The inability of the elderly to hear not only brings communication difficulties, but more importantly, it will have a series of effects on brain structure and function, leading to depression, dementia and other diseases! On August 1, uOrigin, the industry's first medical-grade hearing aid product suitable for Chinese language habits, independently developed by United Imaging Microelectronics, was unveiled. Due to the shortage of professional hearing services and talents, United Imaging Microelectronics will set up the "United Imaging Hearing Education Fund" at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine to support the Department of Hearing and Speech Rehabilitation of the School of Medicine and Technology of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine to set up student scholarships, discipline construction, and talent training.
The number of young and middle-aged people with hearing loss is growing explosively
Wu Hao, President of the Ninth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Director of the Institute of Otology of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, and Director of the Department of Otolaryngology of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, introduced.
The number of people with hearing impairment in China and around the world is huge. According to a report released by the World Health Organization in 2021, the number of people with hearing impairment in the world reached 1.5 billion, and it is expected to reach 2.5 billion by 2030. "One of the most important groups is the 'young and the old'. 3 out of every 1,000 newborns have hearing impairment, which can affect speech and may even become deaf and dumb children. The incidence of 'old' people is higher, the proportion of hearing loss in the elderly over 60 years old is 75%, a quarter of which is more severe hearing impairment, and more than 90% of the elderly over 80 years old cannot hear clearly. ”
He emphasized, "Today, we are living longer and longer, and hearing impairment is becoming more and more prominent as a major social problem in modern society and aging society. ”
Xie Xiaofeng, deputy director of the Department of Otolaryngology at Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, said that the ENT clinic faces a large number of hearing health needs, and one group that is easily forgotten is young and middle-aged. The problem of hearing loss in this group has increased explosively in recent years, and the incidence of sudden deafness is high. "They face more social interactions, including companies, families, etc., and have more stigma than the elderly, and many of them are silently suffering from the difficulties brought about by hearing loss."
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Source innovation and transformation, standard formulation
However, in China, awareness of hearing aids for hearing protection is far from widespread. "There are more than 120 million elderly people with hearing loss in mainland China, and the interval between the discovery of hearing impairment and the wearing of hearing devices can be as long as 10 years, and 95% of them do not choose to wear hearing aids." Yu Yeheng, senior vice president of United Imaging, said that the penetration rate of hearing aids in China is only 5%, compared with 40% in developed countries in Europe and the United States.
The development of China's hearing aid industry is also far behind that of developed countries in Europe and the United States. More than 90% of the market share of hearing aids in mainland China is occupied by imported brands, and domestic brands account for less than 10%, mainly distributed in the low-end market, and 100% of the high-end medical-grade hearing aid market is imported brands.
This is partly due to the lack of public awareness of hearing health, and many patients and their families are unaware that hearing loss requires immediate intervention, and even have a stigma about wearing hearing aids. On the other hand, there are still some pain points on the current industry product and technology side, such as the level of noise reduction needs to be improved, the acoustic noise suppression is still defective, and the closed-loop rehabilitation is not yet mature. Wang Fa, President of United Imaging Microelectronics Hearing Aid Division, explained: "The hard-core technology behind the hearing of United Imaging Microelectronics without being disturbed by noise is the most critical and the technical barrier is the highest. ”
The lack of professional talents and the lack of professional hearing diagnosis, fitting and rehabilitation have led to the emergence of a large number of "hearing drawers". There is a 3-6 month rehabilitation period after the hearing aid is bought, and if there is no professional rehabilitation concept and mechanism in this process, such as professional consultation, fitting, consultation, rehabilitation guidance, etc., the patient's wearing compliance will be very low, and the rehabilitation effect will be very poor.
Relying on United Imaging Group's technology accumulation in the fields of system research and development, chip research and development, artificial intelligence and other fields in the past 13 years, United Imaging Microelectronics officially released the industry's first medical-grade hearing aid product suitable for Chinese people's language habits in April this year, uOrigin, which is equipped with self-developed customized chips and innovative algorithms. The United Imaging Hearing Health Management Center launched this time is also the first national flagship store built by United Imaging Microelectronics.
Xue Min, Chairman of United Imaging Group, said:
"At present, Shanghai is implementing a new round of policy measures to support the innovation and development of the whole chain of the biomedical industry. Xue Min said: "Thanks to the professional guidance and support given by experts in the clinical validation of United Imaging hearing aid development, the product has been able to accelerate its iteration. In the future, we hope to work with industry associations, clinical experts, audiology experts, university scholars, etc. to do the demonstration and application of domestic high-end medical equipment and health management facilities, source innovation and transformation, standard formulation, interdisciplinary innovation, talent training, health education, etc., to promote the development of the industry. ”
Wu Hao said:
"A very important problem facing the hearing health industry in mainland China is the lack of talent, especially the audiologist team. The audiology major of SJTU cultivates future leaders in audiology, and the establishment of this education fund will greatly promote the professional development. ”