Hearable

A class of in-ear or over-ear wearable devices that combine audio playback with one or more sensors and on-device computing - microphones for ambient audio capture, inertial sensors, biosensors, and machine-learning accelerators - enabling features beyond passive listening. Examples include Apple AirPods Pro, Bose QuietComfort, and research prototypes for semantic hearing and conversational AI. For accessibility, hearables are increasingly important assistive devices: they deliver active noise cancellation and transparency modes, real-time captioning and translation, target sound extraction for noise-sensitive users, and conversation-boost features for hard-of-hearing users. The line between consumer hearables and medical hearing aids has blurred since the FDA's 2022 over-the-counter hearing aid rule and Apple's 2024 Hearing Aid feature for AirPods Pro 2.