METHOD FOR TRANSMITTING SONIC WAVE INFORMATION TO DEAF PERSON AND AUDIO NERVE TRANSMITTING SYSTEM FOR STIMULATING TACTILE SENSATION OF DEAF PERSON

摘要

A method and apparatus of communicating audio signals to the deaf is described. In accordance with the method described, electrical impulses characteristic of sound waves are applied either directly to the tactile sensory nerves by means of an implant or are applied simultaneously with vibrations representative of the sound waves to the nerve endings located at the skin surface. In accordance with the apparatus, a nerve stimulator applies a voltage representative of the sound waves across a pair of implanted electrodes in contact with the tactile sensory nerve such as the radial nerve branch located in the wrist or applies vibrations representative of the sound waves by means of a transducer to the skin, e.g. the finger tips of the deaf person, and electrical impulses representative of the sound waves across a pair of spaced electrodes carried by the transducer so that the same nerve endings are stimulated with both the vibrations and the electrical impulses.