iBuds? Apple shows its hand in the “hearables” space

Photo credit: Bjorn Knetsch licensed under CC BY 2.0

By David Sykes, Vice Chair, The Quiet Coalition This recent piece by Steven Levy in Wired suggests what Apple (and others) are up to in the hearables market. Levy tells us that Apple is collaborating with Cochlear to provide solutions for people with profound hearing loss. This should excite anyone concerned about the epidemic of hearing loss in America, because it suggests that hearing health has gained enough attention that corporate America is applying resources to the problem and turning it into a “technological opportunity.” If you’ve been following outcomes from the two federal reports last year (from the Presidents Council of Advisers on Science and Technology, and the National Academy of Medicine) and the resulting bi-partisan Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Act of 2017 (OCHA) approved by the Senate last week (earlier approved by the House), you know something’s up in the hearing health sector. And with the passage of OCHA last week, hearing health, an issue that has languished in the shadows for lack of funding for over three decades is suddenly center-stage again after three decades of neglect. The Wired article, coupled with the legislative success in the Senate, demonstrate that hearing health is finally starting to get the attention it deserves. That Apple is trying to gain a foothold in this world shows that tech companies smell an opportunity. And the passage of OCHA clearly establishes that hearing loss is a nonpartisan issue important to both republicans and democrats, because despite the state of affairs in DC today it’s an issue on which the nation can begin to make progress even if the rest of the legislative agenda is on hold!