Mapping the Future of Hearables: Lessons from Online and the "Oldest Old" Consumers

Living with hearing loss presents challenges for an aging population. Hearing loss without intervention is associated with a plethora of negative consequences for older adults including loneliness, cognitive decline and falls. In this study, members of the MIT AgeLab 85+ Lifestyle Leaders Panel were surveyed and interviewed to learn about their experiences with hearing loss and audio-assistive device adoption, and their hopes for the hearables of the future. Additionally, 583 written customer reviews were accumulated from Amazon.com and HearingTracker.com for analysis. Several themes emerged along with an imperative to industry to explore further the enduring challenges and future opportunities of human-hearable design.

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