EssilorLuxottica launches Nuance Audio Plus

EssilorLuxottica has launched the newest generation of its hearing glasses, Nuance Audio, offering extended battery life, enhanced audio, and an expanded range of styles.

The open-ear hearing glasses are designed for adults with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss.

Nuance Audio Plus builds on the existing design, which will remain available, with advancements in amplification, speech clarity in noise and own-voice perception, the company said.

The frame features more intuitive on-frame controls, including a dedicated power switch and volume buttons on the temples, and new options for charging on-the-go.

The design also enables wearers to answer and manage voice calls directly from the frames when paired with a compatible iPhone.

EssilorLuxottica said Nuance Audio Plus expands the portfolio with a range of sizes and three styles, ‘Square 53, ‘Panthos 48,’ and ‘Upturn 52’ in five colours.

The glasses are managed through the Nuance Audio app, on-frame controls, or a remote control which is available separately.

Through the app, wearers can switch between frontal audio mode to focus on face-to-face conversations and all-around mode which amplifies surrounding sounds.

Wearers can select from pre-configured amplification settings, customise background noise levels, and adjust the volume of amplification.

The company has said the frames can be fitted with any type of optical lenses.

EssilorLuxottica highlighted that an estimated 1.6 billion people worldwide are affected by hearing loss – and approximately 1.25 billion of those live with mild to moderate hearing loss.

However, it is suggested that close to 90% of this population has not adopted a hearing solution.

Stefano Genco, global head of Nuance Audio, said the response to the open-ear hearing glasses has been “extremely positive,” and that this confirms “consumers are looking for a more natural and desirable way to access hearing support.”

“In just one year, we have expanded to 14 countries and more than 18,000 stores, reaching consumers who are, on average, five years younger than traditional hearing-aid customers, with two out of three having never explored traditional hearing aids,” he said.

The next generation of the product takes an “important step toward making hearing support a natural part of everyday life,” Genco added.