How AI Is Changing Hearing Health and Hearing Aid Technology

Artificial intelligence has quickly become part of everyday life, from the phone in your pocket to the way your bank spots unusual payments. Less well known is how much it's now shaping hearing care. AI is already built into many of the latest hearing aids, helping them pick out voices in noisy places, learn your listening preferences and even support your wider health and safety. Researchers are also exploring how it could help detect ear and hearing problems earlier.

In this post, we'll look at what AI actually means in the context of hearing health, how it's being used in hearing aids right now, where the research is heading, and why the expertise of a qualified audiologist matters just as much as ever.

What Does AI Mean in Hearing Care?

"AI" is used as a catch-all term, so it's worth being clear about what it means here. In hearing care, it usually refers to two related technologies. Machine learning is where a system improves its decisions by learning from data, such as your own adjustments or the listening choices of thousands of other wearers, rather than following a fixed set of instructions.

Deep neural networks (DNNs) are a more advanced form of machine learning, loosely modelled on how the brain processes information. They're trained on huge libraries of real-world sound so that they can recognise patterns, like the difference between a voice and the clatter of a busy café, almost instantly. Both have been finding their way into hearing aids over the last several years, and the latest generation of devices uses them more extensively than ever before.

Separating Speech From Background Noise

The most common frustration for people with hearing loss is following conversation when there's background noise, and this is where AI is making the biggest difference. Traditional hearing aids could reduce steady noise or focus on sound coming from in front of you, but they struggled to separate a voice from other sounds happening at the same time.

DNN-powered hearing aids approach the problem differently. Having been trained on millions of sound samples, they can identify speech within a noisy mix and bring it forward in real time, while softening the sounds around it. Several leading manufacturers, including Phonak, Oticon and Unitron, now use DNN processing in their latest hearing aids, and some, like Phonak's Audéo Sphere Infinio, use a dedicated AI chip specifically for this task.

We cover speech-in-noise technology, along with Bluetooth, Auracast and rechargeable designs, in more detail in our guide to the latest advances in hearing aid technology [Internal link → The Latest Advances in Hearing Aid Technology blog post, URL TBC once published].

Hearing Aids That Learn What You Like

Everyone hears differently, and two people with similar hearing test results can still prefer different sounds. AI is helping hearing aids adapt to these individual preferences, both automatically and through your smartphone.

Widex was one of the first manufacturers to bring machine learning to hearing aids with SoundSense Learn, which helps wearers find their preferred settings in a specific situation by comparing options in the app and learning from their choices . Anonymised data from many users then helps the manufacturer improve the experience for everyone.

More recently, generative AI assistants have started to appear in hearing aid apps. The Signia Assistant, for example, lets wearers describe a problem in their own words, such as struggling to hear in a restaurant, and then suggests or makes adjustments on the spot, with a reset option to return to the original fitting. Starkey's Edge Mode takes a similar idea, using AI to optimise sound for a challenging environment at the tap of a button.

Tools like these are designed to support you between appointments, not to replace your audiologist. Your hearing aids are still fitted and programmed to your hearing test results, and any recurring issues are best raised at your next visit, so your audiologist can make lasting adjustments to your fitting.

Beyond Hearing: Health and Safety Features

Because hearing aids are worn all day, sitting in the same place on the head, they're well placed to do more than amplify sound. Some manufacturers now build motion sensors and AI into their hearing aids to support wider health and wellbeing.

Starkey's Edge AI hearing aids, for example, include fall detection, which can automatically alert chosen contacts if a fall is detected, along with daily activity tracking through the companion app. For people who live alone, or families who worry about an older relative, this can offer real reassurance.

It's worth remembering that these are wellbeing features rather than medical monitoring, and they don't replace emergency alarms or medical advice where those are needed. Your audiologist can help you decide whether any of them would genuinely be useful for you.

AI in Screening and Diagnosis

Outside of hearing aids, researchers are exploring how AI could help identify ear and hearing problems sooner. This matters, because the World Health Organization projects that nearly 2.5 billion people worldwide, around 1 in 4, will be living with some degree of hearing loss by 2050 [External link → World Health Organization: 1 in 4 people projected to have hearing problems by 2050].

One active area of research is using AI to analyse images of the ear canal and eardrum, captured during otoscopy, to flag signs of middle ear disease. Early results are promising, but they also show why caution is needed. A 2023 study published in Scientific Reports found that AI models performed well on images from the same source they were trained on, but noticeably less well when tested on images from other clinics and countries. In other words, the technology isn't yet reliable enough to replace a trained clinician.

Digital hearing screening is also more accessible than ever. Online tests, like our own free online hearing assesment, can give you a useful indication of whether your hearing has changed in just a few minutes. But a screening isn't a diagnosis. Only a full hearing test can identify the type and cause of hearing loss, including things a screening can't pick up, such as ear wax build-up, an ear infection or a problem that needs referral to a doctor.

The Limits of AI: Why Your Audiologist Still Matters

AI is a powerful tool, but it works best in the hands of a qualified professional. However advanced a hearing aid is, it still needs to be selected for your type and level of hearing loss, physically fitted to your ears, and fine-tuned over time.

Every ear canal is a different shape, which changes how sound behaves once it leaves the hearing aid. That's why verification using Real Ear Measurement is so important. The British Society of Audiology describes probe microphone measurements as the most direct method of verifying a hearing aid fitting. No algorithm can do this from a distance.

NICE guidance also recommends a follow-up appointment 6 to 12 weeks after hearing aids are fitted, with clear access to aftercare for adjustments and repairs. Your brain takes time to adapt to new sound, and AI features tend to deliver their full benefit once the underlying fitting is right.

There are practical points to consider too. Some AI features rely on a smartphone or an internet connection, and not everyone will want, or need, every feature on offer. An honest conversation with your audiologist about how you actually live and listen is the best way to decide which technology is worth paying for.

How Regain Hearing Uses AI-Powered Technology

As an independent hearing care provider, we aren't tied to any single manufacturer, so we can recommend the hearing aid that genuinely suits your hearing, lifestyle and budget. We work with nine leading manufacturers, including Phonak, Oticon, Signia, Starkey, Widex and Unitron, all of which now offer AI-powered features in their latest ranges.

Here's how we help you get the most from it:

• A thorough hearing assessment first, so that every recommendation is based on a full picture of your hearing, not just a screening result.

• Independent, plain-English advice on which AI features are worth having for your lifestyle, and which you can happily do without.

• Careful fitting and verification, so the technology is working from the right foundations in your own ears.

• A 60-day money-back guarantee on all hearing aids, giving you time to try AI features in the real places you spend your day, from the supermarket to family meals.

• Free aftercare, including adjustments for as long as you wear your hearing aids.

• Home visits through our Hear at Home service, for anyone who finds it difficult to get to one of our clinics.

If ringing or buzzing in the ears is a concern, many modern hearing aids also include tinnitus support features, and our post on tinnitus masking explains how these work. And if you're wondering about cost, our guide to hearing aid prices in the UK sets out what to expect.

Discover What AI Hearing Technology Could Do for You

AI is making hearing aids smarter, more personal and easier to live with than ever before, and research into AI-supported screening and diagnosis continues to move forward. But the best results still come from combining the latest technology with expert, face-to-face care.

Call our specialists on 0800 028 6763 to book your hearing test, or find your nearest clinic today.