are planning to shrink the device size and wrap the operating system back. He said, the invention includes a headphone jack, suitable for pocketing. Users can manually adjust the device accordingly.

Venkatakrishnan spent 2 years learning about cryptography, building sound programs and developing equipment. He perfected his invention under the help of a number of engineers, like his father and audiologists.

Besides, boys also work with doctors and test patients with hearing loss to ensure the accuracy of the device.

In addition, Venkatakrishnan desires to reduce the associated inferiority to wear hearing aids.

"It is difficult to convince my grandfather to wear hearing aids. I hope the improvements in this device may help reduce some of the guilt , " he said.

The teenager said his 81-year-old grandfather was happy for his grandson's invention. He plans to show him the results of his return to India this summer.

Users press the green button when they hear the "beep" and the gold button if they don't hear anything.(Photo: CNN).

Want to help people "expand life"

Venkatakrishnan said he did not want to make money from this invention. Besides, he revealed audio software is still an open resource. So other developers can adjust.

The male student hopes to find an organization with a relationship with developing countries that wants to mass produce and distribute his equipment.

According to a statistics, about 360 million people worldwide lose hearing. In the United States, about 2-3% of people with mild hearing loss use hearing aids. Venkatakrishnan's device is aimed at people with mild to moderate hearing loss.

The normal life of high school students

When not studying hearing aids, Venkatakrishnan as well as many other teenagers. He enjoys listening to music, running and playing the violin for 12 years.

Venkatakrishnan was born in India and moved to Louisville, Kentucky (USA) when he was 3 years old. Currently, he considered going to college.

Schools like Stanford, Georgia Tech, Berkeyley and MIT are the top choices. A 16-year-old male wants to study coding or engineering, and enjoys doing business.