Just nod if you can hear me…

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I’ve had a few people send me this link to a post on Gizmodo.

500x_project04_page01_687

The original can be found on Design Affairs.

Being hard of hearing myself, I love the idea of this concept where function and fashion meet. A hearing aid built into a tunnel or a plug is really cool idea (in my not-so-humble opinion). It would be great to see this concept become reality. Reading some of the comments though, I think a lot of people fail to realize how many young (and not quite as young as we used to be) are hard of hearing or deaf and interested in body modification. Sure, we’re probably a fringe market but a girl can dream, can’t she?

135 thoughts on “Just nod if you can hear me…”

  7. This is a great idea! My ears are huge and I would have never thought that you could install a hearing aid into a plug. I am almost deaf in my left ear and I don’t wear my hearing aid to work (especially if my hair is up) because I’m a little embarrassed by it. A lot of people point it out (even though it’s really none of their business), and sometimes I feel like the quality of my work is judged because of my disability. I will happily be the first in line to purchase this device. 🙂

  8. This is a great idea! My ears are huge and I would have never thought that you could install a hearing aid into a plug. I am almost deaf in my left ear and I don’t wear my hearing aid to work (especially if my hair is up) because I’m a little embarrassed by it. A lot of people point it out (even though it’s really none of their business), and sometimes I feel like the quality of my work is judged because of my disability. I will happily be the first in line to purchase this device. 🙂

  9. This is a great idea! My ears are huge and I would have never thought that you could install a hearing aid into a plug. I am almost deaf in my left ear and I don’t wear my hearing aid to work (especially if my hair is up) because I’m a little embarrassed by it. A lot of people point it out (even though it’s really none of their business), and sometimes I feel like the quality of my work is judged because of my disability. I will happily be the first in line to purchase this device. 🙂

  16. I have actually had people come up to me and ask if my lobe plugs are some new kind of hearing aids. They’re not, but maybe they should be.

  17. I have actually had people come up to me and ask if my lobe plugs are some new kind of hearing aids. They’re not, but maybe they should be.

  18. I have actually had people come up to me and ask if my lobe plugs are some new kind of hearing aids. They’re not, but maybe they should be.

  22. this is awesome! hahah Im about 80% deff in my right ear! and ive never wore a hearing air or anything or the sort! this id rock 😛

  23. this is awesome! hahah Im about 80% deff in my right ear! and ive never wore a hearing air or anything or the sort! this id rock 😛

  24. this is awesome! hahah Im about 80% deff in my right ear! and ive never wore a hearing air or anything or the sort! this id rock 😛

  28. I am hard of hearing and while these are creative, I don’t think I could bring myself to wear these. The only reason I say that is because I have an awesome plug collection that I would end up losing and the fact that I have been wearing hearing aids since I was a toddler so I am very used to wearing my hearing aids.

  29. I am hard of hearing and while these are creative, I don’t think I could bring myself to wear these. The only reason I say that is because I have an awesome plug collection that I would end up losing and the fact that I have been wearing hearing aids since I was a toddler so I am very used to wearing my hearing aids.

  30. I am hard of hearing and while these are creative, I don’t think I could bring myself to wear these. The only reason I say that is because I have an awesome plug collection that I would end up losing and the fact that I have been wearing hearing aids since I was a toddler so I am very used to wearing my hearing aids.

  31. This is a great idea. I am not hard of hearing myself but have freinds who are who are very self aware when wearing a hearing aid. I think, judging from the comments on this webite this came off, most people just dont “get it”. They are all like, “oh no thanks, dont stretch my ears just so I can have a hearing aid, they make me sick”. Seriously, I hate that people are so judgemental, that the whole reason this got invented in the first place.

  32. This is a great idea. I am not hard of hearing myself but have freinds who are who are very self aware when wearing a hearing aid. I think, judging from the comments on this webite this came off, most people just dont “get it”. They are all like, “oh no thanks, dont stretch my ears just so I can have a hearing aid, they make me sick”. Seriously, I hate that people are so judgemental, that the whole reason this got invented in the first place.

  33. This is a great idea. I am not hard of hearing myself but have freinds who are who are very self aware when wearing a hearing aid. I think, judging from the comments on this webite this came off, most people just dont “get it”. They are all like, “oh no thanks, dont stretch my ears just so I can have a hearing aid, they make me sick”. Seriously, I hate that people are so judgemental, that the whole reason this got invented in the first place.

  34. Oh, yes please! I’d go for those! I have hearing loss in both ears and those would rock. Plus, my lobes are already sorta stretched, so yaaay!

  35. Oh, yes please! I’d go for those! I have hearing loss in both ears and those would rock. Plus, my lobes are already sorta stretched, so yaaay!

  36. Oh, yes please! I’d go for those! I have hearing loss in both ears and those would rock. Plus, my lobes are already sorta stretched, so yaaay!

  37. a hearing aid plug, combined with a conch piercing to feed the wire threw the back of the year=truly invisible hearing aid.

    why not take this a step further, and build an MP3 player into a plug? the iPlug?!

  38. a hearing aid plug, combined with a conch piercing to feed the wire threw the back of the year=truly invisible hearing aid.

    why not take this a step further, and build an MP3 player into a plug? the iPlug?!

  39. a hearing aid plug, combined with a conch piercing to feed the wire threw the back of the year=truly invisible hearing aid.

    why not take this a step further, and build an MP3 player into a plug? the iPlug?!

  49. You could even make it into a bluetooth hands free cell phone thing, and it would become the first one that doesn’t make you look like a tool when you’re wearing it.

  50. You could even make it into a bluetooth hands free cell phone thing, and it would become the first one that doesn’t make you look like a tool when you’re wearing it.

  51. You could even make it into a bluetooth hands free cell phone thing, and it would become the first one that doesn’t make you look like a tool when you’re wearing it.

  58. I’m almost totally deaf in my right ear, and I HATE my current hearing aid. I would probably pay just about whatever they asked for these.

  59. I’m almost totally deaf in my right ear, and I HATE my current hearing aid. I would probably pay just about whatever they asked for these.

  60. I’m almost totally deaf in my right ear, and I HATE my current hearing aid. I would probably pay just about whatever they asked for these.

  61. A pair of cheap hearing aids are ~850 U$D… A hearing aid plug will certainly be a lot more. That’s an expensive waste if you ever stretch again. Not to mention I can only imagine how distorted the sound will be after it’s amplified by the tunnel. Confused how people “see” a huge market for these. Where’s the hairing aid? The hearing aid that can only be worn by people with hair 3 feet long, or longer.

  62. A pair of cheap hearing aids are ~850 U$D… A hearing aid plug will certainly be a lot more. That’s an expensive waste if you ever stretch again. Not to mention I can only imagine how distorted the sound will be after it’s amplified by the tunnel. Confused how people “see” a huge market for these. Where’s the hairing aid? The hearing aid that can only be worn by people with hair 3 feet long, or longer.

  63. A pair of cheap hearing aids are ~850 U$D… A hearing aid plug will certainly be a lot more. That’s an expensive waste if you ever stretch again. Not to mention I can only imagine how distorted the sound will be after it’s amplified by the tunnel. Confused how people “see” a huge market for these. Where’s the hairing aid? The hearing aid that can only be worn by people with hair 3 feet long, or longer.

  64. this is a totally amazing idea!
    and you may say that it’s a “fringe market” but I’d be more apt to think of it as a market with huge growth potential. Yes, those interested in body mods that are also hard of hearing may be a smaller group NOW, but give it 20, 30, 40 years? Although quite common in young people, it is more common with age to be hearing impaired, so the growth is also definitely there.
    I’m not hearing impaired, but if I were, I’d totally rock these 🙂

  65. this is a totally amazing idea!
    and you may say that it’s a “fringe market” but I’d be more apt to think of it as a market with huge growth potential. Yes, those interested in body mods that are also hard of hearing may be a smaller group NOW, but give it 20, 30, 40 years? Although quite common in young people, it is more common with age to be hearing impaired, so the growth is also definitely there.
    I’m not hearing impaired, but if I were, I’d totally rock these 🙂

  66. this is a totally amazing idea!
    and you may say that it’s a “fringe market” but I’d be more apt to think of it as a market with huge growth potential. Yes, those interested in body mods that are also hard of hearing may be a smaller group NOW, but give it 20, 30, 40 years? Although quite common in young people, it is more common with age to be hearing impaired, so the growth is also definitely there.
    I’m not hearing impaired, but if I were, I’d totally rock these 🙂

  70. Wow! This is one of the coolest things I’ve seen on Modblog in a long time.

    Yeah, I’d rather not be deaf though.

  71. Wow! This is one of the coolest things I’ve seen on Modblog in a long time.

    Yeah, I’d rather not be deaf though.

  72. Wow! This is one of the coolest things I’ve seen on Modblog in a long time.

    Yeah, I’d rather not be deaf though.

  73. That would be a cool idea for a headset too. But this isn’t the first thing ive seen in plug form.

  74. That would be a cool idea for a headset too. But this isn’t the first thing ive seen in plug form.

  75. That would be a cool idea for a headset too. But this isn’t the first thing ive seen in plug form.

  76. Seriously; I would love to see this attached to an extremely light-weight MP3 player; yes cleaning it would become an absolute bitch – but still, fucking amazing.

  77. Seriously; I would love to see this attached to an extremely light-weight MP3 player; yes cleaning it would become an absolute bitch – but still, fucking amazing.

  78. Seriously; I would love to see this attached to an extremely light-weight MP3 player; yes cleaning it would become an absolute bitch – but still, fucking amazing.

  79. I lost quite a bit of hearing in one of my ears… I think this is an absolutely brilliant idea! I know that my hearing will only get worse as time goes on, and this would be an amazing option to have 🙂

  80. I lost quite a bit of hearing in one of my ears… I think this is an absolutely brilliant idea! I know that my hearing will only get worse as time goes on, and this would be an amazing option to have 🙂

  81. I lost quite a bit of hearing in one of my ears… I think this is an absolutely brilliant idea! I know that my hearing will only get worse as time goes on, and this would be an amazing option to have 🙂

  94. I am extremely hard of hearing and have been wearing aids since I was six years old. I was so excited when I read this because not only am I the only person I know with hearing aids and large stretched lobes. I am the only person I know with hearing aids, period. It’s great to see there’s more people like me out there. I am not at all self-conscious about my hearing aids but this just amuses me as a concept.

  95. I am extremely hard of hearing and have been wearing aids since I was six years old. I was so excited when I read this because not only am I the only person I know with hearing aids and large stretched lobes. I am the only person I know with hearing aids, period. It’s great to see there’s more people like me out there. I am not at all self-conscious about my hearing aids but this just amuses me as a concept.

  96. I am extremely hard of hearing and have been wearing aids since I was six years old. I was so excited when I read this because not only am I the only person I know with hearing aids and large stretched lobes. I am the only person I know with hearing aids, period. It’s great to see there’s more people like me out there. I am not at all self-conscious about my hearing aids but this just amuses me as a concept.

  97. i have been hard of hearing since birth, perry u are not the only one as well, and now being deaf or hard of hearing have become less and less noticeable to groups of people. hearing aids have in there ways adapted more helping individuals hear almost perfect hearing, this is a kind of joke to individuals with disabilities, now i am afraid some people are going to be idiots and start asking me, if these plugs are hearing aids. i wear plugs as a determined attraction to gear people away from my old over the ear hearing aids. now i wear half canal 1400$ hearing aids were people don’t even recognize i am deaf at all. i do at some times get the odd questions like ” when i wind is blowing do hear a whistling noise, or do they pick up radio wave signals, and do they help u hear.

  98. i have been hard of hearing since birth, perry u are not the only one as well, and now being deaf or hard of hearing have become less and less noticeable to groups of people. hearing aids have in there ways adapted more helping individuals hear almost perfect hearing, this is a kind of joke to individuals with disabilities, now i am afraid some people are going to be idiots and start asking me, if these plugs are hearing aids. i wear plugs as a determined attraction to gear people away from my old over the ear hearing aids. now i wear half canal 1400$ hearing aids were people don’t even recognize i am deaf at all. i do at some times get the odd questions like ” when i wind is blowing do hear a whistling noise, or do they pick up radio wave signals, and do they help u hear.

  99. i have been hard of hearing since birth, perry u are not the only one as well, and now being deaf or hard of hearing have become less and less noticeable to groups of people. hearing aids have in there ways adapted more helping individuals hear almost perfect hearing, this is a kind of joke to individuals with disabilities, now i am afraid some people are going to be idiots and start asking me, if these plugs are hearing aids. i wear plugs as a determined attraction to gear people away from my old over the ear hearing aids. now i wear half canal 1400$ hearing aids were people don’t even recognize i am deaf at all. i do at some times get the odd questions like ” when i wind is blowing do hear a whistling noise, or do they pick up radio wave signals, and do they help u hear.

  100. @trip people already do that to me, ask if my plugs are part of my hearing aids. But usually when I wear my rose quartz stone plugs and not the others. I always would laugh about it and be like yeah right there will never be a hearing aid that is a plug, but it looks like I have been proved wrong.

  101. @trip people already do that to me, ask if my plugs are part of my hearing aids. But usually when I wear my rose quartz stone plugs and not the others. I always would laugh about it and be like yeah right there will never be a hearing aid that is a plug, but it looks like I have been proved wrong.

  102. @trip people already do that to me, ask if my plugs are part of my hearing aids. But usually when I wear my rose quartz stone plugs and not the others. I always would laugh about it and be like yeah right there will never be a hearing aid that is a plug, but it looks like I have been proved wrong.

  103. ms. mister im some what astonished to what people are coming out with in this age of technology anything is possible you know. this hearing aid is a duplicate to the over the ear extension with the tube entering all the way into the ear with no ear mould. its just the upside down version.

  104. ms. mister im some what astonished to what people are coming out with in this age of technology anything is possible you know. this hearing aid is a duplicate to the over the ear extension with the tube entering all the way into the ear with no ear mould. its just the upside down version.

  105. ms. mister im some what astonished to what people are coming out with in this age of technology anything is possible you know. this hearing aid is a duplicate to the over the ear extension with the tube entering all the way into the ear with no ear mould. its just the upside down version.

  109. This is so cool, I’m a major in deaf studies and am working to become an interpreter. I have a slight hearing lose, not to the point of needing aids, but this it right up my alley!! Awesome find Jen!

  110. This is so cool, I’m a major in deaf studies and am working to become an interpreter. I have a slight hearing lose, not to the point of needing aids, but this it right up my alley!! Awesome find Jen!

  111. This is so cool, I’m a major in deaf studies and am working to become an interpreter. I have a slight hearing lose, not to the point of needing aids, but this it right up my alley!! Awesome find Jen!

  112. I would LOVE to have something like that. I’ve had hearing loss my entire loss but I’ve never worn hearing aids mostly because of aesthetics. These, however, would be AMAZING.

  113. I would LOVE to have something like that. I’ve had hearing loss my entire loss but I’ve never worn hearing aids mostly because of aesthetics. These, however, would be AMAZING.

  114. I would LOVE to have something like that. I’ve had hearing loss my entire loss but I’ve never worn hearing aids mostly because of aesthetics. These, however, would be AMAZING.

  115. Nice idea… but it doesn’t really seem viable. this would only work for something with slight/possibly moderate hearing loss, where they would normally be wearing CIC’s (completely in the canal) aids anyway. Something that needs more amplification for high hearing loss (like a BTE – behind the ear hearing aid), probably wouldn’t work as well. of course there’s been more technology since i worked with hearing aids, so there’s options like open ear – open canal hearing aids. but still. theory it sounds like a good idea and there’s obviously some sort of a market for it, but at the same time, i don’t know how it would work for people who aren’t wearing hearing aids now because of aesthetics. I mean, a CIC is much more invisible than the hearing aid plug/tunnel anyways. and you’d still have a tube going from the canal to the tunnel or plug, which people would probably see.

  116. Nice idea… but it doesn’t really seem viable. this would only work for something with slight/possibly moderate hearing loss, where they would normally be wearing CIC’s (completely in the canal) aids anyway. Something that needs more amplification for high hearing loss (like a BTE – behind the ear hearing aid), probably wouldn’t work as well. of course there’s been more technology since i worked with hearing aids, so there’s options like open ear – open canal hearing aids. but still. theory it sounds like a good idea and there’s obviously some sort of a market for it, but at the same time, i don’t know how it would work for people who aren’t wearing hearing aids now because of aesthetics. I mean, a CIC is much more invisible than the hearing aid plug/tunnel anyways. and you’d still have a tube going from the canal to the tunnel or plug, which people would probably see.

  117. Nice idea… but it doesn’t really seem viable. this would only work for something with slight/possibly moderate hearing loss, where they would normally be wearing CIC’s (completely in the canal) aids anyway. Something that needs more amplification for high hearing loss (like a BTE – behind the ear hearing aid), probably wouldn’t work as well. of course there’s been more technology since i worked with hearing aids, so there’s options like open ear – open canal hearing aids. but still. theory it sounds like a good idea and there’s obviously some sort of a market for it, but at the same time, i don’t know how it would work for people who aren’t wearing hearing aids now because of aesthetics. I mean, a CIC is much more invisible than the hearing aid plug/tunnel anyways. and you’d still have a tube going from the canal to the tunnel or plug, which people would probably see.

  121. This is one of the very best i have seen at B M E, and has to become a reality,there are plenty of people that need soemthing like this, i can also see an open window for more products like this one

  122. This is one of the very best i have seen at B M E, and has to become a reality,there are plenty of people that need soemthing like this, i can also see an open window for more products like this one

  123. This is one of the very best i have seen at B M E, and has to become a reality,there are plenty of people that need soemthing like this, i can also see an open window for more products like this one

  124. “Reading some of the comments though, I think a lot of people fail to realize how many young (and not quite as young as we used to be) are hard of hearing or deaf and interested in body modification.”

    This is true. I’m studying sign language interpreting and there’s a huge deaf/Deaf community here. Like any school environment, there’s a larger-than-normal percentage of modified people roaming around. But I have to be honest, I don’t think there’s a market for this. I go to a school with an abnormally high percentage of deaf/hoh students. Still, only about 1200 students out of 15,000 are deaf/hoh. Of that, an even smaller number use hearing aids. Students involved in Deaf Culture, which here is probably much higher than normally found, tend not to wear hearing aids and communicate with ASL, and some lip reading (but even that is increasingly frowned upon). Students who are not as strongly Deaf and who are viable candidates get Cochlear Implants in HUGE numbers. That leaves a very, very small percentage of students using standard, external hearing aids that would also be interested in gauging their ears. And this community is way, way more concentrated in deaf/hoh hearing individuals than a normal town or city, so I think you’d be looking at an even smaller wide-scale market than we would represent.

    Anyway, it’s an interesting idea. I certainly know a few people who would be interested, but said they would never conceivably be able to get them — they certainly wouldn’t be covered by insurance and they’d need two 🙂

  125. “Reading some of the comments though, I think a lot of people fail to realize how many young (and not quite as young as we used to be) are hard of hearing or deaf and interested in body modification.”

    This is true. I’m studying sign language interpreting and there’s a huge deaf/Deaf community here. Like any school environment, there’s a larger-than-normal percentage of modified people roaming around. But I have to be honest, I don’t think there’s a market for this. I go to a school with an abnormally high percentage of deaf/hoh students. Still, only about 1200 students out of 15,000 are deaf/hoh. Of that, an even smaller number use hearing aids. Students involved in Deaf Culture, which here is probably much higher than normally found, tend not to wear hearing aids and communicate with ASL, and some lip reading (but even that is increasingly frowned upon). Students who are not as strongly Deaf and who are viable candidates get Cochlear Implants in HUGE numbers. That leaves a very, very small percentage of students using standard, external hearing aids that would also be interested in gauging their ears. And this community is way, way more concentrated in deaf/hoh hearing individuals than a normal town or city, so I think you’d be looking at an even smaller wide-scale market than we would represent.

    Anyway, it’s an interesting idea. I certainly know a few people who would be interested, but said they would never conceivably be able to get them — they certainly wouldn’t be covered by insurance and they’d need two 🙂

  126. “Reading some of the comments though, I think a lot of people fail to realize how many young (and not quite as young as we used to be) are hard of hearing or deaf and interested in body modification.”

    This is true. I’m studying sign language interpreting and there’s a huge deaf/Deaf community here. Like any school environment, there’s a larger-than-normal percentage of modified people roaming around. But I have to be honest, I don’t think there’s a market for this. I go to a school with an abnormally high percentage of deaf/hoh students. Still, only about 1200 students out of 15,000 are deaf/hoh. Of that, an even smaller number use hearing aids. Students involved in Deaf Culture, which here is probably much higher than normally found, tend not to wear hearing aids and communicate with ASL, and some lip reading (but even that is increasingly frowned upon). Students who are not as strongly Deaf and who are viable candidates get Cochlear Implants in HUGE numbers. That leaves a very, very small percentage of students using standard, external hearing aids that would also be interested in gauging their ears. And this community is way, way more concentrated in deaf/hoh hearing individuals than a normal town or city, so I think you’d be looking at an even smaller wide-scale market than we would represent.

    Anyway, it’s an interesting idea. I certainly know a few people who would be interested, but said they would never conceivably be able to get them — they certainly wouldn’t be covered by insurance and they’d need two 🙂

  130. nope, are you at RIT? Wait, do they have interpreting there?

    At any rate, here at Gallaudet we have lots of modded people, myself included. Not too many people have heavy mods – I can only think of one or two – but there’s a lot of modded deaf people here. 🙂

  131. nope, are you at RIT? Wait, do they have interpreting there?

    At any rate, here at Gallaudet we have lots of modded people, myself included. Not too many people have heavy mods – I can only think of one or two – but there’s a lot of modded deaf people here. 🙂

  132. nope, are you at RIT? Wait, do they have interpreting there?

    At any rate, here at Gallaudet we have lots of modded people, myself included. Not too many people have heavy mods – I can only think of one or two – but there’s a lot of modded deaf people here. 🙂

  133. this is really cool i have two good friends who are very close to being deaf. one of which needs to wear a hearing aid 24hrs or she cant hear a thing. both are teenagers and this would be much cooler then a traditional hearing aid.

  134. this is really cool i have two good friends who are very close to being deaf. one of which needs to wear a hearing aid 24hrs or she cant hear a thing. both are teenagers and this would be much cooler then a traditional hearing aid.

  135. this is really cool i have two good friends who are very close to being deaf. one of which needs to wear a hearing aid 24hrs or she cant hear a thing. both are teenagers and this would be much cooler then a traditional hearing aid.

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