Every now and again there’s a bit of tech I come across that makes me stop and blink twice. Not because it’s flashy like the latest fitness trackers, but because it does something genuinely clever. EssilorLuxottica’s Nuance Audio Glasses fall squarely into that category. They look like your average pair of designer specs, but hide a full-blown hearing support system in the temples.
The idea is to solve mild to moderate hearing loss with something people are already comfortable wearing. Hearing aids are reportedly not the most comfortable device to wear. Plus, they’re still bogged down with stigma and fiddly design quirks that scream “medical device” louder than they help you hear. Nuance Glasses take that entire mess and replace it with something sleek, open-ear, and dare I say, quite swanky.
What’s wild is just how much tech is crammed in without making the Nuance Audio Glasses look like they belong in a sci-fi flick. The glasses come with directional microphones to home in on voices you actually want to hear – large groups like a family dinner or the workplace. They don’t shove things into your ears either. Instead, it’s open-ear audio, which means you can hear your surroundings while still getting amplified sound piped in discreetly.
Of course, there’s also an app. But at least this one’s doing more than just pushing firmware updates in the background. The Nuance Audio App lets you tweak noise reduction, switch modes depending on what you’re doing, and adjust amplification levels to combat your level of hearing loss. You can even pick from presets that allow you fine-tune your hearing without needing a doctorate.
Style-wise, you’ve got choices: the Square or Panthos shape, in two colours. And yes, you can slap in your own prescription lenses, including Transitions. Nuance Audio Glasses are classified as an over-the-counter medical device in the EU and now officially available in the UK. You’ll find them at Vision Express, David Clulow, Selfridges and selected optical and audiology practices. Local pricing is still under wraps, but they go for $1100 in the US. If you’re in the US, you can use health insurance on the them.
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