Google will use AI with Macquarie Park partners to advance hearing health

Google will employ artificial intelligence to improve hearing devices in a new multi-year research partnership with the Australian Hearing Hub in Macquarie Park.

Leading implantable hearing device manufacturer, Cochlear (University Avenue) will front the Google collaboration alongside the Nationals Acoustic Laboratories (NAL), Macquarie University, the Shepherd Centre and NextSense.

The partnership will combine expertise in hearing, speech, AI, machine learning and neurosciences, and is a great recognition that no single organisation or industry alone can solve global hearing loss.

The partnership comes as the World Health Organisation (WHO) project 2.5 billion people will be living with hearing loss by 2050. The adverse impacts of hearing loss are becoming clearer too, with identified links to dementia, social isolation and depression.

The aim of the multi-org partnership is to improve existing hearing-assistance technologies, like hearing aids and Cochlear implants, and to develop new solutions for people experiencing hearing loss.

Although every experience of hearing loss is unique, the industry currently has a one-size-fits-all approach to hearing aids. As a result, the first project of this group will involve the complete customisation of this experience for each person and their surroundings.

A personalised approach could be particularly beneficial for people using hearing devices in complex listening environments, and facilitate a more accessible approach to hearing care that also enhances user health and wellbeing.

Google plans to apply artificial intelligence to this problem to better identify, categorise, and segregate background sound sources.

Work has also begun on international living guidelines to identify candidates for Cochlear implant testing and referrals. This move follows research suggesting that only 3% of people in the US who could benefit from these devices actually receive one.

Concerns about the expense, misconceptions that you have to be fully deaf, as well as fears of the surgery have been identified as potential barriers to hearing aid procurement. Therefore, these guidelines will supply evidence-based advice to avoid misunderstanding and clarify what hearing care can look like.

This world-first collaboration is a testament to Macquarie Park’s reputation as an international health hub and leading innovation district.

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