Technological progress: better hearing than normal hearing

HH scientist · 11-10-2011, 05:12 PM

I would like to hear what people - whether hearing or not - have to say about that you will be able to hear better with cochlear implants in the future. As a matter of fact, hear so well that it supersedes normal hearing with two ears. Our technology is getting better than our biology.

The video is here [14:00-16:00]: Juan Enriquez shares mindboggling science | Video on TED.com. There are subtitles in 23 languages.

I could basically not sleep after seeing it first two years ago. And the story of Oscar Pistorius (running, not hearing) moving from the Special Olympics to the 'normal' Olympics is an encouraging story to hear.

I will check out Oscar on TV if he is running but he has not yet qualified.

deafdyke · 11-10-2011, 06:08 PM

Same old " this might happen." Not impressed at all......besides if you can hear better then with normal hearing, insurance companies are not going to cover it at all.
As for the dude who moved from the Special Olympics to the regular Olympics....SO is mostly for people with intellectucal disabilties. Besides there's no rule saying that a disabled person can't parcipate in the regular Olympics....I doubt you have to have perfect hearing to be in the regular Olympics.

kokonut · 11-10-2011, 07:47 PM

Not about insurance here or whether it'd be covered but about the possibility of an implant device that would render "super hearing" abilities sometimes into the near future. And hear better in terms of sensitivity, frequency range (above and below normal human frequency detection), and so on.

Fascinating video to watch.

**shel90** · 11-10-2011, 07:50 PM

I love being deaf so no thank you.

kokonut · 11-10-2011, 08:10 PM

It also talks about rudimentary eye implant technology (this video was in 2009) enabling the blind to see light and dark, and over time it will get to the point where blind people will see just as well as sighted people...and beyond.

jillio · 11-10-2011, 08:45 PM

"Somewhere over the rainbow..."

Sad that some hate deafness so much that they would hang onto any pie in the sky that might make them hearing.

kokonut · 11-10-2011, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kokonut

It also talks about rudimentary eye implant technology (this video was in 2009) enabling the blind to see light and dark, and over time it will get to the point where blind people will see just as well as sighted people...and beyond.

I wanted to see what the current eye implant technology is like as a matter of curiousity sake.

'Bionic Eye' Implant Offers Hope to the Blind : Discovery News

It works....very rudimentary though. Very promising. Good to hear that.

jillio · 11-10-2011, 09:00 PM

"Birds fly over the rainbow, why oh why can't I?"

**deafskeptic** · 11-10-2011, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jillio

"Birds fly over the rainbow, why oh why can't I?"

I think someone called him a cuckoo once. I won't mention the word that came after cuckoo but it begins with an n..

deafdyke · 11-10-2011, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kokonut

Not about insurance here or whether it'd be covered but about the possibility of an implant device that would render "super hearing" abilities sometimes into the near future. And hear better in terms of sensitivity, frequency range (above and below normal human frequency detection), and so on.

Fascinating video to watch.

It's the possibilty. Besides, WHY the hell would you NEED or want super hearing abilties? What's the point?

kokonut · 11-10-2011, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deafdyke

It's the possibilty. Besides, WHY the hell would you NEED or want super hearing abilties? What's the point?

Lots of reasons for people to have better hearing. Or are you talking about me or the general "you" you?

jillio · 11-10-2011, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deafdyke

It's the possibilty. Besides, WHY the hell would you NEED or want super hearing abilties? What's the point?

He wants to wear tights and a cape with a great big ear on his chest.

**deafskeptic** · 11-10-2011, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deafdyke

It's the possibilty. Besides, WHY the hell would you NEED or want super hearing abilties? What's the point?

He wants to be the Bonic Woman?

**deafskeptic** · 11-10-2011, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jillio

He wants to wear tights and a cape with a great big ear on his chest.

Isn't wearing tights kind of ..... <gasp> gay?

jillio · 11-10-2011, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deafskeptic

Isn't wearing tights kind of ..... <gasp> gay?

Not if you are "SUPER HEARING MAN".

**deafskeptic** · 11-10-2011, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jillio

Not if you are "SUPER HEARING MAN".

I beg to differ.

***naisho*** · 11-10-2011, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jillio

Not if you are "SUPER HEARING MAN".

What powers does "SUPER HEARING MAN" possess?

Does he hear the sound of business in the bathroom? A passive, ninja fart?

jillio · 11-10-2011, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by naisho

What powers does "SUPER HEARING MAN" possess?

Does he hear the sound of business in the bathroom? A passive, ninja fart?

Yes! He can even hear those deadly silent ones! It is truly amazing!

**deafskeptic** · 11-10-2011, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by naisho

What powers does "SUPER HEARING MAN" possess?

Does he hear the sound of business in the bathroom? A passive, ninja fart?

1) the power to tell us all about how awful Obama is.
2) The power to be impervious to the powers of logic and critical thinking.
3) the power not to get confused with facts.

MM.. wonder what else he can do?

jillio · 11-10-2011, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deafskeptic

1) the power to tell us all about how awful Obama is.
2) The power to be impervious to the powers of logic and critical thinking.
3) the power not to get confused with facts.

MM.. wonder what else he can do?

The power to hear what everyone else is thinking! How many times has he told us he knows what Obama is thinking?

**deafskeptic** · 11-10-2011, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deafskeptic

1) the power to tell us all about how awful Obama is.
2) The power to be impervious to the powers of logic and critical thinking.
3) the power not to get confused with facts.

MM.. wonder what else he can do?

Ah, the power to lock up threads.

jillio · 11-10-2011, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deafskeptic

Ah, the power to lock up threads.

Add "faster than a speeding bullet" to that one!

**Bottesini** · 11-10-2011, 09:49 PM

Would this then create a privileged class among the hearing, of super hearers? And a sub class of oppressed average hearing people, who could not afford the surgery?

kokonut · 11-10-2011, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bottesini

Would this then create a privileged class among the hearing, of super hearers? And a sub class of oppressed average hearing people, who could not afford the surgery?

Could happen. Could also see a new class of "super" soldiers with advanced hearing and vision with the help of technology.

**Jiro** · 11-10-2011, 11:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kokonut

Could happen. Could also see a new class "super" soldiers with advanced hearing and vision with the help of technology.

those soldiers already have working hearing and vision in the first place. and they are not going to be using enhanced hearing and vision for lovey dovey purpose. it's to enhance their killing skill in swift, efficient manner.

sheila022 · 11-10-2011, 11:52 PM

Haha, I once wrote a short satirical piece of writing in high school of what could happen if we have devices to make our hearing better than the hearing people hear.

But I think it's interesting to think about that kind of thing, especially regarding our Deaf identity.

HH scientist · 11-11-2011, 05:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deafdyke

Same old " this might happen." Not impressed at all.......

I was very impressed when I saw the video. A lot is happening and progress is being made. People don't believe anything until they see it, so I know what you mean. As an example, no one would believe a few decades ago that more than half of all people on Earth could have a mobile, but now they do. More than half of all Indians and Chinese have mobile and lots of people there are still poor. That is progress, in a sense.

The same thing will happen to cochlear implants once the technology is good enough. 20 years ago, mobile phones had a black and white screen and only telephone capability. Now, you have video, camera, blah, blah, blah.... Cochlear implants has to reach the level of normal hearing before they get interesting. But after that, they will be developing quickly and give people super hearing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by deafdyke

besides if you can hear better then with normal hearing, insurance companies are not going to cover it at all.

You are definitely making a point. I come from Northern Europe, so the welfare state would cover the cost for me (provided that the Euro crisis does not worsen).

Quote:

Originally Posted by deafdyke

As for the dude who moved from the Special Olympics to the regular Olympics....SO is mostly for people with intellectucal disabilties. Besides there's no rule saying that a disabled person can't parcipate in the regular Olympics....I doubt you have to have perfect hearing to be in the regular Olympics.

Everyday is an Olympic event for me: Trying to survive in a world run by people are quite different from me. I would like to hear at least a little bit better than I do now (50% hearing in one ear only).

HH scientist · 11-11-2011, 05:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kokonut

I wanted to see what the current eye implant technology is like as a matter of curiousity sake.

'Bionic Eye' Implant Offers Hope to the Blind : Discovery News

It works....very rudimentary though. Very promising. Good to hear that.

Glasses are a nice mechanical device to make people see. If there is a problem with the cells themselves, then you are stuck both when it comes to vision and hearing.

It is nice to see electronics devices being fitted to communicate with biological cells. That solves the problems that mechanical devices such as glasses cannot solve.

Jazzberry · 11-11-2011, 10:18 AM

I watched the video in the OP -- very interesting. The presenter basically spoke about how engineering is going to continue to progress on the cellular, tissue and robotic levels. He grouped cochlear implants in the robotic category.

One thing that may come up in the future is what expectations, including limitations, will we as a society have towards prosthesics or artificial limbs and organs. I think deafdyke is right, most insurance companies in capitalistic countries will probably not be willing to cover anything that gives people abilities superior to those given by "natural" limbs and organs. That will probably cut off a lot of debate right there.

But development in this area could come from other areas. For example, I think funding for soldiers' health needs comes from a separate source. I could see military interest in not only replacing hearing but interest in "down-shifting" and "tagging" sounds currently beyond human range into the frequency range that our brains had evolved into learning how to handle.

And, IIRC, courntries like North Korea are already doing research into areas like human cloning that many countries have already decided not to allow research within their own borders. Probably areas of research and experimentation allowed in various countries will continue to diverge.

kokonut · 11-11-2011, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HH scientist

Glasses are a nice mechanical device to make people see. If there is a problem with the cells themselves, then you are stuck both when it comes to vision and hearing.

It is nice to see electronics devices being fitted to communicate with biological cells. That solves the problems that mechanical devices such as glasses cannot solve.

There are advances in the area of sight where technology can tap directly into the visual cortex of the brain.
Artificial Vision for the Blind - Brain Implant? Bionic Eye?

What blew me away was when they used a bad heart, stripped away all of its muscle leaving the cartilage behind to serve as a scaffold and stem cells grown from heart muscle was sprayed onto that scaffold creating a new, beating rat heart. I've heard of this scaffolding procedure before but not about the heart.

11-10-2011, 05:12 PM	#1 (permalink)
HH scientist Registered User Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Cork, Ireland Posts: 186	Technological progress: better hearing than normal hearing I would like to hear what people - whether hearing or not - have to say about that you will be able to hear better with cochlear implants in the future. As a matter of fact, hear so well that it supersedes normal hearing with two ears. Our technology is getting better than our biology. The video is here [14:00-16:00]: Juan Enriquez shares mindboggling science \| Video on TED.com. There are subtitles in 23 languages. I could basically not sleep after seeing it first two years ago. And the story of Oscar Pistorius (running, not hearing) moving from the Special Olympics to the 'normal' Olympics is an encouraging story to hear. I will check out Oscar on TV if he is running but he has not yet qualified. Lavender, mrk08 and melissaamd1 like this.

11-10-2011, 06:08 PM	#2 (permalink)
deafdyke Registered User Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Trebekistan Posts: 13,078	Same old " this might happen." Not impressed at all......besides if you can hear better then with normal hearing, insurance companies are not going to cover it at all. As for the dude who moved from the Special Olympics to the regular Olympics....SO is mostly for people with intellectucal disabilties. Besides there's no rule saying that a disabled person can't parcipate in the regular Olympics....I doubt you have to have perfect hearing to be in the regular Olympics. jillio, deafskeptic and Mountain Man like this.

11-10-2011, 07:47 PM	#3 (permalink)
kokonut Registered User Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 15,348	Not about insurance here or whether it'd be covered but about the possibility of an implant device that would render "super hearing" abilities sometimes into the near future. And hear better in terms of sensitivity, frequency range (above and below normal human frequency detection), and so on. Fascinating video to watch. Lavender likes this. __________________ Before AD. After AD. "Restriction on free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us." -Thurgood Marshall, former Supreme Court Justice "... turns out they are telling the truth."

11-10-2011, 07:50 PM	#4 (permalink)
shel90 Let It Snow!!!! Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: A place where crabs are popular Posts: 40,285 Blog Entries: 3	I love being deaf so no thank you. deafdyke likes this. __________________ "Wine improves with age. The older I get, the better I like it." --- Anonymous

11-10-2011, 08:10 PM	#5 (permalink)
kokonut Registered User Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 15,348	It also talks about rudimentary eye implant technology (this video was in 2009) enabling the blind to see light and dark, and over time it will get to the point where blind people will see just as well as sighted people...and beyond. rockin'robin likes this. __________________ Before AD. After AD. "Restriction on free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us." -Thurgood Marshall, former Supreme Court Justice "... turns out they are telling the truth."

Today
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11-10-2011, 08:45 PM	#6 (permalink)
jillio Banned Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 60,296	"Somewhere over the rainbow..." Sad that some hate deafness so much that they would hang onto any pie in the sky that might make them hearing. deafdyke and Buffalo like this.

11-10-2011, 09:00 PM	#8 (permalink)
jillio Banned Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 60,296	"Birds fly over the rainbow, why oh why can't I?"

11-10-2011, 09:49 PM	#23 (permalink)
Bottesini Joe's Friend Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: With Owl Sock Posts: 37,517 Blog Entries: 1	Would this then create a privileged class among the hearing, of super hearers? And a sub class of oppressed average hearing people, who could not afford the surgery? jillio, dogmom and Mountain Man like this. __________________

11-10-2011, 11:52 PM	#26 (permalink)
sheila022 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 1,536	Haha, I once wrote a short satirical piece of writing in high school of what could happen if we have devices to make our hearing better than the hearing people hear. But I think it's interesting to think about that kind of thing, especially regarding our Deaf identity. __________________

11-11-2011, 10:18 AM	#29 (permalink)
Jazzberry Registered User Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: New York State Posts: 761 Blog Entries: 2	I watched the video in the OP -- very interesting. The presenter basically spoke about how engineering is going to continue to progress on the cellular, tissue and robotic levels. He grouped cochlear implants in the robotic category. One thing that may come up in the future is what expectations, including limitations, will we as a society have towards prosthesics or artificial limbs and organs. I think deafdyke is right, most insurance companies in capitalistic countries will probably not be willing to cover anything that gives people abilities superior to those given by "natural" limbs and organs. That will probably cut off a lot of debate right there. But development in this area could come from other areas. For example, I think funding for soldiers' health needs comes from a separate source. I could see military interest in not only replacing hearing but interest in "down-shifting" and "tagging" sounds currently beyond human range into the frequency range that our brains had evolved into learning how to handle. And, IIRC, courntries like North Korea are already doing research into areas like human cloning that many countries have already decided not to allow research within their own borders. Probably areas of research and experimentation allowed in various countries will continue to diverge. deafdyke likes this. __________________ I was a mainstreamed "solitaire". I'm currently learning ASL. My hearing loss ranges from moderate to profound; my audiogram and speech discrimination are posted here.

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