I suppose somewhere along the industrialization process, we forgot about sustainable production and decided that profits were the bottomline regardless of the huge environmental cost. This has resulted in unprecedented levels of pollution that has adversely affected our ecosystem, no thanks to the proliferation of plastic bags, while disposable products like diapers, eating utensils, paper plates and underwear all contribute to our landfills just because we want to feed the convenience monster within us. Granted, some efforts have been made to make these from recycled material, but most of it ends up polluting our environment even more. Today we have the Songbird flexfit hearing aid that is touted to be “the world’s first disposable hearing aid” to add to the growing list, and was specially designed to be an over-the-counter solution for folks who suffer from moderate hearing loss and require part-time hearing assistance.

This one-model-fits-all design not only caters to a wide range of ear sizes, it is also meant to be packaged at an affordable price point, and all of it is made possible thanks to a clever design featuring a miniature flexible flat cable from Cicoil. Cicoil is a highly flexible, miniature flat cable that runs from the back of the ear to the microspeaker earpiece, and is user-adjustable for ideal length and fit. This silicone-jacketed, high flex flat cable allows for comfortable placement inside the ear, which is where its extreme flexibility comes in. Cicoil’s 2-conductor cable relies on finely-braided copper wire, with base stranding of just 60 AWG, to create the high flexibility required while being strong enough to mechanically hold the earpiece.

No idea on how much these will cost, but they ought to make an appearance in retail stores as well as drugstores in the near future.

Press Release