New headsets create listening bubble

New headsets create listening bubble

Imagine being able to eliminate all the noise in a restaurant while easily hearing the conversation at your table.

The challenge of understanding speech in noise is one that the very latest hearing aids continue to do battle with, and many are producing amazing results.

However, a new headset technology has been developed by researchers at the University of Washington in the USA that takes the solution to a whole new level - creating a sound ‘bubble’ that makes all speakers within it clearly audible while suppressing speakers and noise outside it.

The prototype uses acoustic data from up to six microphones which integrate into noise-cancelling headphones, creating neural networks that generate programmable sound bubbles. These can be adjusted to close range – between one and two metres – and output signals can be set to reduce the intensity of sound outside the bubble by 49 decibels.