Ask HN: Hearing aid wearers, what's hot?

📝 Discussion Summary (Click to expand)

The Hacker News discussion reveals three highly prevalent themes regarding consumer electronics, particularly Apple AirPods, as substitutes or complements to traditional hearing aids (HAs):

1. Consumer Audio Devices (like AirPods) are a Viable, Low-Stakes Entry Point for Hearing Assistance

Many users reported successfully using AirPods Pro (often second generation) to significantly improve hearing for themselves or relatives with mild to moderate loss, often overcoming vanity or reluctance associated with traditional HAs. The accessibility and familiar form factor make them easy to adopt.

Supporting Quotation: One user convinced their father-in-law to wear AirPods Pro 2 after a decade of resistance: "From the other side, it’s night and day. We can have conversations. He can hear my kids. The TV volume is set to reasonable levels." ("yojo")
Supporting Quotation: Another user noted the low barrier to entry: "It’s a pretty low price of entry for something that could literally be life changing." ("yojo")

2. Traditional Hearing Aids Offer Superior, Purpose-Built Performance (Especially Battery Life and Complex Noise Filtering)

While AirPods are praised as a great entry point, participants with more severe or long-term loss emphasized that dedicated HAs, particularly newer AI-driven models, offer crucial advantages that consumer devices lack, such as longer battery life and advanced, context-aware noise cancellation capabilities.

Supporting Quotation: Regarding battery life for full-time use: "My understanding is they are pretty good hearing aids, but they don't have the battery life that purpose-built aids do (4-5 hours vs 18-24) so they're not optimal for full-time use." ("CommieBobDole")
Supporting Quotation: A user comparing high-end HAs to AirPods noted the professional capability: "HAs are better, especially the new ones with AI built in... The newest HAs have AI that helps in noisy environments... It is truly unbelievable in noisy environments." ("dts-five")

3. Bluetooth Connectivity and Microphone Routing Create Significant User Experience Friction

A recurring point of frustration centered on how devices handle microphones during phone calls and routing audio between earbuds/HAs and smartphones, particularly when integrating with the Apple ecosystem. Users expect AirPods-like seamlessness but find dedicated HAs sometimes adopt "crappy AirPods behavior" (using the HA mic instead of the superior phone mic) or suffer from unreliable switching.

Supporting Quotation: A user described issues with a specific model mimicking AirPods behavior: "With the newer Phonaks, I was very disappointed to find that the new hearing aids would only use the microphone input that is built into the hearing aids themselves... Because my hearing aids are Behind The Ear (BTE) and thus the mic input on the hearing aid is a good 4 inches away from my face and thus my voice cannot possibly sound as clear as when I could speak directly into an iPhone mic." ("mustntmumble")
Supporting Quotation: Another commented on the general lack of control: "It's because Apple refuses to give us fine-grained controls on our Bluetooth devices" when discussing the difficulty of switching microphones during calls. ("ezfe")

🚀 Project Ideas

AirPods Pro Adaptive Mode Analyzer (APAMA)

Summary

A macOS/iOS utility that analyzes and overlays the real-time frequency adjustments applied by AirPods Pro when using 'Live Listen' or 'Conversation Boost' modes.
Solves the frustration of users who want fine-grained control or understanding of the frequency manipulation happening in the 'Good Enough' hearing augmentation provided by AirPods Pro, specifically targeting users who desire the EQ control that chime mentioned wanting.

Details

Key	Value
Target Audience	Tech-savvy users wanting to gauge the effectiveness of AirPods Pro as backup hearing aids, or sound engineers/developers interested in A/V processing trade-offs.
Core Feature	Real-time visualization (graph/slider) of the frequency curve applied by the AirPods Pro audio processing pipeline based on input analysis. Allow users to switch between a baseline EQ and the current AirPods processing curve.
Tech Stack	Swift/SwiftUI for iOS/macOS; heavy use of Core Audio APIs (e.g., Audio Units) for real-time FFT/MFCC analysis and visualization.
Difficulty	High (Interfacing with proprietary, low-level audio pipelines like those used by Apple for their accessibility features can be complex and undocumented).
Monetization	Hobby

Notes

Directly addresses the feature gap identified by user chime: "I wish it had an equalizer I could use."
Also provides data for users like mgerdts who need to understand how the fixed "moderate loss" amplification compares to their actual needs, by providing a visual metric.

Telecoil/DAI Retrofit Interface Kit

Summary

A hardware/software kit that allows modern hearing aids, which have dropped legacy physical inputs like Telecoil (T-coil) auxiliary ports or older DAI (Direct Audio Input) fittings, to easily connect to modern digital audio sources via a standardized protocol (like 3.5mm/USB-C).
Solves the problem raised by power users like gertlex and dhosek who rely on wired, low-latency, high-fidelity connections for specific use cases (music, legacy systems) but find modern aids forcing them onto proprietary wireless protocols (like Bluetooth LE) that might fail or drain more power.

Details

Key	Value
Target Audience	Long-time hearing aid users, audiophiles, and users with specific connectivity needs (e.g., musicians, office workers with legacy AV setups).
Core Feature	A small, universal adapter (potentially using Bluetooth LE Audio or high-quality induction coils mimicking the old T-coil signal) that can interface digitally or inductively with popular BTE/RIC hearing aids, specifically providing a physical stereo input jack.
Tech Stack	Custom firmware on an ESP32 or similar low-power MCU; potentially utilizing existing open-source Bluetooth receiver stacks or precise induction coil hardware if targeting T-coil protocols.
Difficulty	Medium (Hardware prototyping and ensuring reliable, standardized digital handshake/induction strength is tricky).
Monetization	Hobby

Notes

Appeals to the desire for reliable, non-Bluetooth connections: retrac mentioned the value of telecoil, yet the modern reliance on potentially "flakey" Bluetooth, as mentioned by dhosek, is a pain point.
Addresses the need for flexibility outside the dominant iOS ecosystem: While AirPods are Apple-centric, this product caters to users on any platform who need a robust wired link.

Smartphone/Headset Microphone Routing Manager (SHMRM)

Summary

A cross-platform software solution (Desktop/Mobile) that standardizes and forces microphone routing for any connected Bluetooth headset presented as an A2DP/HFP profile device (not just MFi hearing aids).
Solves the frustration where consumer devices force the use of earpiece microphones during calls instead of routing to a superior phone/laptop microphone, an issue shared by both regular Bluetooth users and hearing aid users alike.

Details

Key	Value
Target Audience	Professionals, remote workers, and hearing aid users who need clear voice transmission during calls (e.g., while using BTE hearing aids or standard earbuds).
Core Feature	Detects when a call begins and automatically switches the system input audio source to the device's internal microphone (e.g., Laptop internal mic, iPhone mic) while keeping the Bluetooth audio sink connected for listening.
Tech Stack	Native macOS (using `switch-audio-osx` or similar kernel/framework manipulation) and Android companion app (listening for HFP connection state changes and executing platform-specific audio routing commands).
Difficulty	High (Requires deep OS-level hooks for audio routing, which are often intentionally locked down by OS vendors like Apple/Google).
Monetization	Hobby

Notes

Addresses the specific, universally frustrating UX issue raised by mustntmumble and KingMob regarding BTE/AirPods-style devices hijacking the microphone input.
Acknowledges existing partial solutions (like KingMob's OSX script) but aims for a polished, user-friendly, cross-platform utility that acts as a universal "Headset sanity checker."