Device Uses Bluetooth-Enabled Mouthpiece to Let the Tongue "Hear"

In the future, those with substantial hearing loss may no longer need a doctor to surgically implant a cochlear device into their ear to restore their sense of sound. Engineers at Colorado State University are developing a hearing device that bypasses the ear altogether. The CSU device operates very similarly to a cochlear device except electric impulses are sent via Bluetooth to a retainer-like mouthpiece packed with electrodes. When users press their tongue against the device, they feel a distinct pattern of electric impulses as a tingling or vibrating sensation. The idea is that, with training, the brain will learn to interpret specific patterns as words, thus allowing someone to 'hear' with their tongue. A CSU neuroscientist who studies taste receptors on the tongue is helping the team determine which parts of the tongue detect electrical impulses, and if those areas are consistent from person to person. They have launched a new study in which participants place an array of electrodes in their mouth and report where they feel electrical impulses and how strong they are.

Transcript

00:00:03 OUR TONGUES HELPS US MAKE SOUNDS AND SPEAK. AND OF COURSE, WE TASTE WITH OUR TONGUES. BUT GET THIS, WE SOON MAY BE ABLE TO HEAR WITH OUR TONGUES, THANKS TO THIS RESEARCH TEAM AT COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY. This is the part of the device that you stick in your mouth. THIS TESTING GADGET, COVERED WITH ELECTRODES TO TRANSLATE SOUNDS INTO TONGUE STIMULATION, IS THE EXPERIMENTAL FIRST GENERATION OF WHAT THIS TONGUE EXPERT, PROFESSOR LESLIE STONE, SAYS COULD BE A LESS INVASIVE,

00:00:33 LESS EXPENSIVE ALTERNATIVE TO COCHLEAR IMPLANTS. The ultimate device is going to be something that fits inside the mouth that you can't see, like a dental retainer. It's tempting to compare this tongue device to braille. With braille if your eyes don't see well enough to read you learn to use your fingers to read the words, but you haven't taught your fingers to see. But researchers say with this device, once you train your tongue and your brain

00:00:59 to work together your tongue has actually learned to hear. You would have to wear it typically 3 to 4 weeks we think, maybe even 2 or 3 months to fully begin to allow your brain to interpret these signals as words or sounds." ENGINEERING PROFESSOR JOHN WILLIAMS CO-LEADS THIS TEAM... So do you feel those? Yes. Up. ...HAVING HIS TONGUE MAPPED FOR SENSITIVITY TO FIGURE OUT HOW MUCH VARIETY THERE IS AMONG TONGUES AND WHAT PATTERN OF ELECTRODES WORKS BEST. These little electrodes here are being energized depending

00:01:35 on what frequency. TO RESTORE HEARING: IF IT WORKS, THAT'S RESEARCH WITH IMPACT. I'd like to make a good impact on the world, maybe change some people's lives. To be able to get those people to be able to hear like they could when they were young people that's what's really exciting about this technology. You're really upping the game for the tongues here? Yes, tongues are awesome! AND TONGUES COULD SOON BE EVEN AWESOME-ER:

00:01:56 IF THESE RESEARCHERS CAN PUT WORDS IN OUR MOUTHS, BY TEACHING OUR TONGUES TO HEAR.