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What if your glasses could help you hear conversations more clearly as well as improve your vision?
That is the idea behind Nuance Audio Glasses – a new style of eyewear that combines prescription glasses with discreet hearing technology built directly into the frame.
There are no earbuds sitting in the ear and no obvious hearing device. Instead, tiny directional microphones and open-ear speakers are incorporated into the glasses themselves. They are designed particularly for people with mild to moderate hearing difficulty, especially when conversations become harder to follow in restaurants, meetings, family gatherings or other noisy environments.
Several small microphones are positioned within the temples of the frame. Digital processing analyses the incoming sound and the built-in speakers direct amplified sound toward your ears while leaving your ears completely open.
One of the clever features is directional beamforming.
When you are looking at somebody across the table, the glasses can concentrate amplification toward the person you are facing rather than simply making every sound around you louder. This can make speech easier to follow when background noise is competing for your attention.
Think of it as:
“What you are looking at is what you are listening to.”
That makes the technology particularly interesting for people who say things such as:
This is the part we particularly like at Shattky Optometrists.
Nuance Audio frames can be fitted with prescription lenses, so your normal vision correction and hearing assistance can effectively live in the same pair of glasses. Depending on your visual requirements, lens options can include clear prescription lenses, light-responsive Transitions lenses and other optical lens treatments.
So instead of wearing glasses plus another device, you simply put your glasses on.
Nuance Audio Glasses can be personalised through the Nuance Audio app.
The system allows adjustment of amplification level, background-noise reduction and listening direction. There are different listening modes, including a frontal mode designed to focus more strongly on the conversation in front of you and an all-around mode for hearing more of your surroundings.
The technology is rechargeable, with wireless charging available through the supplied charging system.
Reading about this technology only tells you so much.
The interesting moment is when you actually put a pair on and listen.
We now invite patients to come into Shattky Optometrists and experience Nuance Audio Glasses for themselves.
There is no need to understand the technology beforehand. Our staff can help you put them on, show you how the controls work and let you experience the difference in a relaxed environment.
Bring your partner, friend or family member with you. Sit across from them and have a conversation. Listen to what happens when you change between the different settings.
For many people, that first demonstration makes far more sense than pages of technical information.
They are a form of open-ear hearing assistance built into eyewear, intended for people with mild to moderate hearing loss. They are not bone-conduction glasses – the sound is delivered through miniature open-ear speakers positioned near the ears.
They will not be the right solution for every type or degree of hearing loss, and people with significant hearing difficulty should still have their hearing professionally assessed.
But for someone beginning to notice that speech is becoming harder to follow – particularly in background noise – they represent a very interesting new option.
We spend a great deal of our working lives helping people see the faces, places and things that matter to them.
Nuance Audio adds another dimension to that.
See the person. Hear the conversation. Stay part of it.
If you are curious about hearing glasses, come into Shattky Optometrists and try Nuance Audio for yourself.
We are right here in the heart of Hastings Hawke's Bay, a quick drive from Napier, a medium drive from Waipukurau, just down the road from Clive, Taradale. Havelock North, and Haumoana.
Our staff will happily show you how they work, help you experience the different settings and discuss whether they could suit your vision, hearing needs and lifestyle.
No complicated technology lesson required – just put them on and have a listen.
Kiwi's know that good things take time, so come to us, have the tests done without feeling that you have been "rushed thru", and you'll know what we mean when we say "we take the time!"
Book appointmentKiwi's know that good things take time, so come to us, have the tests done without feeling that you have been "rushed thru", and you'll know what we mean when we say "we take the time!"
Book appointment
