Canine hearing aid could soon be available

Cincinnati, Ohio

-- A University of Cincinnati researcher thinks he is getting close to developing a canine hearing aid that could hit the market by the end of the year.

Pete Scheifele started his research after his own 17-year-old dog lost his hearing. The highly trained miniature pinscher/beagle mix has appeared on television and performed for schools and didn't seem to mind wearing the prototype. In fact, he would seek it out and nudge it when he wasn't wearing it, according to Scheifele.

Researchers are now working on modifications to make the prototype version smaller and more comfortable. The hearing aid would only work on dogs with acquired hearing loss, says Scheifele, director of the University of Cincinnati's Facility for Education and Testing of Canine Hearing Laboratory for Animal Acoustics.

Scheifele says he is in discussions for commercialization of the prototype now and hopes is might be available for sale sometime later this year.