Imagine being at a bustling dinner party. The clinking of wine glasses, the hum of overlapping chatter, the ambient restaurant music and you can’t quite catch what the person sitting right next to you is saying. For a staggering 5.86 million Australians living with mild to moderate hearing loss, this overwhelming acoustic fatigue is a daily reality.
Last week, at the famously atmospheric (and famously loud) Restaurant Hubert in Sydney’s CBD, the conversation around hearing health took a stylish and radically honest turn.
At the launch of the new Nuance Audio Glasses, TV host Osher Gunsberg took to the stage to share a vulnerable confession: despite suffering from hearing loss, it took him seven long years to actually do something about it.
“I’d largely never gone to get hearing aids because to be honest with you, I didn’t want to be the kind of guy that needed to wear hearing Aids. That’s the fact, ” Osher said at the Sydney launch.
“Because I am a bog standard, straight white Australian male, I am right in the middle of a bell curve because I waited the statistically significant 7 years before I did anything about it.”
Osher gunsberg
Osher also spoke candidly about the emotional toll of the condition, explaining how the constant struggle to hear caused a profound sense of disconnection, ultimately becoming the reason he simply stopped accepting dinner party invitations.
His story is incredibly common. For decades, the stigma, discomfort, and clunky aesthetics of traditional hearing aids have kept people suffering in silence, leading to social withdrawal and isolation. But what if treating your hearing loss looked exactly like slipping on a pair of designer glasses in say green tortoise shell or nude (see the range of colours below).
Fashion Finally Meets Health-Tech
Enter Nuance Audio. Created by EssilorLuxottica, the global powerhouse behind iconic eyewear brands like Ray-Ban and Oakley—these are not your grandmother’s hearing aids. In fact, they are completely invisible.
Nuance Audio Glasses are a TGA-registered medical device disguised as a chic, world-class pair of opticals. They are designed specifically to tackle the most common and under treated sensory challenge in adults: hearing in noisy environments.
How do they work?
Modern Charging: They ditch the tiny batteries of the past, opting instead for a sleek wireless charging pad and USB-C cable.
Invisible Audio: Directional microphones, noise-reduction technology, and open-ear speakers are seamlessly integrated directly into the frames.
Targeted Amplification: They are engineered to help adults with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss engage effortlessly in conversations, cutting through complex acoustic scenarios.
Smart Calibration: The glasses pair with a companion app (compatible with iOS and Android) to personalise your audio experience and calibrate the settings to your exact needs.
Putting Them to the Test: A Noisy Restaurant Experience
Hearing about the technology is one thing, but experiencing it is another.
I had the opportunity to try the Nuance Audio Glasses on myself right there at the launch. Hubert Restaurant in Sydney’ CBD is exactly the kind of noisy environment that typically sends someone with hearing fatigue running for the door. I slipped the frames on and was immediately struck by how adeptly they worked.
Despite the sheer volume of people and the echoing chatter of the venue, the glasses picked up the conversation in front of me with striking clarity. The technology managed to isolate and enhance speech without making me feel like I was wearing a medical device. They were incredibly comfortable, genuinely stylish, and empowering.
A Wellness Wake-Up Call
Research shows that long-term, untreated hearing loss is linked to increased cognitive load, reduced quality of life, and even an increased risk of depression. We are quick to track our steps, monitor our sleep, and wear blue-light glasses to protect our eyes, yet we routinely ignore our hearing.
Nuance Audio is now reframing how we approach this vital aspect of our wellbeing. By removing the visual stigma and replacing it with beautiful, wearable technology, they are breaking down the barriers to treatment. It may mean you don’t have to compromise on your style or miss out on another dinner party ever again.
To learn more about the technology, visit the Nuance Audio website, or find a store near you to try them in person.
