•Mukund Venkatakrishnan, a 16-year-old teenager managed to create a cheap hearing aid for people in need. Who would have thought, the idea came when he visited his grandfather in India two years ago.
At that time, Venkatakrishnan witnessed his grandfather suffered from hearing loss. Unfortunately, hearing aids that should be used are quite expensive, not to mention how complicated it works. These conditions make it turn the brain to find other alternatives.
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"We spent $ 400 or $ 500 to make an appointment to the doctor and then need $ 1,900 for the hearing aid itself," Venkatakrishnan said from CNN Money.
The Indian boy mentioned that the average income of Indians is USD616 per year. So it is impossible they can afford to buy hearing aids. In fact, hearing is important for every individual.
Therefore Venkatakrishnan created a unique hearing aid with a simple program and spent only USD50 for its manufacture.
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"This device is now two inches in size and looks like a computer processor, so I'm going to shrink the size of an instrument into an inch, and have an operating system that's scaled down to fit in a bag," he said.
Moreover, Venkatakrishnan is also developing its tools with audio programs. He also consulted with engineers and audiologists. Not only that, Venkatakrishnan also works with doctors to test the tool with patients who need hearing aids.
The student who moved to Louisville, Kentucky since the age of three, revealed that his 81-year-old grandfather was very enthusiastic about his tool. He also plans to bring the device during a visit to India in the summer.
For the work of his creation, Venkatakrishnan himself did not want to take much advantage. He hopes an organization that already has connections in developing countries wants to mass produce, and distribute those devices.