hearing aids

The Sydney Morning Herald reports today on an Aussie man who traveled all the way to Beverly Hills to receive bone-anchored hearing aids, which are implanted behind the ear and use conductive technology to transmit sound more effectively than regular in-ear aids. But here's the real bonus--these let you plug in your MP3 player or cellphone directly via a standard headphone jack.

If R. Kelly went deaf, he'd surely want one of these. Numerous blogs are buzzing about a new gold-plated, diamond-encrusted hearing aid and wireless remote from Widex that's available for $50,000.

Lately the trend has been to design hearing aids that are as subtle and unobtrusive as possible. Most people don't want to advertise their disability. But this one shouts, Yes, I've lost some hearing, but I've still got money. We haven't had any luck getting in touch with the Widex folks yet to find out whether this is a real product or a clever illustration, but we'll let you know soon.—Gregory Mone