Hearing aids are tremendously constrained with regards to power and mechanics. There is no way you will be able to get an FPGA in a hearing aid. An FPGA runnning complex DSP algorithms will:
1. Get hot. I don't want a +60C FPGA in my ear.
2. Eat up the battery. The batteries are small and fiddly to replace for an 85 year old with bad eyes and arthritis in the fingers. They should last for at least a week before needing replacing. No they are generally not rechargeable in the device. That would require a connector, which takes up precious volume. Wireless recharging requires a coil with the same problem.
3. Take up way too much PCB real estate. They are just too big to fit in your ear. Sure, you can run a wire to a box outside the ear, but that messes with the fashion statement. Most hearing aid users want small and discrete, so the world isn't reminded they have a disability.
Besides, why would you put an FPGA in there? Hearing aids already feature some of the most high-grade low-power DSP ASICs available, custom made for that companys DSP algorithms.
1. Get hot. I don't want a +60C FPGA in my ear.
2. Eat up the battery. The batteries are small and fiddly to replace for an 85 year old with bad eyes and arthritis in the fingers. They should last for at least a week before needing replacing. No they are generally not rechargeable in the device. That would require a connector, which takes up precious volume. Wireless recharging requires a coil with the same problem.
3. Take up way too much PCB real estate. They are just too big to fit in your ear. Sure, you can run a wire to a box outside the ear, but that messes with the fashion statement. Most hearing aid users want small and discrete, so the world isn't reminded they have a disability.
Besides, why would you put an FPGA in there? Hearing aids already feature some of the most high-grade low-power DSP ASICs available, custom made for that companys DSP algorithms.