02/17/2026
I've been working on a new design for my cochlear implant product line. It's a hat with an exterior pocket, and the whole idea is to cut down wind noise without killing sound.
This weekend Florida gave me the kind of wind you can't fake, 25 to 30 mph gusts, so I took the prototype out and tested it the only way that matters. I stood out there turning my head into the wind, trying to catch the strongest gusts, taking the processor off my ear and putting it in the pocket, then back on my ear again, just to hear the difference for myself.
That's about when my neighbors started closing their blinds.
If you wear a processor, you already know why I did it. Wind can take you from hearing fine to total distortion in seconds.
The hat helped some, but not enough. And I'm not going to call it a win until it actually does what it's supposed to do.
The pocket still has real value — it gets the processor off the ear, cuts down on that exposed feeling, and gives a cleaner, more discreet look. If that's what you're after, these are ready now. The wind part is what I'm still chasing.
So it's back to the drawing board.
And as for my neighbors, they don't look at me the same way anymore. The price of inventors.
