New Device Will Allow Deaf People to Hear with Their Tongue

I can honestly say that I never saw this coming, but now that I know about it, I think it's pretty spectacular. It turns out that the tongue could soon be a new set of ears for those with hearing loss.

Researchers at Colorado State University say they're developing a relatively inexpensive gadget that stimulates the sensitive nerves of the tongue, teaching the brain to “hear” certain vibration patterns as words.

Once this device is perfected, it could cost as little as $2,000, which is definitely less than the $100,000 it costs to have an ear implant.

I'd imagine that it would take several months of training for a person to get used to the device and learn to understand each pattern as a different word, but once the brain makes the connection between the feeling on the tongue and the word, a whole new range of understanding is possible.