Tech Trends NBC Chicago: the focus of this interview is on an innovative hearing amplification system designed by Dr. Sreek Cherukuri from the Chicago area, aimed at individuals who either cannot afford or choose not to use traditional hearing aids.
The system, known as the ClearCast PAL, is introduced as a cost-effective and stigma-free alternative to conventional hearing aids, addressing common barriers such as cost, complexity, and the social stigma associated with hearing loss.
The ClearCast PAL distinguishes itself by being an assistive listening device that users can wear only when needed, such as during family gatherings or while watching TV, enhancing specific sounds directly into the user’s ear through a wireless microphone technology.
Priced at just $399, it offers a more accessible option without sacrificing quality, leveraging a better speech-to-noise ratio to deliver clearer sound.
This development represents a significant advancement in assistive hearing technology, making it easier and more affordable for people with hearing loss to engage in everyday conversations and activities.
Transcript:
Newscaster: Well, this week on Tech Trends, we talked to a Chicago area doctor who has designed a new hearing amplification system. It’s for people who don’t want or can’t afford hearing aids. NBC5’s Charlie Wojciechowski has more.
Charlie: Good morning. A lot of family gatherings coming up this holiday season, and some of our older relatives may not be able to hear things as well as they can.
Well, now we give them a way to tune in. Rather than tune out. Dr. Sreek Cherukuri is here to show us a new device that really makes the whole hearing aid concept and takes and turns it on its ear doesn’t
Dr. Sreek Cherukuri: that’s right. Tell us what you got So everyone’s familiar with hearing aids the reality is hearing aids are now cheaper than ever more available than ever But 80 percent of people with hearing loss still don’t wear them And there’s a variety of reasons for that.
Charlie: Well, there is a stigma attached to having one. They’re hard to manipulate with your hands. So you’ve really designed a device that kind of goes around all of those concerns. Yeah,
Dr. Sreek Cherukuri: the FDA has two categories for hearing assistance. One is hearing aids, but another is called an assistive listening device.
And there has really been no new technology in that space in the last 20 years.
Charlie: Alright, this is your take on it. This is called the ClearCast.
Dr. Sreek Cherukuri: ClearCast device. Personal assisted living listening device, you wear it around your neck like this, and it has a microphone, a volume dial, and when you want to hear something, you put this in your ear, and the key to the whole thing is this, what we call the magic mic.
It’s a wireless microphone. You can place it next to the TV. You’ll hear the TV directly into your ear. You can place it next to a family member or at the center of a dinner table. And you’ll hear that conversation perfectly like it’s going right into
Charlie: your ear. So we’re used to this technology in TV. We call these our wireless microphones and we depend on them really for everything we do.
You’re taking that technology. Making it less expensive and offering it to the public.
Dr. Sreek Cherukuri: now. That’s exactly right. Yeah, so a lot of people, our research showed a lot of people don’t need to wear something all day and evening. And that hearing is often situational. When there’s a family member, when they’re watching TV or at the dinner table.
And so this is like cheaters for your ears. You wear them when you want and easy to take them on and off.
Charlie: And as far as the device goes, it looks like a set of headphones. So it doesn’t really look that different than something you might see any person wearing on the subway
Dr. Sreek Cherukuri: or anywhere else. That’s right.
Yeah, we wanted to design it for simplicity, so it’s easy to put on. There’s just an on off switch, volume up, volume down, and a microphone switch. Cannot be easier
Charlie: and let’s talk a little bit about cost because hearing aids can be ridiculously expensive right.
Dr. Sreek Cherukuri: So there’s now a few categories. There’s prescription hearing aids still on average about forty eight hundred dollars a pair and Then over the counter hearing aids the good ones are sixteen hundred dollars a pair And so this is a FDA registered medical device, but it’s only three hundred ninety nine dollars
Charlie: And do I get the same kind of quality or did you have to make some compromises to get that price down
Dr. Sreek Cherukuri: because the microphone is right next to what you want to hear There’s something called the speech to noise ratio. This delivers a much clearer signal for what you want to hear without the background noise as compared to
Charlie: hearing aids. Excellent. Dr. Cherukuri, where can people find out about this device?
Dr. Sreek Cherukuri: Clearcasthearing. com
Charlie: Excellent.
Doctor, thank you so much. A great idea for the holidays and a great idea to make the whole idea of amplifying people’s voices in situations a lot easier. For Art Dorman, I’m Charlie Vojchehoske, and we’ll see you right back here next time.
Newscaster: Nice option to amplify people’s voices but also to have that off button, too.