Design of an alarm system for the hearing impaired
Approximately 15% of the Swedish population suffers from hearing disorder and it is estimated that 6% uses hearing aids. The only treatment that exists for most hearing disorders are hearing aids, which exist in different sizes and shapes depending on the lifestyle the user has and how severe the hearing disorder is.
But, although a hearing aid does improve the hearing, it can never replace a normal hearing.
Therefore, for people who suffers from severe hearing disorder or deafness also uses assistive help devices to cope with everyday life.
There are several different types of hearing assistance devices that make life easier for the hearing impaired, such as vibrating alarm clocks, external microphones, audio streaming to TVs and more. But what does the satisfaction from users look like for these products and are there gaps in the market that needs to be filled?
This master thesis was about understanding and identifying problems and needs that people with hearing disorder have. This was done by doing market analysis, interviews and surveys with end-users, hearing technicians and audiologist. The results were later used as a guideline to design a concept that solved the issue.