hearables

An umbrella term for in-ear audio and biometric devices. A hearable may provide any or all of the following: general audio amplification, voice frequencies amplification, Bluetooth audio from a mobile device or heartbeat detection. With regard to amplification, the primary difference between hearables and the traditional hearing aid is that they cannot treat severe hearing loss, and they cannot be branded as hearing aids unless approved by the FDA. Hearables are typically adjusted with a smartphone app. Contrast with wearables. See digital hearing aid.

Blend Music With Enhanced Hearing

These wireless IQbuds from Nuheara blend the digital music via Bluetooth from the listener's phone with the sounds in the real world. The ratio between the two is user adjustable and any four of these environment settings can be configured ahead of time: home, office, restaurant, workout, street, driving and plane. (Images courtesy of Nuheara, www.nuheara.com)

Blend Music With Enhanced Hearing

These wireless IQbuds from Nuheara blend the digital music via Bluetooth from the listener's phone with the sounds in the real world. The ratio between the two is user adjustable and any four of these environment settings can be configured ahead of time: home, office, restaurant, workout, street, driving and plane. (Images courtesy of Nuheara, www.nuheara.com)

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References in periodicals archive

Listen out for big news on hearables, voice assistants and True Wireless.

Tech To Expect At CES 2019

(Optek), a fabless semiconductor company of advanced multimedia SoCs, has licensed and deployed CEVA's RivieraWaves Bluetooth 5 Dual Mode IP in its latest OTK528X multimedia System-on-Chip (SoC), targeting artificial intelligence (AI), voice and music market segments and applications including hearables, wireless speakers, on/in ear headphone, multi-channel AVR, musical instruments and voice user interface (VUI), the company said.

Optek licenses CEVA Bluetooth IP

However, Gartner predicts that by 2022, ear-worn devices ("hearables") shipments will take over as the top wearables segment with 158 million units shipped compared with 115 million smartwatch shipments in 2022.

Global wearables sales to grow 26pc in 2019: Gartner

Summary: Ear-worn devices ("hearables") shipments will take over as the top wearables segmentwith 158 million units shipped Gartner, Inc.

Global wearable device sales to reach $42 billion in 2019: Gartner

In terms of shipments, over the next two years smart glasses will grow at a CAGR of 98%; smart jewelry 55%; hearables 31%; and smartwatches 31%.

Connected Clothing to Become $1B Industry in 2020

Unlike hearing aids, which can cost thousands of dollars for a pair, these so-called hearables may cost up to a few hundred dollars on top of the price of a smartphone.

Apple Wireless Earbuds Could Double as Hearing Aids: This app that pairs with AirPods promises to help people with hearing loss

"What attracted us to the SensorTile was the flexibility of the platform and the ultralow power consumption, which will enable our customers to create highly accurate and powerful wearables and hearables in any form factor."

Technology drives healthcare innovation

Hearables: Bluetooth headsets, having been around for a long time, are the biggest contributors to the wearable market - 116.32 million units were sold in 2015.

Wearables 2.0