LISTENING IN

Dec 1

Written By Janice Tjan

HEARING AIDS THAT RESPOND TO WANTS AND NEEDS

Design Research

Interaction Design

Health Technology

Design across scales

Motivated to inspire more proactive hearing aid adoption and retention, I spent my final year at MIT conducting design research and proposing solutions for the hearing aid industry. Since then, the project has expanded in scope as I have explored more about the innovative forces that influence the ‘hearables’ space and think about hearing on the scale of entire communities.

LISTENING IN - HEARING AIDS THAT RESPOND TO WANTS AND NEEDS

Motivated to inspire more proactive hearing aid adoption and retention, I spent my final year at MIT conducting design research and proposing solutions for the hearing aid industry.

My undergraduate design thesis explores how to generate new forms for OTC hearing aids design centered around the lifestyles of its users. Strategies utilized for finding inspiration for new forms included understanding the opportunity gap within the hearable category and exploring the opinions surrounding existing hearable forms.

LEARNING FROM THE SOURCE

Input was gathered from makers, wearers, and viewers of hearing aids via surveys, interviews, and co-design sessions. The output was key learnings that were synthesized into a set of design considerations and a new design method for generating hearing aid forms.

Key learnings from these interactions can be summarized by these five points:

Insight 1: It's not always hesitancy, there is also anticipation. Users are waiting for the next best thing.
Insight 2: People want 'cool,' but earbuds hearing aids are not an end-all solution.
Insight 3: Hearing aids are designed to do one thing, but should be more than communication devices.
Insight 4: There is no silver bullet. There is room for some variety!
Insight 5: No need for reinvention. Over-the-ear is a great form factor with implementation issues.

A USER-CENTERED OTC HEARING AID DESIGN METHOD

Shown above is the diagrammatic version of the final design method and a sentence that summarizes the design method.

Hearing aids solely designed for communication have failed to capture the hearts of prospective users. These prospective users have been deterred by a perceived lack of added value hearing aids bring in exchange for their maintenance and cost. Exploring hearing aid forms and the potential added function they may contribute can be the added value these wearers seek.

The two example implementations shown below are designs that are not only visually evocative but have functions that assist in and bring delight to the many "jobs to be done" in their daily lives.

DESIGNING LISTENING AT LARGER SCALES

Post graduation, I continued to expand on my ideas regarding hearing aid interfaces by thinking across scales. The result was Soundscaper. Some research suggests that as much as 16% of hearing aids are never used. Seemingly, the path to a hearing aid and the transition into becoming a habitual user is fraught with hesitation and avoidance. Soundscaper is a platform that integrates a sensor-filled module (belonging to an OTC hearing aid) with a mobile experience that uses community ‘scaping’ to create a more customized and dynamic hearing experience.

I evaluated the idea of Soundscaper against the backdrop of Jackson Heights my local neighborhood and socioeconomically diverse community in New York City.