Gearfuse

While most people won’t understand the use in creating a pair of headphones for the deaf, designer Pierre-Antoine Bouzard hears a different tune. In his latest design, Shake-Up, special headphones are worn by the user who’s deaf. Different tones and vibrations are then emitted in an attempt to let the user “feel” the music. And by “feel the music,” Bouzard really must mean vibrations. I can’t help but wonder how this is any different than having a vibrator strapped to the side of Helen Keller’s head.

But hey, if it works and deaf people can get a chance to rock out, I’m all for Shake-Up. Let’s just see what ends up happening with this concept.

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Alarme is a concept watch made for the hearing impaired. While we love poking fun at the handicapped just like any other average scum bag, we would never wish death upon one because of their disability (unless they were really, really mean cripples.)

Alarme is unique in the fact that it can alert those who cannot hear an audible alarm by sending a vibration through the watch, which can be felt on the wrist. The watch has two built in microphones which are made to record the surrounding ambient noise levels. When Alarme senses trouble, it lets the deaf person know by giving their wrist a vibrating tickle, and glowing like mad. The LEDs and face display show the user what the alert is all about, and then makes a Helen Keller joke. (more…)