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This is amazing... a hearing aid for birders and other nature enthusiasts.

It's called the SongFinder and you learn everything about it at the website of the manufacturer, NSE: http://www.nselec.com/index.html.

But, here's the short version from NSE.

As we grow older, we experience diminished sensitivity to high frequency sounds. Youthful hearing extends as high as 20,000 Hz (Hz = cycles/second). However, the average person (especially among men) over fifty years of age has completely lost the very highest frequencies and often suffers moderate hearing loss in the range from 4,000 to 10,000 Hz. Moderate to severe hearing loss above 4,000-5,000 Hz becomes the norm for many individuals living sixty and beyond.

Loss of hearing with age, technically referred to as "presbycusis," is a widespread phenomenon that seemingly cannot be avoided. To make matter worse, prolonged exposure to loud music and other loud background sounds also results in reduced sensitivity in the high range. This is NOT good news for aging birdwatchers!

The average frequency of the songs of songbirds is about 4,000 Hz, approximately the same pitch as the highest note of a piano. Many warblers, sparrows, waxwings, kinglets, and a number of other birds produce sounds that reach 8,000 Hz and beyond. Moderate to severe hearing loss in the 3,000-10,000 Hz range greatly reduces the ability of a birder to be aware of the presence of these high-pitched singers (Note: most insect songs are at frequencies above 4,000 Hz. Thus, high frequency hearing loss will have a profound impact on one's ability to hear insects).

The SongFinder works on a frequency dividing principle. Incoming bird sounds above 3,000-4,000 Hz are converted into digital signals that are acted upon by an internal DSP (digital signal processor) that is driven by mathematical algorithms that accomplish frequency division. As a result, high bird sounds are lowered into a frequency range where one still has normal or near-normal hearing. The user chooses the degree of lowering, reducing the frequency of incoming high-pitched sounds by one-half, one-third, or one-quarter. For example, a bird sound of 8,000 Hz will be perceived as 4,000 Hz when halved or 2,000 Hz when quartered. Using the SongFinder set to one-quarter, a person with severe high frequency hearing loss will often be able to hear ALL the highest singing birds.

• songfinder
• birding
• hearing
• aid