Tom Hudson has shared with us his hearing aid concept called, Hear Aid. The objective of this project was to develop a product where children with hearing impairment can wear this aid without having to be afraid of being stigmatized in the areas of their deafness.

Designer : Tom Hudson

Tom explanations about his hearing aid concept:

From my first hand research into hearing loss and working alongside those who are unfortunate to have the disability, I quickly identified that the stigma relating to hearing loss is both real and perceived. It is a key factor in the delay in taking up hearing aids, and makes many people unwilling to tell others about their hearing loss. One element of stigma is the fear that people with hearing loss are seen as less capable with one in three users worried of what people think.

From my research I identified a specific market of children aged between 5-7. The aim of my project was to develop a product that reduced the stigma surrounding hearing loss, enabling children with the disability to become more accepted in society whilst promoting greater independence.

Whilst focusing on developing a design response to meet the particular needs of children with hearing loss, I developed the Hear Aid, a fun and exciting casing for a range of existing pediatric hearing aids. First hand insight into the process of understanding how hearing loss affects children both physically and mentally was crucial to my final product. My product helps in tackling the stigma associated with hearing aids and hearing loss, whilst involving additive manufacture in the process. Additive manufacturing technology offers geometric freedom allowing the Hear Aid to be custom fit to the users ear. Enabling the user to become the co-designer of the products appearance, (within software limitations) allows personal ‘desires’ to be incorporated, resulting in a deeper sense of ownership towards the product.