Development of a dental implant bone conduction hearing aid

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K12954
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Rehabilitation science/Welfare engineering
• Research Institution: University of Fukui
• Principal Investigator: MORI Mikio 福井大学, 学術研究院工学系部門, 准教授 (70313731)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 骨伝導 / 補聴器 / 耳内プローブマイク / 歯科インプラント

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We propose an implanted hearing aid that is worn in the crown of a dental implant that operates in accordance with the bone conduction mechanism. We measured the thresholds of bone conduction hearing. Subjective evaluations were performed based on the subject’s hearing thresholds as a method of measurement of the bone conduction sound hearing level during tooth excitation. However, in this approach the subject may experience pain owing to the need to maintain a pressing force on the tooth for a certain period of time. This work demonstrates that there is a correlation between the thresholds of hearing at the time of tooth excitation and the measured results of the in-ear air conduction sound with an in-ear probe microphone. The air conduction sound was generated within the ear by changing the tooth excitation position and was measured with an in-ear probe microphone. Moreover, we examined a method of imaging all the teeth in the oral cavity simultaneously by using a 360° camera.

Free Research Field

音声

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

我が国では高齢化が進み，並行して難聴者もまた毎年増加傾向にある。JapanTrak2018によると，日本における自己申告による難聴者は人口の11.3 %で，補聴器使用者は難聴者の14.4 %と補聴器使用率が非常に低いことが分かる。また，難聴者が補聴器を使用しない理由として，補聴器使用時の聴こえ方以外にも「補聴器を装用することが恥ずかしい」「補聴器の形やデザインがよくない」などの見た目に関する点が指摘されている。このことから，音質だけでなく，見た目の問題点を改善することにより補聴器の使用率を上げることができると考えられる。