An advertisement for Miracle-Ear hearing aids shows a picture of a spaced-out youth, coiffured for Woodstock.

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However, demand for the services - which will provide state-of-the-art hearing aids and testing equipment in hospitals across Wales - is expected to lead to a rise in waiting times for treatment.

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"Hearing loss is a medical condition, but we don't want people going without help, " says Sreekant Cherukuri, the Chicago otolaryngologist who designed it for patients who couldn't afford high-end hearing aids.

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We don't know if Apple plans to use its learning in any kind of shipping product, although it's undoubtedly been interested in the category before -- and its ambitions of having iPhone-optimized hearing aids could well get a lift from technology that promises real understanding, not just a boost in volume.

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Items mis-sold included hearing aids, mattresses, stair lifts, mobility scooters and rise and recline chairs.

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Already, hearing aids and high-tech parts of military jets are being printed in customised shapes.

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You also are on your own when navigating hearing-aid providers, where you risk paying too much for hearing aids that make your life miserable because they don't fit, are hard to operate and overamplify background noises.

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Scientists have said that designing a bionic eye has been much more difficult than developing aids like cochlear implants for hearing, in part because visual information is two-dimensional, and because of the anatomy of the eye.

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The espionage potential of many of the technologies in the In-Q-Tel portfolio are immediately apparent, but there are some surprises, like Sonitus Medical, which makes hearing aids that fit over the teeth and send sounds directly to the inner ear.

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