Hearing Smarter: A Scoping Review of Artificial Intelligence Implementation in Hearing Devices

/Objectives : Hearing loss affects over 1.57 billion people worldwide, and many who could benefit from hearing aids do not wear them. Poor speech understanding in noise is one of the main complaints, and several artificial intelligence (AI) models have been proposed to address it....

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✦ The floor

Discussion

Signed responses from readers of the wire.

✦ Clinical Takeaway ✦

While AI in hearing devices shows promise for improving speech understanding in noise, this scoping review does not provide sufficient evidence to recommend specific AI-enabled products or change fitting protocols yet.

✦ Why It Matters ✦

AI integration in hearing devices represents a major near-term shift in audiology practice, and this scoping review maps the evidence landscape and adoption barriers that clinicians and manufacturers will need to navigate.

✦ Key Points ✦

01Scoping review covering AI applications currently implemented in hearing aids and cochlear implants.
02Primary clinical target for AI is improving speech understanding in noisy environments.
031.57 billion people globally are estimated to have hearing loss, defining the potential market scale.
04Barriers to AI adoption include cost, patient trust, regulatory uncertainty, and technical integration challenges.
05Review synthesises existing literature but does not conduct primary data analysis or meta-analysis.

✦ Claims & Evidence ✦

ClaimEvidenceSupport

AI implementation in hearing devices improves speech understanding in noise.

studypartially supported

Approximately 1.57 billion people globally have hearing loss.

studysupported

Barriers to AI adoption in hearing devices include cost, trust, and technical limitations.

studysupported

✦ Research metadata ✦

PMID: 42941637
DOI: 10.3390/jcm15208124.
Journal: Journal of Clinical Medicine
Publication type: review
Evidence level: 2a
Population: Broad review of studies on AI-enabled hearing devices; ultimate beneficiaries are people with hearing loss (1.57 billion globally)
Intervention: Artificial intelligence implementations in hearing aids and cochlear implants

Primary outcomes

Speech understanding in noise; Barriers to AI adoption in hearing devices

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