Hyderabad: HearNU hearing device from WeHear, a startup supported by the Government of India was launched for the first time in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on Friday at Helen Keller’s Institute of Research & Rehabilitation for the Disabled Children (HKIRRDC), R K Puram, Secunderabad.
Global speech and hearing Clinic’s chief Audiologist Dr N M S Reddy and Shreem Innovations director Adesh Agarwal jointly launched the HearNU device on Friday.
Speaking at the product launch, Dr S Reddy said, “The award-winning patented product, HearNU, is the world’s first non-surgical solution for hearing impaired individuals with conductive hearing loss, working on Bone Conduction Technology”.
He said, “This is priced low for it to be accessible to the common man”.
On the occasion, free HearNU aids were presented to select hearing-impaired children from the institute.
The device’s microphone has a 20 feet range for hearing sounds like car horns and 5 feet range for human conversations. HearNU also has Bluetooth connectivity features to connect to devices like laptops, TV, mobile, etc.
It has a rechargeable battery with a C-Type charging slot. HearNU is compliant with high international standards like ISO, CE, and ROHS, said a press release.
As part of an initiative with the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan of the Government of Gujarat, over 2533 kids have been tested with the HearNU device. The device has been found to be useful for 2249 kids.
The HearNU device garnered appreciation from the Former president of India, Ram Nath Kovind and chief minister of Gujarat Bhupendra Patel, and received awards like GUSEC 2018, 2019 Awards, Social Impact creator Award at the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Speaking at the event HKIRRDC founder and chairman Ummar Khan said, “This hearing aid will be helpful to several people, particularly those who can’t hear through conventional hearing aids”.
He appreciated WeHear for introducing the hearing aid for low cost and was hopeful that HearNU will benefit several children in the country.
“It helps hearing impaired children to get the best education, enables them to be integrated into the normal school, explore opportunities of higher education and get better job placements and lead a normal life,” he said.
Dr. Nagender Kankipati said that HearNU is a great innovation in the hearing aid space. “This Made in India product has tremendous potential to become popular abroad and we should be proud of it,” he said.
“Bone conduction relies on sound transmission through vibrations on the skull bones and jaw through temporomandibular joint bypasses the outer ear and middle ear, while transmitting the sound directly to the inner ear, thus enabling the hearing impaired to hear sounds around,” said Dr S Reddy briefing about the product.
He said, “It helps patients with physical ear damage, issues with inner ears, conductive hearing loss due to issues with eardrum, ear canal, outer and middle ear issues, to hear sounds”.