Hearables and assistive listening devices have exploded onto the market in recent years. Some audiology clinics in Australia are making the most of their popularity, providing another option for clients.
Devices to improve hearing are no longer constrained to the hearing aid category. The rapid rise of hearables and assistive listening devices – or ALDs – is transforming everyday listening. People with no hearing impairment also want an improved listening experience, better communication and the ability to tune in and focus on conversations or tune out of background noise.
Hearables are devices that combine some functions of a hearing aid in a consumer wearable. They are over-the-counter devices not regulated as medical devices.
Even so, they’re providing new opportunities for audiologists to differentiate and elevate their service.
One expert, Dr David Sly from Ear Science Institute Australia, believes hearables may comprise about 15% of the Australian hearing aid market. And a recent report predicts sales will reach nearly $2.5 billion in Australia in the next 10 years.
Expert Market Research’s Australia Hearables Market Size, Share Analysis and Forecast Report (2025-2034) estimates the Australian hearables market was valued at $942 million in 2024. It predicts the market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 10.4% between 2025 and 2034 extending to almost $2.5 billion.
“The hearables market is growing with an increase in the development of wireless connectivity technologies, health tracking systems incorporation, sustainable hearables, and active noise cancellation technology,” the report says.
Earbuds with built-in hearing enhancement that don’t only stream music or calls – but also improve communication, focus, and inclusion – are examples of hearables.
Apple’s AirPods Pro 2, launched worldwide in 2024 and in Australia in 2025, have especially taken the hearables market by storm. They have an in-built Hearing Aid Feature, hearing test and connect to Bluetooth. The Pro 3 version with a longer lasting battery launched in Australia in September 2025.
Many audiologists initially had reservations about the AirPods being marketed as a clinical grade hearing aid for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss as they feared they may lose clients. But some practitioners now realise the devices are creating more awareness about hearing health amongst the public and act as a gateway to superior hearing aids down the track when people’s hearing loss progresses because they realise the benefits of improved hearing.
This is exactly what preliminary results from a small world first trial of hearables in Australia are showing. Most participants who tried hearables later turned to audiologists for hearing aids.
ALDs aid safety
Hearables are the latest addition to the ALD space, says Hearing Australia’s principal audiologist, Ms Karen Hirschausen.
In her words: “Hearables are earbuds that offer hearing aid-like functionality, helping people hear better in everyday situations. They’re a fantastic option for those who aren’t quite ready to commit to traditional hearing aids.
“Since earbud use is already so common, hearables offer a familiar and stylish way to take that first step toward better hearing without the stigma or formality of medical devices.”
Other examples include homegrown Audeara Buds, marketed as “a listening aid with sound personalised to clients’ hearing profiles”, Bluetooth and Auracast connectivity and a hearing check using the Audeara Tune app.
ALDs are designed to enhance hearing and environmental awareness and can be used with or without hearing aids, Hirschausen says.
There are two main types of ALD needs:
•Auditory support: Helping people hear better – whether it’s a conversation, the TV, or a phone call.
•Safety and awareness: Alerting people to important sounds in their environment, like a doorbell, smoke alarm, or someone calling out.
“ALDs achieve this by amplifying sound, or using vibration, light, or notifications to make sure the person is aware of what’s happening around them,” she adds. “They’re especially helpful in situations where hearing aids alone might not be enough.”
ALD uptake doubles
Hearing Australia offers many ALDs and says they are increasing in popularity.
“TV assistive listening devices are hands-down the most popular,” Hirschausen says. “Why? Because the television remains a central part of home life – and often a battleground for volume control.
“When one person needs the volume cranked up and the other finds it too loud, ALDs offer a peaceful solution.”
Also, as televisions get bigger, people tend to sit further away, which can reduce sound clarity especially beyond 1.5 metres, she adds. “TV ALDs help bridge that gap, delivering clearer sound directly to the listener without disturbing others,” she says.
“At Hearing Australia, ALD uptake has nearly doubled in the past five years. But it’s not just about more people using them – it’s also about how they’re using them.”
Clients with hearing aids are increasingly choosing devices that stream TV audio directly to their hearing aids, eliminating the need for bulky headphones. This allows them to enjoy their preferred volume without compromising comfort or style, she says.
“We’re also seeing a rise in smart alert systems that send notifications to phones or smartwatches when someone’s at the door or if a smoke alarm goes off – making safety more accessible and modern,” she adds.
Wireless streamer trend
Trends include wireless streamers becoming the go-to choice. “They offer seamless connectivity with hearing aids, TVs, and other devices, making the experience smoother and more integrated,” Hirschausen says.
“This trend ties in with the shift toward discreet, user-friendly tech that fits into everyday life without drawing attention or requiring extra gear.”
ALDs sold by Hearing Australia range from headphones that use a health-check algorithm to tailor sound to each person’s unique hearing profile and feature noise cancelling and in-built microphones; to wireless headphones with speech mode that reduces background noise and enhances speech; and kids headphones and in-ear headphones that protect young ears and help curb noise-induced hearing loss with features including a volume restrictor.
Alerting devices include telephone alerting systems, vibrating alarm clocks, doorbells and smoke alarms.
Cordless phones feature easy-to-read displays, emergency call functions and large buttons for easy dialling. Personal amplifiers, pitched as devices for when people’s hearing needs a boost but conventional hearing aids may not be the best option, can be used with headphones or earbuds. They include Roger Select microphones to boost hearing performance.
There are also customisable hand-held or body-worn personal listening amplifiers with Bluetooth connectivity.
hearables study on mental and psychosocial wellbeing
Hearables may also offer other benefits apart from enhancing hearing.
In Western Australia, audiologist Dr Dona Jayakody and psychiatrist Dr Andrew Ford are conducting a clinical trial investigating whether hearing amplification via hearables, combined with a behaviour activation program, can improve mood and social participation.
Dr Jayakody began the research while at Ear Science Institute Australia in Perth and is continuing it at the WA Centre for Health and Ageing at the University of Western Australia (UWA).
“We decided to do this trial because our previous work saw an association between untreated hearing loss and depression, anxiety and stress,” Dr Jayakody says.
“We also saw increased levels of social isolation and loneliness in people who have hearing problems. Many patients were telling us they wanted to take their hearing health matters into their own hands and wanted something they could manage.”
Others were concerned about the cost of hearing aids, she adds. “Everyone was talking about hearables, they were coming onto the market and the device we used in the trial was listed on the Hearing Services Program’s device schedule,” she says.
The buds had an amplification function and could be adjusted via smartphone.
Dr Ford is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the UWA Medical School and consultant older adult psychiatrist with North Metropolitan Health Service. With colleagues he has previously investigated the role of behavioural activation in improving mental health outcomes in nursing homes and he uses this therapy in his day-to-day clinical practice.
Dr Ford adds: “Hearing loss can adversely affect someone’s quality of life and contribute to feelings of loneliness, social isolation and even depression.
“Our behavioural activation program focuses on reducing the social isolation and mental distress that is commonly associated with hearing loss.”
The hearables trial has four groups: one does the behaviour activation program, another receives hearables, a third group has both, and a fourth is the control group.
Assessments were done before the study started and three months after it began.
Participants also had the choice to swap to trialling hearables or behaviour activation if they wanted after completing the first three months in a different group.
The study, funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council, aims to recruit 200 older adults with mild to less than moderate hearing loss who have not used hearing aids or hearables.
Preliminary results are in on the first 50 participants who have completed the program.
“The feedback we’ve got from people using the hearables is that doing this program made them realise how important their hearing health and mental wellbeing are,” Dr Jayakody says.
“Most of the people whose results we have analysed for this part used hearables, and they decided to go ahead and purchase hearing aids because they wanted a bit more help for their hearing health.
“They said the device helped them when listening to TV or music, but they didn’t feel much benefit in conversational settings when there was background noise. Things could change as we’re still doing the study but that’s the feedback we’ve had so far.”
Behaviour program beneficial
Additionally, almost everyone who went through the behaviour activation program found it beneficial, she says.
“They had many challenges, and because of their hearing loss, there were certain activities they previously didn’t want to take part in as they didn’t feel comfortable,” Dr Jayakody says.
“After people completed the training provided by a psychologist trained in behaviour activation, we received many thank-yous and wonderful feedback about how the program had helped them on their mental wellbeing journey.
“Even though we didn’t see that hearables made a lot of difference, they made people realise they need to take their hearing health seriously and seek help from an audiologist, have a test and get a device tailored to their needs that can help them with their daily conversations in challenging noise backgrounds.”
These early findings of the positive influence of the behaviour program reiterate the importance of a holistic view, she adds.
“It’s important when we see someone with a hearing challenge to not only fit a device to try to solve that issue but to look at how their hearing loss is affecting other areas of their life and direct them to places where they can get the support they need,” she says.
“In this day and age, we have many stresses and challenges, and if you have hearing loss, that adds to the challenges so if there are programs that can help, that is beneficial.”
Hearables can be bought over-the-counter, without a script or needing to see a health professional such as an audiologist or doctor, with users adjusting the device themselves.
“People with more complex hearing loss and moderate to severe hearing loss, need to see an audiologist. But something is better than nothing for those with mild hearing loss so if people can’t afford a hearing aid and are not getting any amplification, hearables are an option and can provide a bit of support,” Dr Jayakody says.
Ear Science chief operating officer of research, and research lead on hearing devices and implants, auditory neuroscientist, Dr David Sly, says the term hearables was coined about 10 years ago and comes from wearables.
“Hearables are basically a wireless in-ear computational device that enhances listening along with other lifestyle features,” he says. “They’ve come from the headphone market; adding hearing aid type features into earbuds makes them hearables.
“The term hearables for audiologists is primarily about amplification function for mild to moderate hearing loss but they can also include lifestyle and health biosensors.”
Dr Sly says anyone who’s comfortable using a smartphone can use hearables. But they don’t have the fine tweaks that an audiologist can do to a hearing aid or the amplification for severe hearing loss plus battery life is much less than a hearing aid.
Many major manufacturers now have something in the hearable space including Bose, Sony and Samsung, he adds.
“They’re probably taking up 15% or so of the hearing aid market,” Dr Sly says. “It’s really increased because the consumer headphone companies started to add Bluetooth and microphones and once you have a microphone, amplifier, a speaker inside, a chip to do some processing and a battery, it’s starting to blur the lines between consumer and medical tech.”
Tech will merge
Dr Sly predicts hearables will become smaller over time and more like hearing aids.
“I think basically the technology will merge; it will get smaller and more powerful but there’s no doubt the two will physically merge,” he says. “As to who is delivering the service such as audiologists, that’s a different question.
“Quite a few clinics including our Lions Hearing Clinics provide hearables, as do George & Matilda Eyecare (G&M) stores and quite a few other audiology clinics.”
To provide further context, Australian-based personalised audio technology provider Audeara Limited secured a reseller agreement in 2025 with G&M, an Australian independent optical network with more than 120 locations. G&M, which offers audiology services in some stores, is now selling Audeara Buds.
“As part of the agreement, George & Matilda Eyecare will offer Audeara’s branded assistive listening devices to customers to highlight how personalised audio solutions complement the effectiveness of tailored optical care and reinforce the importance of individualised sensory health,” Audeara said.
“George & Matilda Eyecare will initially stock the company’s recently launched Audeara Buds product, with an aim to broaden to the company’s full suite of audiology solutions for patients who may not yet require hearing aids.”
Expanding clinic sales
Even though networks can buy in bulk, Dr Sly believes smaller independent practices should also consider selling hearables.
“It can expand their markets and sales,” he says. “For some people, like the tech savvy and younger consumers who have hearing loss, hearables might be a gateway product.
“There is a challenge that it might potentially overwhelm audiologists if there’s too much but if we just leave it to electronics retailers, which no-one is suggesting, cases might be missed.”
If audiologists sell hearables, this minimises the risk that those with more severe hearing losses will be missed and instead will be fitted. “We don’t want any delays or sitting on the fence; if someone has hearing loss, they need guidance from an audiologist,” Dr Sly says.
He does not think audiologists need to worry that hearable sales will overtake hearing aid sales if they choose to sell hearables. This is due to their visibility, shorter battery life, and being unsuitable for moderate to severe hearing loss. “Some people can also experience issues with how they fit and feel in their ears,” he adds.
Bluetooth is in most hearables and Auracast connectivity is already available in some. As more Australian venues install Auracast, their popularity will probably increase, Dr Sly adds.
Ear Science and Audeara are also collaborating on a research project to enhance the hearing of Indigenous children in remote areas in the Pilbara. They’re investigating a bone conduction hearing device for children with middle ear problems, trying to enhance existing devices or develop a more accessible hearable to improve hearing outside the classroom.
“This could benefit kids with conductive hearing loss, where they are experiencing reduced or muffled sounds,” Dr Sly says.
“Ear Science is excited to be working with large hearing aid companies and device companies. Our hearing devices team is working on the latest improvements to hearing diagnostics and hearing curable devices in Perth and at our new Monash Innovation Laboratories at Monash University in Melbourne.”
Audiologist views on hearables
In a recent study, Curtin University researchers Associate Professor Melanie Ferguson and Dr Ellen Bothe teamed up with Dr Bec Bennett from the National Acoustic Laboratories, to interview 12 people with hearing difficulties and six audiologists about hearables.
They found adults with hearing difficulties wanted trustworthy information and support, described evaluating hearables and other devices based on compatibility with their lifestyle and needs, and expressed willingness to vary their budget according to product quality.
Audiologists reported they thought hearables were an inferior product to hearing aids, but a useful tool. They said it was not necessarily their role to assist with hearables, that hearables were a source of uncertainty, and that the provision of hearables by audiologists was not currently practical.
“These findings indicate that there may be an opportunity afforded by hearables to improve outcomes for people with hearing difficulties,” the researchers wrote in the International Journal of Audiology in 2025.
“Adults with hearing difficulties may have complex reasons for considering hearables and may desire a high level of clinical support in this area.
“Ongoing research into the efficacy and effectiveness of hearables is needed together with research into effective strategies to incorporate hearables into clinical practice.”
A systematic review and meta-analysis of non-medical amplification devices in adults with mild to moderate hearing loss was published in the same journal in 2025. A/Prof Ferguson, Dr Bennett and Dr Kento Nakano from ANU teamed up with UK colleagues, Dr David Maidment and Dr Maria Goodwin from Loughborough University. They evaluated 10 studies on personal sound application products (PSAPs) and four studies on smartphone amplification apps.
They found premium PSAPs appeared an effective non-medical amplification device for adults with mild-to-moderate hearing loss. Meta-analyses showed premium PSAPs improved speech intelligibility in noise performance compared to unaided, whereas basic PSAPs and smartphone apps did not.
Additionally, premium PSAPs performed better than basic hearing aids, and premium hearing aids performed better than premium and basic PSAPs, smartphone apps, and basic hearing aids.
Although data could not be pooled, similar findings were found for quality of life, listening ability, cognition, feasibility, and adverse effects.
“Given the overlap in features available, it may be that this is a key consideration when drawing comparisons between devices, rather than the device being named a PSAP or hearing aid,” the researchers said. “The extent to which PSAPs are effective without audiological PSAPs are effective without audiological input remains to be determined.”
