People wait in long lines and even camp out to get their hands on new Apple devices as soon as they’re available. But they take a long time, sometimes years, when it comes to purchasing other pieces of technology that could greatly improve their lives like hearing aids. Hearing-aid manufacturers and audiologists hope a new partnership between them and Apple will make people more enthusiastic.
Danish hearing-aid company GN ReSound last week announced a new hearing aid that’s compatible with the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Called LiNX, the device connects wirelessly with the newest Apple mobile devices and takes advantage of iOS 7’s new accessibility options for the hearing-impaired. At its most basic level, the LiNX acts like a hybrid of hearing aids and a pair of stereo Bluetooth headphones. It can make phone calls, make FaceTime chats, listen to music and movies, turn-by-turn navigation or other audio can be streamed directly to a small earpiece. When they’re not pulling in audio from an Apple device, the hearing aids work like normal, picking up conversations and surrounding sounds.
A feature called Live Listen turns an iOS device into microphone. If someone is in a loud environment, like a busy meeting, a sporting event, or a noisy car, and wants to focus on one person’s voice and cut down on all background noise, they can get a stream directly from the smartphone’s mic to their ears. Even the most advanced current hearing aids can still draw unwanted attention when wearers must reach into their ear to change the settings. For many hearing-impaired people, the biggest advantage of Apple hearing aids is being able to control the hearing devices settings directly from a phone.With help from Apple, wearers can make adjustments as easily as they can check e-mail or watch a videos on their smartphone. Basic settings like battery life and volume are built directly into the iOS 7 operating system. More advanced settings such as treble and bass can be set using the more complicated ReSound app found in the App Store.
The hearing aids are still specialized medical devices, meaning you won’t find them on the shelves of your local Apple store. Customers must have their hearing tested by a professional and get fitted for the devices by an audiologist.
And they’re not cheap: a single LiNX hearing aid can cost around $3,000!