A high-end hearing aid ecosystem aimed at low-income and rural population

Hearing impairment is the most frequent sensory deficit in human populations, affecting more than 5% of the world's population. The majority of these people are in low- and middle-income countries [1]. In India the number of people with hearing impairment aggregates to about 6.3% of the population. Hence there is a tremendous requirement of hearing aids to cater to this need. However most of the high-end hearing aids available in the market are of high cost targeted for the rich class. Taking these facts into account, Govt. of India has funded a project for the development of feature rich hearing aids which are affordable and also highly suitable for mass deployment through various Govt. schemes. This paper provides details of the high-end hearing aid ecosystem which is extremely suitable for low-income and rural population.