Abstract
Hearing loss is a communication disorder that induces a serious handicap into various aspects of life, including language acquisition, school work, employment and normal daily activities in the home. Hearing aids and cochlear implants have become more widely used among patients with hearing loss. However, some patients with hearing loss do not utilize such hearing-assistive devices because of the appearance, the impression of aging and the high price. In addition, hearing aids are sometimes not adequate for patients with severe to profound hearing loss. To address these problems, a hearing-assistive speaker, called Comuoon®, was developed by a non-profit organization (NPO) in Japan. The Comuoon® device has a strong directional and consonant-specific frequency property. We herein report on the efficacy of the Comuoon® speaker.
