Artificial Intelligence (AI) is everywhere! It answers queries on Google and helps people parallel park their cars. It can monitor weight distribution on AI-tethered mats and recommend adjustments to your yoga posture. It can even suggest better titles or images for social media posts to drive engagement.
But can AI make our hearing aids smarter? Hearing aid manufacturers seem to think so, as all the major brands have included AI for noise reduction in their latest models.
I welcome the advancements—speech in noise is the most common gripe of hearing aid wearers—but it will be critical for AI to work hand-in-hand with each user rather than override their individual preferences. One person’s noise could be someone else’s symphony.
How AI Improves Noise Reduction in Hearing Aids
According to Google’s AI overview, “AI is a set of technologies that allow computers to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence.” AI uses algorithms to analyze data and make predictions based on the past. It can learn from experience and improve its performance. It seems like the perfect tool to take on the speech-in-noise problem.
Most digital hearing aids already have some noise-reduction capabilities. Today, hearing care providers (HCPs) create programs for different listening situations, like being in a restaurant, enjoying music, or talking with someone who is wearing a face mask.
But AI is more flexible. Instead of applying a preset formula, it analyzes each individual soundscape in real-time, adjusting the sound profile on the hearing aids for the exact listening situation you are in.
“AI goes beyond preset noise reduction—analyzing each soundscape in real-time and adapting to individual listening environments for a more natural hearing experience.”
AI can also incorporate natural body movements, such as turning your head to listen to a specific speaker, into its algorithm, which will make the AI work more naturally and effectively as it learns each user’s mannerisms.
Some Potential Downsides
If AI can finally solve the cocktail party problem, it will be a game-changer for people with hearing loss. I am optimistic, but it may not be smooth sailing immediately.
A few challenges are listed below.
Size and battery life.
AI needs a lot of processing power, which may lower battery life. Devices may also need to be slightly larger to accommodate a stronger battery or an extra chip. Starkey built its AI capability into the device’s main chip, but others like Phonak and GN Resound used a separate dedicated AI chip in their devices.
Today, it seems like a combined chip is better for battery life and size, but both areas may be less of an issue as the technology evolves.
What is noise?
I may want to hear every scream and guitar riff in Van Halen’s “Jump,” while another user may want to run for the hills. Music preferences aside, allowing a computer chip to determine what is noise and what is not can be tricky because what is noise is personal. AI will need to take individual user preferences into account to work effectively.
How much noise to eliminate?
What is noise may also vary by location. When walking the streets of New York City, users may need to hear the background buzz to avoid stepping out in front of a speeding delivery person, but at a cocktail party, they may want to block out everything but the speaker in front of them.
It will be important that the user can adjust the AI’s selected level of noise-canceling when needed.
The Future Looks Smart!
My recent trip to the Consumer Electronics Show highlighted thousands of ways AI is transforming the world. Whether it is captioning glasses, hearing glasses, OTC devices, or adding AI capabilities to traditional devices, hearing technology is embracing the possibilities of AI. I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Shari Eberts is a passionate hearing health advocate and internationally recognized author and speaker on hearing loss issues. She is the founder of Living with Hearing Loss, a popular blog and online community for people with hearing loss, and an executive producer of We Hear You, an award-winning documentary about the hearing loss experience. Her book, Hear & Beyond: Live Skillfully with Hearing Loss, (co-authored with Gael Hannan) is the ultimate survival guide to living well with hearing loss. Shari has an adult-onset genetic hearing loss and hopes that by sharing her story, she will help others to live more peacefully with their own hearing issues. Connect with Shari: Blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter.
