PhD graduate develops new hearing device

massey-university

Fri May 29 2009 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

PhD graduate develops new hearing device

Friday, 29 May 2009, 10:30 am
Press Release: Massey University

Thursday, May 28, 2009
PhD graduate develops new hearing device

Research undertaken, as part of Robert Thorne’s doctoral thesis, has led to the development of a prototype of an inexpensive hearing assistance device.

Mr Thorne (Ngä Puhi, Ngäti Kahu), from Brisbane, is today attending the ceremony in Wellington to honour Mäori graduands. Tomorrow he will be conferred with a Doctorate of Philosophy in Health Science.

He has worked in the area of public health and environmental management for 30 years and is the principal consultant for a Brisbane-based noise measurement company. He was involved in the development of noise management legislation in Queensland that relates to personal wellbeing and relief from sleep disturbance.

In New Zealand, he has been involved in hearings over the Makara wind farm near Wellington and will also give evidence in upcoming hearings over the proposed Turitea wind farm in Manawatu.

He began his doctoral research in 2001, and says he has been developing the hearing device for the past four years

"I found out talking with older people that they were paying $7000 Australian for hearing aides that didn’t work. What I did was reverse the algorithms and built an inexpensive device that you can plug into mobile phones, that give people hard of hearing, a better and less expensive alternative for $200 Australian.

“The major work is now in the public domain, so everyone can access the research and the applications. The hearing assistance device is something I would like to complete but, with the recession, funding is zero.”

He says Australian law essentially states that people are entitled to be free from noise in their homes and noise is not allowed to disturb sleep or relaxation inside one's home. “There is immediate redress and those responsible have to reduce the sound. New Zealand doesn’t have anything like that; it’s what keeps us in business.”

ENDS

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