I Tested EssilorLuxottica’s Visionary Nuance Hearing Aid Glasses. Do They Work?

One more viewpoint about the glasses (shared on my post on LinkedIn):

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I wished there are hearing aid glasses with more microphones in the glasses as it would help with speech.
Starkey labs had a boomerang necklace with many microphones many years ago.

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How is it remotely possible to have nothing in the ear and amplify to necessary “moderate ranges” without massive amounts of feedback? This seems like a gimmick, or novelty at best…

I guess you didn’t read Andy’s review?

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I read Andy’s review, but honestly I didn’t understand how these glasses work without anything in the ear: did I perhaps miss it while reading? Or are they bone conduction? Or it is part of those things that it is not possible to reveal at the moment.

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I also heard the occasional acoustic feedback (high-pitch whistling / screeching sound) while using the prototype. Acoustic feedback occurs when sound from the speakers enters the microphones and becomes re-amplified repeatedly in what’s called a feedback loop. This is an age-old problem in the world of hearing aids, and there’s a ton of great technology out there to suppress acoustic feedback. So I have no doubt that the team at EssilorLuxottica will find a way to address this issue prior to launch.

I read your review and this has me extremely confused. My first thoughts on these glasses is how can they possibly solve feedback problems without a speaker of some sort in the ear? Odd that you had this exact problem with your own self professed lack of hearing loss how are these glasses going to be remotely feasible for the hard of hearing crowd?

Again, this seems like a pure novelty item at best.

Through digital signal processing, presumably. While dabbling in DIY, I disabled feedback control completely on my aids at that time, Quattros with power domes. They produced continuous feedback, which tells you that the digital feedback suppression makes a big difference.

If they couldn’t control the feedback when they’re assumingely tuned for somebody with little to no loss, how can they be suitable for a moderate loss that OTC is supposed to cover. It seems like a farce.

Signal processing can improve as processing units get faster and memory gets larger.

Dunno. Except Andy has a hearing loss and… well, you read the review. I’ve never met Andy but I like his work. If someone says he experienced x, but you personally don’t know how it’s possible that he experienced x, therefore he couldn’t have experienced x … then we’re at a bit of an impasse really.

I think the glasses can turn voice into text on the screen.

Not this particular product.

On LinkedIn someone asks "are these using bone conduction’ and the General Manager in charge of the project says “yes”. Fwiw.

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That is incorrect. Someone is confused.

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Luxottica is the evil empire of glasses. They overcharge and make money hand over fist controlling most of the market setting up a false competition between their own brands. It’s evil-genius-y. That’s why outliers like Zenni and Warby Parker are doing so well against them. That said, I can’t seem to stop liking their RayBans.

Here we go with glasses hearing aids.

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–the glasses don’t use bone conduction
–and they don’t have speakers (receivers) in the ear.
they work…how? sorry, I haven’t read the review. Beam forming sound somehow into the ears? The reviewer doesn’t have hearing loss but has trouble hearing in noisy environments? All people have trouble hearing in noisy environments. Maybe these are to wear when normal hearing folks are out at a bar or restaurant. In short, they’re not for hearing loss. They’re to compensate for brutally noisy bars and restaurants.
Here’s an idea: turn down the music in bars and restaurants. Hey, turn it off! Let conversation happen.

But I’m skeptical.

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Check out the Bose Frames or Ray Ban Stories and you’ll understand the audio concept.

Ditto with me. I wouldn’t be enthusiastic about Luxottica moving in to monopolize anything in the HA market. CBS News 60 Minutes Story on Luxottica from ~2012 on YouTube.

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It’s all true. They monopolize and overcharge. We pay.

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@Terost i had a friend back in the 70’s who had this type of hearing aid built into an actual horrible looking pair of glasses frames. The frames were thick, plastic, black and awful.

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