Kateweb

I found this on digg
How It's Made - Hearing Aids Video


someone can type the text to help every one but i have a hard time makeing it all out and i don't want to give wrong info.

Deafness

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Handsome_Smiley

Very interesting, thought it was simplier then that

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cdmeggers

Oh that's pretty cool.

Taric25

(Male Voice) It's easy to take sound for granted, until you lose it, due to a serious hearing disorder. Thankfully this tiny hearing aid brings back the music. (Clip of Beethoven's 5th symphony)

(Electronic music plays throughout) Loss of hearing causes a serious handicap, but happily it can be remedied thanks to hearing aids, but before fabricating the aid, the degree of hearing loss must be precisely measured with this apparatus, called an audiometer.

So they make a mold off the ear canal. To protect the ear drum, an auto block is inserted.

Next step is to pour in a silicone impression making material. It solidifies and is then removed from the ear.

This congealed mask, representing the ear canal, is then soaked in warm wax, to obtain a positive imprint.

Then the silicone container is filled. The silicone hardens in only ten minutes.

The hardened silicone block is removed, and the excess of the imprint is removed, so that only the essential part is retained. The imprint must slip easily into the ear. It's now the molding stage for the hearing aid. Acrylic is poured into the mold, before placing it into this ultraviolet oven. Without emitting any heat, this oven hardens the acrylic.

Here's the raw prosthesis, without its electronic components. This plan details the electric circuit of the amplifier. Holes are pierced, for the volume control.

These components are tiny. Here's the volume control, the miniature microphone that captures sounds and the earphone which functions as a speaker. This tiny braided wire, of seven conductors, is soldered to the amplifier and the other parts of the prosthesis, with pewter.

The hybrid circuit is inserted into a silicone casing, which ensures it protection.

Then the wires are soldered to the speaker, and they verify the proper functioning of the volume control.

A hearing aid must be very discreet. That's why they cut the excess, with a diamond disk. They also remove the roughness, with fine sand paper.

The holes we see here are used to vent air from ear phone. This silicone tube is used to make the vent.

Acrylic is poured, onto the tube, to form a tunnel. Ultraviolet light is used, to harden the acrylic.

Afterwards, the tube is removed.

This hole is used, to position the fastener: the small wire which allows for removing the hearing aid from the ear.

Then the battery is installed. Only a few parts, such as the microphone, remain to be put in place, but everything is delicately assembled into the interior of the prosthesis.

The 2 parts of the hearing aid are then glued together. Ultraviolet hardens the glue.

The plate used to position the prosthesis components is cut away with a drill, then the hearing aid is manually polished to make it perfectly smooth and comfortable.

The prosthesis is now completed. There remains one important step: verifying its electroacoustic characteristic. It's with this analyzer that they validate that the hearing aid conforms, to the original prescription.

These minute prosthesis allow us to solve the main hearing problems. Microfabrication, of a single unit, requires a little more than of two days of work.

VamPyroX

Wow... this is amazing. I never thought it was THIS complicated! Whew!

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sr171soars

Very interesting indeed! I had no idea.

Thanks for the clip.

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sequoias

Wow, that's interesting and it looks really complicated process for in ear hearing aids. At first, I thought it's the BTE ones.

Kateweb

so did I , I will look for one on it I bet the prossees is simalar but difrent.

Breezy

That's cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanx for sharing that it's really interesting. It makes me wonder, they say it takes little more than 2 days to do it, then when in the hell does it take so long to get them!? oh well! That's still uber cool! If i watch it enough, i'll learn how to make my own!

Taric25

Kateweb, it took me about two hours to create a transcript of that video. A simple thank you would be nice.

Kateweb

sorry, I was planing on it I am very aprshitive, I was just being a tad lazy and did not get back to this thred sorry bout that . But thank you so much for writing that out for me I am shure others hear are also thankfull. I'm sorry I was not on top of it earlyer.

Taric25

You're very welcome. Thanks for taking the time to give credit where credit is due. :-)

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Kateweb

I'm sorry that I can be a little flighty at times.

greema

and...????

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Taric25

"[A]nd" what?

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