Early success for innovative hearing product

Oct 28 2009 by Karen Dent, The Journal

TECHNOLOGY developed by a North East company that worked on safety systems for the redeveloped Wimbledon tennis complex and Tate Britain is aiming to revolutionise life for people with hearing difficulties.

Sunderland-based Current Thinking, which designs and makes equipment from voice alarms to fire telephones, has come up with the Infra~Hear system which turns sound into an infra-red light beam that is picked by dedicated personal receivers.

The company, which has been trading for almost nine years and employs 23 people, has already received orders for the innovative product since it was launched at a trade fair last month.

Current Thinking managing director Anthony Smith said: “It’s aimed really at schools, colleges, council chambers and courts. It is reversing some of the trend for cheap and cheerful on an induction loop.

“The market has been saturated by low-priced products. This is looking at the niche areas where there is less competition. One of the specific benefits of infra-red technology is that the light will not pass through walls which makes it ideal for use in sensitive or security situations – for instance court rooms and council chambers.

“We’ve shipped quite a lot of the product already; it’s a market where there is very little competition. We are exporting it to Holland and Southern Ireland.”