York firm is leading way in audio aids

WHEN it comes to designing audio equipment for people with hearing problems, who better than a man who is himself severely hearing impaired?

Michael Holdsworth knows all about the problems and frustrations of those who have difficulty hearing. The former GEC electronics design engineer's mum and elder brother were both severely deaf, and he himself has suffered progressive hearing loss since he was in his 20s.

So when he decided back in the mid-1980s that the range of audio aids available to help those with hearing difficulties was inadequate, he decided to put his own electronics expertise to good use.

The result is Ferrosound, a company based at Stockton-on-the-Forest that has been designing a string of specialised audio aids for just about every need or situation since 1989.

The gadgets he has designed range from vibrating fish alarms for keen anglers who are hard of hearing, to "silent headphones" that allow hearing-impaired teenagers to listen to their favourite music in full stereo surround. There's even a cuddly toy that when hugged by a three-year-old child will magic their favourite music and stories right into the head - provided they are wearing their hearing aids.

The man behind all these inventions remains modest. "I just felt that the range of products available was very limited," he says. "There were products there, but I thought, why not try to make a bit of a living out of designing new ones?"

Betty Smith, the co-founder, with Michael, of the Resource Centre for Deafened People in York, is more forthcoming about her friend's achievements.

"I wouldn't say he's lucky that he is hearing impaired - but it is certainly fortunate for everybody else that he is! The work he is doing is really important: right at the cutting edge," she said.

One of the first gadgets Michael developed was a pocket-sized induction loop system for a profoundly deaf young musician - which enabled her to actually hear the clarinet she was playing in an orchestra. Before that, if she wanted to hear her own instrument, she had to wear a full-sized loop system.

"She was walking round with miles of cable round her neck, all connected to a big box," Michael recalls. "I designed a personal loop system which literally went into her handbag. There was a small box she could put on her music stand. She just looked into that and she was away."

It was the first truly pocket-sized loop of its kind: though they are now fairly common. Down the years, there have been many more innovations - from a mobile phone loop set which can be worn under clothing, does not need batteries and is completely hands-free, to a cuddly bear toy whose eyes flash whenever a youngster speaks to it. It is designed, Michael explains, to be used by speech therapists who are encouraging hard-of-hearing or deaf youngsters to use their voices.

The innovation has not stopped, either. Most of Michael's designs originated with equipment purpose-built for particular customers - so if you have particular needs, it may be worth contacting him. He won't be able to diagnose the extent of your hearing loss; you need an audiologist for that. But he may be able to find a way of overcoming some of the problems it causes. "If people with a particular problem want to come in here, we will do what we can to help," he says.

Betty Smith, who is 75 and has had hearing problems since an attack of scarlet fever as a child, has herself benefited from one of Michael's innovations - the mobile phone loop.

She was recently in hospital, and because of her hearing problems, wasn't able to use the ward mobile phone to talk to family and friends. It left her feeling isolated. "Everybody else could have conversations with friends and family, and all I could do was watch with envy," she says.

Now, she has got one of Michael's mobile phone loops - and isn't afraid of being cut off next time she goes into hospital. "It's brilliant," she says.

Her experience illustrates one of the main problems faced by hard-of-hearing people - lack of information. The range of audio aids available has improved out of all recognition in the last ten years or so, Betty says - but most people with hearing problems simply aren't aware of what is available.

It's one of the problems the resource centre for deafened people in Bootham, York, was set up to address. Ferrosound is a commercial business, the resource centre is not.

It has on display a whole range of equipment from different manufacturers (Ferrosound among them), from flashing doorbells and vibrating fire alarms that fit beneath the pillow to textphones and "bone phones" - telephone systems that transmit sound directly through the skull, bypassing damaged outer ear mechanisms. There is also a range of hearing aids and loops.

Visitors can try equipment out with the benefit of expert, impartial advice - and will be told where to go to obtain it. There is also information about the range of equipment available from the local council.

The Resource Centre for Deafened People can be reached by telephone on 01904 626583. It is open for people to drop in on Thursdays from 10am to 5pm, and by appointment on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Ferrosound can be contacted on 01904 400880.