5 Things You Didn’t Know About Hearing Loss & One Invisible Solution to Help
An astounding number of people deal with hearing difficulties: According to the 2021 World Health Organization (WHO) World Report on Hearing, an estimated 1.2 billion people experience mild to moderate hearing loss. In the US about 1 in 5 people deal with hearing loss, according to the Global Burden of Disease study (2024 in Ear & Hearing)1.
This is significant because hearing difficulties can affect a person's quality of life and ability to connect with others in social settings.
To discuss this important topic, mindbodygreen recently hosted a panel discussion in partnership with LensCrafters and Nuance Audio, featuring some of the foremost experts in the world on hearing, vision, and audio technology. We explored the realities of hearing difficulties, its impact on overall well-being, and introduced an innovative device that helps people stay connected: Nuance Audio, an invisible hearing solution that can also double as prescription glasses for adults with perceived mild-to-moderate hearing loss.
Whether you’ve noticed your own hearing starting to shift, know someone who has, or you’re just curious about the latest in wearable tech, here are the five most interesting takeaways from the event.
It’s not just about hearing, it’s about listening
Effective, meaningful communication isn’t just about hearing the words someone is saying. To have a conversation, you need to take it a step further. Hearing is passive—but listening is active.
“Hearing is perceiving or detecting sound. Listening is the ability to attribute meaning to sound,” said audiologist Douglas L. Beck, Au.D., Senior Director of Audiology at EssilorLuxottica North America, during our panel discussion. “Hearing is simply perceiving sound, which is the foundation, but the end-goal is to make sure you’re listening, which means you can comprehend or make sense of sound.”
Improve your ability to hear and listen better in noisy environments, crowded events or family gatherings, or even busy restaurants with the new all-in-one hearing and vision solution Nuance Audio Glasses. Using high-tech sound engineering, Nuance Audio Glasses are FDA-cleared over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids, allowing consumers to address their hearing needs without requiring a prescription or an audiologist visit.
The glasses come with the ability to switch between audio settings: Frontal (also called directional or beam-forming) is beneficial for face-to-face conversations in noisy backgrounds. For many people with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss, Nuance Audio wearers have the ability to adjust volume and manage background noise. Nuance Audio helps them hear more clearly,” says Beck.
There’s no such thing as “normal” hearing loss
The unfortunate truth is that age-related hearing loss is common but calling it “normal” doesn’t help anyone. As Beck pointedly notes, “We don’t say someone has ‘normal migraines,’ ‘normal back pain’ or ‘normal diabetes.’ So why apply that kind of thinking to hearing? Hearing Loss is common, but it is never normal.”
He explains that traditional hearing tests often miss early signs of hearing loss because they only measure a narrow slice (250 to 8,000 Hz) of the full hearing range versus the actual human range of 20 to 20,000 Hz.
“When someone says they’re struggling to understand speech in noisy settings, that’s real. It doesn’t have to show up on an audiogram. In fact, the individual will likely notice listening problems in noise long before it ever shows up on an audiogram” says Beck.
As a result, many people are already struggling with mild-to-moderate hearing difficulties—especially in social settings. Nuance Audio is designed to help.
As Matteo Dondero, Super Audio Program Manager at Nuance Audio, explains, “Our technology captures speech from the direction you're facing. That is, where you look is what you hear. Nuance Audio processes sound in real time, through an invisible hearing solution in your glasses.”
And unlike most hearing aids—which struggle in noisy environments, notes Dondero — Nuance Audio’s proprietary tech helps wearers stay connected in real life settings, like restaurants, parties, work functions, and family gatherings. “It makes listening possible in a way that’s unique and different,” says Dondero.
Technology can improve accessibility
Hearing support doesn’t have to be clinical or clunky—not anymore. New technological advances mean hearing clearly can be accessible in more settings and at more affordable price points.
“Would you have thought, just a year ago, that you could walk into a LensCrafters and have the chance to address your hearing loss with fashionable eyewear?” Dondero asks. “People have many options to purchase Nuance Audio Glasses including at their local LensCrafters, where they can experience a demo before buying.”
That’s the appeal of Nuance Audio: It’s a hearing device that looks and feels like part of your style. “No one can tell I’m wearing anything different. It looks just like a stylish pair of frames,” he said.
“This was one of our missions from the start—bringing an accessible medical-grade solution to market at a price that’s affordable – a combined solution: eyeglasses and hearing support in one.”
There’s an intense hearing aid stigma that needs to be addressed
Perhaps one of the most powerful insights from the panel was just how persistent hearing aid stigma remains. “Hearing aid stigma is a huge barrier. About 85-90% of eligible patients say, ‘No thanks, I’m good,’” Beck shared. “And this happens even when hearing aids are free.”
Beck referenced a recent 2017 study published in the journal JAMA Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery which found that when hearing aids were free (eliminating cost as a barrier), the majority of people still did not acquire hearing aids.
Why? Because people still associate them with aging, it has shown that hearing aid users have historically been perceived as older, less competent, and even less intelligent—a perception that, though outdated, continues to influence people’s choices.
This is where Nuance Audio’s design-forward approach is so impactful. “It’s lightweight and eliminates both the stigma and the discomfort—all in one device,” says Dondero.
Beck adds, “This is why an alternative entry point—like stylish hearing glasses—matters. It allows people to feel good about themselves. They don't have to run and hide because they’re wearing hearing aids.”
Communication involves all the senses — sight included
Both vision and hearing are essential to staying connected to your friends, family and society. What’s more, they work best when they work together. “If you close your eyes, you can still hear me. But when you open your eyes, you get synergistic input from both your eyes and ears,” Beck said. “That allows you to more easily take in the entire communicative event.”
Optometrist Christina Chu, O.D., a LensCrafters Managing Optometrist in New York City, agrees: “We rely on all kinds of cues—tone of voice, facial expressions, body language,” she explains. “We use our vision to pick up on these nonverbal signals, and we use hearing to catch the nuances in how something is said. Together, these senses help us fully understand and connect.”
She shares a story about a patient who experienced vision clarity for the first time with corrective lenses—and was blown away. “She kept saying, “Wow! This is how people see?” She hadn’t realized how much detail she was missing,” she explains. “Now imagine that, but with both senses. Imagine putting on a pair of Nuance Audio Glasses with prescriptive lenses and suddenly seeing and hearing more clearly than before. Why wouldn’t we want that?”
Nuance Audio is fully customizable to your vision needs: Choose between two styles, two colors, three sizes, and your preferred lenses, including Transitions lenses and with or without an Rx.
The takeaway
If there’s one thing this panel made clear, it’s that hearing health deserves the same attention we give to other aspects of well-being. From how we connect in relationships to how we show up at work, hearing (and listening) is foundational to how we live. And with smart, stigma-free solutions like Nuance Audio Glasses, more people can get the support they need—without compromising their comfort, confidence, or style.