Knops — The Volume Button for Your Ears

Hi,

I just heard about this product:

Knops - The volume button for your ears...

And I immediately thought it may be interesting for some hyperacusis sufferers.

So I just created a thread to let you know about it.

Not sure how efficient it is though... If anybody has tried, please let us know

 

I really like the idea of being able to change the volume, rather than having to remove earplugs. Often I'm in environments where the volume fluctuates, like at church where it can be loud during songs then quiet during the sermon. Or volunteering at my kids' school where they might be reading quietly for a few minutes then loudly talking. I feel like in those situations, taking plugs in and out irritates my ears.

Where are these sold?

 

Contrary to what I initially thought, apparently it is still in development phase and the product can be ordered via their Kickstarter campaign:


(Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform for creative projects)

The "Knops" will be available in November, apparently.

 

I think it's a good idea Julien and something I would have considered using when I first had hyperacusis 20 years ago.

 

This looks interesting and kind of better than Hear One that only has like 2h battery life.

 

I think they are available now.

 

Wow, that is an amazing invention!

 

I tried contacting them and got directed to Indiegogo who were unable to help me

Anyone have any ideas?

 

Google is your friend...

https://knops.co

 

Thank you

 

No problem... Although I'm a lot more curious about these https://www.bose.com/en_us/better_with_bose/better_sleep.html. Dedicated wireless noise cancelation with a multitude of different white and soothing noises, practically tailor made for T sufferers.

 

Interesting. I wonder if Bose would ever consider entering the hearing aid market. If anyone could create a high quality hearing aid that allows better hearing yet blocks harmful external volume levels, it’s definitely Bose. Or even just the ability to switch device functionality between hearing aid and noise canceling.

 

I'm sure they could develop something like that, their engineers are top notch, nobody does NC better than Bose. Now if only they could cancel out the ringing in my ears...

 

Hmmm... all modern hearing aids (should) have a compressor or output-limiting device that automatically reduces the volume of loud sounds once they exceed a certain level. Hearing aids have done this at least since the 1970s. In addition, most hearing aids have directional microphones and the facility to switch to some kind of noise cancelling

 

Really? The hearing aids that I looked at did not have active noise canceling functionality. Do you mean passive canceling, as in the aid blocks the ear canal similar to an ear plug? Receiver in canal hearing aids do not do that, since sounds can still enter without going through the device.

Here’s an article from a longtime hearing aid user, asking why hearing aids do not have active noise canceling abilities: https://www.google.com/amp/s/living...hat-if-hearing-aids-were-noise-canceling/amp/

I want the same as her. I want a hearing aid that delivers the same quality noise canceling as my Bose headphones. Aids that can NC at a movie theater or on an airplane.

What brand of hearing aid can switch between hearing and noise canceling? I did find a few options, but all are new (within the past 10 years) and touted as new technology.

And at what dB level are hearing aids limiting? Everyone I know with aids complains some sounds are too loud, so clearly none of their aids are blocking all loud noises. Hearing aids use output limiting to ensure the sound they provide is not too loud, that does not mean they protect from loud external sounds. A fire alarm with a hearing aid is not going to be as quiet as a fire alarm with earplugs.

 

Ah...perhaps I should have reworded noise cancelling to noise reduction.

There is a problem with hearing aids that noise reduction (whether passive or active) can reduce speech intelligility in noise under some circumstances.

Hearing aids have used compression since the late 1970s to "cushion" the effects of loud sounds but clearly the definition of "loud" is very subjective

Digital hearing aids can be manipulated (in software) to provide all kinds of output limiting

From my (limited) understanding of noise cancellation headphones, battery power can be excessive which might be a problem in hearing aids. Also, hearing aids are not worn completely over the ear which means that noise etc can still enter the ear directly without being processed by the hearing aid

 

Correct. Hearing aids can reduce input but they are not noise canceling. Those are two different things.

Hearing aids notoriously have awful disposable battery lives. Far worse than my Bose NC headphones, but I am not using them all day. Again, I think if anyone can improve the battery life of hearing aids, it’s Bose.

Some hearing aids are worn in the ear, some are not. Some aids are actually inserted deep in the ear canal by an audiologist and removed once (or twice a year) to have the battery changed.

I feel like the technology I want is there, but not in one product. Maybe it’s just a matter of the right companies coming together to make it happen.

If hearing aids actually offered quality active noise canceling, I think we would see an increase in hyperacusis sufferers using them.

 

Yeh I get that and the main rationale for hearing aids is to improve speech intelligibility in noise. They have come a long way since the 1970s but still have a long way to go. And try fitting hearing aids to those with hearing loss and recruitment or slight hearing loss and hyperacusis