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Last issue we talked about what to do after the fitting — the tools that help when hearing aids alone aren't enough. Auracast, Roger On, LACE Pro.
Today we're focusing on hardware. What if the hearing device itself looked different? What if it lived in your glasses frames, or came with a pair of Bose headphones, or quietly pinged you when it needed cleaning and adjustment?
The hearing aid category is having a design moment. Here are three products worth knowing about.
Let’s get started……
Many of people who have mild-to-moderate hearing loss already wear glasses. Every day they put two things on their face. One helps them see. One helps them hear. Why are those two things?
Nuance Audio Glasses are one answer. Hearing aid technology built directly into eyeglass frames, made by GN (the same company behind ReSound hearing aids), and available without a prescription. You wear them. They help you hear. And if it matters, nobody around you knows the difference.
How it works:
The frames contain miniature microphones and speakers positioned close to the ear canal. Rather than sitting inside or behind the ear, the audio is delivered just outside it — open-ear style — which means you stay aware of your surroundings while speech and conversation is amplified and clarified. The companion app lets you adjust volume and settings. There is no separate device to manage, no receiver to insert, no case to carry that announces what you're doing.
The clinical data is looks promising: an independent study published in Hearing Review found users experienced up to 29% improvement in speech understanding and a 3.48 dB improvement in signal-to-noise ratio — meaningful numbers for everyday conversation in noise.
Martin Kemp — the actor and musician — is the public face of Nuance Audio, and his account of wearing them is worth reading. He says the glasses helped him hear birds again. He describes feeling less isolated, more reconnected to the ambient sound of daily life. He isn't talking about a clinical outcome. He's talking about what hearing loss quietly takes from you, and what getting it back can feel llike.
Three things:
Nuance Audio Glasses are OTC — no audiologist required. They are available at multiple stores online and directly from Nuance.
Best suited for mild-to-moderate hearing loss; if your loss is more significant, they may not be enough on their own.
Real-world reviews note some feedback and hiss in certain environments, and the tuning options aren't as granular as a traditional fitted hearing aid.
Go in informed: this is a first-generation category, not a finished product.
The stigma angle is real. If you or someone you know has been avoiding hearing aids because of how they look or what they signal — this is worth a conversation.
Our take: Nuance isn't trying to replace hearing aids. It's trying to reach the people who won't get hearing aids. For mild-to-moderate loss, that's a meaningful gap to fill. The OTC access matters. The form factor matters. The category is early, but we believe this is just the start.
🎧 Two Hearing Aids Breaking New Ground
Not all of the interesting developments in hearing are on the OTC shelf. A couple of recent prescription hearing aid launches are genuinely worth knowing about — not because you need to buy them today, but because they signal where the technology is going, and because knowing they exist changes the questions you ask at your next audiologist appointment.
ReSound Vivia — The One That Watches Where You're Looking
ReSound launched the Vivia in February 2025. It's currently the world's smallest AI hearing aid. That alone is worth noting — but the feature that stands out is something called Intelligent Focus.
Most hearing aids try to figure out what you want to hear by analyzing the soundscape around you. Vivia does something different: it uses AI to infer the direction you're looking and prioritizes sound from that angle. It mimics the way normal hearing works — your ears naturally favor sound that comes from where your attention is directed. A hearing aid that does the same thing can bring better, more natural, results.
The Vivia also includes a built-in Auracast Assistant (the first in any hearing aid), which means if you read our last issue and wondered whether Auracast was relevant to you, the Vivia answers that question automatically — it detects Auracast broadcasts and connects without you having to search for them.
Requires fitting by an audiologist. Not OTC.
Orka O1 Pro — Bose Noise Canceling. In a Hearing Aid
This one is still coming. Orka debuted the O1 Pro at the AWE 2026 technology conference in Shanghai in March, and it got attention for a reason: it's the world's first hearing aid with Bose QuietControl Active Noise Cancellation built in.
What that means in practice: the same noise-canceling technology that makes Bose headphones feel like you're in a different room is now paired with hearing aid amplification. For someone who has been managing hearing loss in loud environments — offices, airports, busy restaurants — that combination is not a small thing.
No pricing or release date has been announced. Think of it as a signal, not a shopping decision. The Bose partnership tells us something about where the category is heading.
Our take: The Vivia is available now and worth asking about if you're due for new aids in 2026 — especially if Auracast is on your radar. Both of these devices are reminders that prescription hearing aids are not standing still.
🔋 Eargo 8 — Tells You When It Needs Cleaning
There is a mundane but genuinely important problem with invisible hearing aids: you often don't know something is wrong until it's already affecting your hearing. Wax builds up. Performance drops. You assume your hearing has gotten worse. Sometimes it has. Sometimes the device just needs cleaning.
Eargo 8 is the first hearing aid to address this directly.
Launched in May 2025, Eargo 8 is OTC, FDA-cleared, and nearly invisible — it sits fully inside the ear canal. The device’s standout feature is something Eargo calls Device Scan: a patented acoustic wellness check built into the device that detects wax blockage and alerts you through the app before your hearing noticeably degrades. It's a small thing that solves a real problem that nobody talks about.
Eargo 8 uses Smart Sound Adjust, which automatically adapts to your sound environment — quieter at home, clearer in conversation, adjusted for noise. The charging case holds roughly two weeks of charge wirelessly. The aids themselves last a full day on a single charge. Setup is done through the app without a clinic visit. Available at Best Buy and Amazon. Price: $2,699.
Three things:
1 - The Device Scan feature alone is a reason to pay attention. Wax-related performance drops are one of the most common (and most preventable) reasons people think their hearing has gotten worse. Getting an alert before it affects you is a meaningful quality-of-life improvement.
2 - Eargo 8 is best suited for mild-to-moderate high-frequency hearing loss — the most common type. If your audiogram shows significant loss across frequencies, it may not be sufficient. The app includes a hearing check to help you assess fit.
3 - OTC access matters here. No appointment, no waiting room, no referral. You can order today and have them by the end of the week. That accessibility is part of what Eargo is built around.
Our take: Invisible, OTC, and smart enough to tell you when it's not working at its best. The Device Scan feature is the kind of thing that sounds small until it saves you from three weeks of unnecessarily degraded hearing because you assumed the problem was you, not the device.
Everything is coming into focus.
Join beehiiv live on July 16th at 1PM ET for a first look at the future of audience-led business.
This isn’t just another feature launch (though there will be plenty of those). It’s a look at a more connected future for creators and brands that are tired of juggling disconnected tools, platforms, and data.
If you care about building an audience online, this is worth your time.