Indian bio-engineer Saad Bahmla has engineered a compact, high-performance hearing aid that costs under $1 to produce, assembles in just 25 minutes, and can be built at home—offering life-changing access for millions worldwide.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) in a March 1, 2020, report, 466 million people globally suffer from disabling hearing loss, including 34 million children—a major public health challenge. In 2018, a British designer introduced HeX headphones for the hearing impaired, but high costs limit access, especially in low-income regions.
As detailed in Interesting Engineering on September 24, 2020, Saad Bahmla, now a professor at Georgia Tech, developed the world's cheapest hearing aid, LoCHAid, to equip as many people as possible and dismantle barriers to hearing health.
Raised in Mumbai, Bahmla witnessed his grandparents' hearing struggles during his studies but couldn't afford aids. Fifteen years on, his open-source, DIY design—published in PLoS One on September 23, 2020—makes assembly straightforward and repairable. Mass production costs less than $1; home builds run about $20. Named LoCHAid, it's the most affordable hearing aid available.
Targeting age-related hearing loss, the team simplified amplification for key frequencies. See the demo video at article's end: a tiny circuit with amplifier, frequency filter, volume/on buttons, jack, and lithium-ion battery. Worn as a necklace, it lasts about one year, boosts hearing by 15 decibels while preserving bass tones.
Full schematics are on GitHub for anyone to build. Plans include commercialization: a $7 production model for online sales with packaging.
