Ruined your hearing with too much loud music? Take a peek into the future with Wirear, a fashion-conscious hearing-aid concept by Australian student designer Sun Kyung Sunwoo. She noticed a number of problems with current hearing aids, and attempts to overcome those faults while designing a hearing aid that looks more like a piece of jewelry than a techno-device.

First, she's improved the sound quality by locating the microphone in front of the ear, using the sound-gathering shape of the folds of the ear to achieve the most natural sound fidelity. The speaker is placed within the ear canal, also improving the sound while reducing echo. As a result, this design has the benefits of both in-the-ear and behind-the-ear hearing aid designs, as well as reduced feedback.

How did she solve other hearing aid design problems? See a diagram on the next page.

Sunwoo also solves the problem of short battery life, designing the unit to be powered by a micro fuel cell that uses hydrogen from hydrocarbon fuel. Even though this fuel-cell technology isn't quite ready yet, there will soon be a fuel cell that will be up to the task, with an estimated life of six years rather than the three weeks of a conventional zinc battery.

Finally, the unit is built around a flexible wire that makes its shape completely customizable. It's a beautiful concept, innovative enough to make the shortlist of the Australian Design Awards. — Charlie White

MedGadget, via Australian Design Awards