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Bounty Hunter Hearing

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BrownOut

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I've been thinking about this project for some time. I have mild hearing loss, and wear hearing aids in order to hear with "normal" conversation. However, noisey enviroments play havoc with my abilty to hear. I just can't pick out a single voice among many voices at one time. I've thought about super directional "hearing glasses." Essentially, the glasses would have small tubes in place of the normal little booms that hold the optics to your face ( what the hell are those things called, anyway? ) Inside the tubes, I would place small microphones connected to electric amplifiers. Hopefully, the tubes would attenuate all conversation other than the person I am looking straight at. Prehaps the directionality would be so great that I could hear an individual several feet away.

When I first saw "Dog The Bounty Hunter" I thought for sure that was what he had. I could clearly see ear pieces connected to his glasses. It made sense that this dog/hunter would want super hearing as he rooted out his prey. I tried to track down these wonderful glasses, but was only dissapointed to learn that he was listening to MP3 through his earphones. Shoot! That ruined the whole effect! Still, I'd like to try this idea out and see how well I can make it work.

Comments?
 
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"Hopefully" doesn't work very well in this case. A simple small tube will have little directionality for sound.

You want to make the microphone directional such as a cardioid or shotgun mike (Microphone - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). These involve using some manner of sound cancellation from the side or back to achieve a directional pattern. But I don't know if such a design can be effective if made small enough to be put in an eyeglass temple (that's the word). Sounds like a good idea though.
 
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A small tube makes the microphone very directional and is ideal for your situation. I have made shotgun microphone for over 25 years.
 
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A small tube makes the microphone very directional and is ideal for your situation. I have made shotgun microphone for over 25 years.
What is the smallest shotgun mike you have made?
 
Or strap a 500 mm diameter parabolic reflector with a small microphone at the focus, to your chest.

You will encounter hurdles, but please publish your results when you come up with something that works. As people age, we loose some of the "processing power' that helps us discriminate between sounds based on location. Even for those of us who don't use hearing aids (yet).
 
directional hearing aids are available

I presently have two pairs that are programmable, are behind the ear units (much better that in the ear units.)
cost from $1000 - $5000+ per pair
had in the ear = crap. squeal using the phone and were not programmable.
the unites are programmed "tailored" to your hearing.
the different programms are great
each device has 2 directional microphones
in program 1 I have or normal everyday use
program 2 for restaurants etc (noisey enviroments)
program 3 for working in my shop - loud high pitched noises shut the sound off then it comes back on.
they even have a program for hunters where upon a loud bang the units shut off.
the glasses idea sounds like a viable DIY hearing aid
Costco now sell hearing aids which are cheaper. quality??
had in the ear units= pieces of crap
swat, heat and ear wax will kill a hearing aid.
life expectancy of hearing aids = 3 - 5 years
would love to build a DIY unit wih 2 mics and high performance amp w/ programmable filters so either both mics are on or just one is on.
throw a PIC into the mix to control the filters.
I presently have 2 pair that are always needing repair due to moisture. A waterproof hearing aid would be great.
let me know what you find
 
A small tube makes the microphone very directional and is ideal for your situation. I have made shotgun microphone for over 25 years.


Awesome! That gives me hope. Is there any way you can show an example design?

MrDeb I presently have two pairs that are programmable, are behind the ear units (much better that in the ear units.)
cost from $1000 - $5000+ per pair

I have those too. They work well, until I'm in a very noisy environment. The processor inverts the signal from the rear mic to cancel noise from behind. Here's an interesting experiment I've tried. Set up you hearing aids for directionality, and put on a pair of noise cancelling headphones. That reverses the direction you hear, and you'll hear mostly what's behind you!

I have other problems with my hearing aids in noisy environments. For on thing, loud noises causes my hearing aids to attenuate ALL sounds. Often, I can hear better by taking my hearing aids out!!!!

Dick Cappels Or strap a 500 mm diameter parabolic reflector with a small microphone at the focus, to your chest.

HAHAHA! Dont' think that I haven't thought about this! I'm amazed by how much just cupping my hand over my ear, forming a parabolic dish, can help my hearing. Not only does that make the sound louder, but my hand seems to reflect the spectrum that I am missing, making the sound crisper. I want to try something that doesn't look rediculous first, though ;)
 
Just get a nice young curvy blonde in a 2 piece bathing suit to be ya hearing aid. Well the translation might be a little twisted but eh ya get to window shop all day long and not worry about whats around you......
 
This should solve your problem.
 

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A shotgun microphone must have length for good directionality at lower frequencies. Even this "miniature" shotgun mic is huge and cannot be worn.
 

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If you look carefully at the "minature" shotgun mic, only about 1/2 of it's length is taken by the acoustics, at least from how I see it. The other half appears to be the integrated amplifier and earphone monitoring system. The acoustical tube is nearly small enough to be worn. Poor directionality at low frequencies may not be a show-stopper, as hearing specialists well tell you that most of the information in speech is concentrated at the upper end of the audio spectrum.
 
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I also found This Product It's only 8" in leangth, but the acoustics appears to be only about 4". At $49.99, it might be worth it to order and see if I can sperate the electronics from the mic. It would still look rediculous, but maybe I can re-design the wind screen to be less obnoxious.
 

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That unit description says nothing about directional gain so it apparently amplifies sounds uniformly from all directions, which is not what you want. Perhaps you assumed it was a shotgun mike because of it's shape but I don't believe it is.
 
You've got a point, but I think it is at least a fairly high directional mike, and the description is just poorly written. I'll order from a site that has a money back gaurentee.
 
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A shotgun microphone must have length for good directionality at lower frequencies. Even this "miniature" shotgun mic is huge and cannot be worn.
But, if he is just trying to get voice, the frequencies of interest are about 300 Hz to 3k so the low end isn't necessary.
 
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