Findings from studies at Western University and the National Acoustic Laboratories show improved speech understanding in noise for the open-ear hearing solution.
EssilorLuxottica has announced new clinical findings from two studies evaluating the performance of its Nuance Audio Glasses, an open-ear hearing solution integrated into eyewear for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss. The results were presented at the 69th EUHA Congress in Hanover, Germany.
The studies, conducted at Western University in Canada and the National Acoustic Laboratories (NAL) in Australia, assessed both laboratory performance and real-world listening experiences.
Key Study Outcomes
The Western University study evaluated the glasses in controlled noise conditions simulating daily listening environments. The results demonstrated:
- Up to a 29% improvement in speech understanding in challenging acoustic conditions compared to the unaided condition.
- A reduction in listening effort, measured through standardized rating scales.
The NAL study assessed laboratory performance and short-term, supervised real-world use. The reported outcomes included:
- A 3.48 dB improvement in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).
- 70% of participants reported improved communication ability after three hours of real-world use.
- Participants’ top communication goals were met in 84%–95% of cases.
- A user preference for the glasses increased as the acoustic environment became more challenging.
“One insight stands out across both studies: users prefer to wear Nuance Audio Glasses in the real, noisy conversations that matter most to them,” says Dr Tami Harel, chief of audiology of Nuance Audio, EssilorLuxottica, in a release. “These results mark an important achievement in terms of the post-market clinical validation of the product for early-stage hearing support.”
“These new clinical findings represent an important milestone for EssilorLuxottica,” says Stefano Genco, global head of Nuance Audio, EssilorLuxottica, in a release. “Results from the two studies validate our vision of integrating advanced open-ear hearing technology into smart eyewear, addressed to an estimated 1.25 billion worldwide affected by mild to moderate hearing loss.”
