Workers manufacturing Solar Ear devices.
Courtesy of www.solarear.com.br
There's no question that the Solar Ear is an incredible innovation. Recently nominated as a Tech Award Laureate, the Solar Ear is a project that makes hearing aid technology affordable to everyone while providing jobs to members of the deaf community.
Created by Howard Weinstein, the Solar Ear is a piece of innovative technology that can help make big changes in millions of people's lives. Right now, 600 million people have a hearing impairment, but only about 8 million have hearing aids. The primary reason is cost.
Hearing aids can run more than $750 per device, with batteries costing around $1 per week, and very few insurance programs will cover the expense. Even if they do, it is often just a small portion, requiring those with hearing loss to dole out hundreds or even thousands of dollars out of pocket. If they can't afford it, they go without sound.
The Solar Ear is a digital hearing aid that can be recharged with solar power. The hearing aid itself is less than $100, and the battery - which lasts 2 to 3 years - is only $1. That means even hard-of-hearing people in disadvantaged areas can finally have access to affordable hearing assistance. When needing a charge, the hearing device and battery can be inserted into a special palm-sized solar charger, ensuring that even people without access to electricity still have access to sound.
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On top of providing the gift of sound to those who might otherwise go without assistance, the Solar Ear project extends help far into the deaf community through employment opportunities. All of the employees working on Solar Ear devices are deaf.
The project is currently in Brazil, Botswana, West Bank Palestine, and will expand to Mexico, China, India, Canada during 2010.
And in a step that makes the project even more humanitarian, the technology is not patented - it is available for free so that the Solar Ear has a chance to reach more people who need it.
The Solar Ear project creates a sustainable, replicable business venture, providing an affordable (yet priceless) product to those who need it, and improves the lives of both hard of hearing and deaf people. Now that is music to our ears.
