
Bose Hearphones - akramhussein
http://hearphones.bose.com/
======
boobsbr
Wow, this address a major problem I have.

I have decent hearing, but when I'm in a noisy environment like a bar, I can
hear but can't understand what other people are saying. It's why I don't like
going to bars/pubs with live performances or ambient music.

People think I'm bored or brooding because I'm not talking to anyone, but I
just can't understand anything anyone says, so I can't participate in a
conversation.

~~~
randlet
Are you sure you have decent hearing? I thought I could hear what people were
saying in noisy environments, but couldn't understand anything. This was one
of the major symptoms for me before I was diagnosed with moderate/severe
hearing loss. It's very isolating. No problems now with a decent set of
hearing aids.

Have yourself tested! The quality of life improvement from a set of hearing
aids is incredible!

edit: I was 31 when I was diagnosed, so don't think because you're young that
you're immune. Generally hearing loss is very gradual so you don't really
notice it. If you frequently have to ask people to repeat themselves though...

~~~
tibbon
I have a similar problem in loud spaces. Given my activities (motorcycling,
guitar playing, powertools, etc) I had assumed my hearing was bad, but when I
went to an ENT/audiologist for unrelated things I had them give me a good test
on a whim.

For me, the results were that I have hearing ability on-par with a ~5 year
old, and they only see adults like me every 18 months or so. I've got a
printoff of the chart around here somewhere, but it's well outside the normal,
especially for my activities.

On the flipside, I'm very ADHD, which I think hurts my loud-space
conversational abilities some. I always figure my ears are trying to listen to
all of it at once.

(Most lightbulbs and televisions drive me up a wall, because I can hear them
all the time)

~~~
manyxcxi
I went to an audiologist a few years back because I could hear certain things
that would drive me up the wall. I thought it might be tinnitus or something
like that- I ride motorcycles, am on the water in boats, use power tools, etc.
Turns out I have exceptional hearing as well, and much better high frequency
responses than an average 30 year old. Certain cheap lights and power
transformers can drive me absolutely freaking crazy.

~~~
mey
What you are most likely hearing are switched-mode power supplies, the cheaper
the nosier.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switched-
mode_power_supply](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switched-mode_power_supply)

"The operating frequency of an unloaded SMPS is sometimes in the audible human
range, and may sound subjectively quite loud for people whose hearing is very
sensitive to the relevant frequency range."

Even analog power supplies will generate a 50/60hz hum (depending on what the
power-lines are providing)

~~~
Benofiniquity
The hum you hear is actually double the mains frequency (100/120 Hz) with
emphasis on odd harmonics going up. Magnetostriction gives you two
expansion/contraction events per wavelength, effectively doubling the
frequency. (If everything is perfect, spherical cow in a vacuum, &c.)

------
randlet
For what it's worth, this tech has been available in hearing aids for a long
time already. I carry a remote that can:

* switch my hearing aids between 5 different programs depending on the environment.

* play "fractal" like tones to combat my tinnitus

* adjust the volume including muting the outside world

* play music from anything with a 3.5mm jack (bluetooth also available)

* hear calls from my phone

* probably more I'm forgetting

If it wasn't for the being hearing impaired part, having hearing aids is
pretty cool :)

It looks like Bose is trying to bring this technology to a bigger market which
is cool.

~~~
hughes
What do hearing aids with those feature cost? I feel like even premium Bose
products would be cheap in comparison

~~~
randlet
Yes, they're expensive. I think I payed $6000 total for 2 hearing aids with a
3 year service contract and expect them to last 5-6 years (possibly longer).
You can certainly get cheaper ones though without all the bells and whistles.
You're right though, Bose is going to have to come in way below that price ;)

~~~
pbhjpbhj
I've been amazed for a long time at the cost of hearing aids. Surely the tech
is not that costly nor that specialised? How much do those $6k devices cost to
make, I can't imagine it's even a 10th of the sale price?

~~~
randlet
I mentioned it in another post, but my guess is that it's due to insurance
companies footing the bill (and government subsidies in Canada) so they can
get away with charging more.

------
_fs
I really wish someone was working to solve the problem of tinnitus. Would it
be possible to generate anti phase wave out of these things to cancel out
tinnitus? I would pay anything and/or wear any goofy device in my ears to live
life tinnitus free.

~~~
logicallee
see my other comment. I wish they didn't start by forcing you to have tinnitus
to begin with. I'd use foam inserts if they were given out at concerts and
clubs etc - but not if I'm the only one bringing them with me, that's
ridiculous.

tinnitus is caused by people listening to music that is too loud. Music is too
loud at most venues, if you are standing where you are meant to.

EDIT:

people don't like this comment, and point out that in many places inserts are
available. All the same, the general clubs that I go to where I live, don't
have them, and, more to the point, nobody else wears them. it's a social
problem and perhaps a marketing problem. many bars / clubs are too loud and I
as a consumer haven't been solicited to pay for a solution on-site. (even if
this exists.) others I'm with don't wear anything either.

The responses here have convinced me that I likely should invest in some and
bring them with me - but I don't like that I'm the only one doing so, and it
seems kind of anal. i'm just being honest about how I feel. it would be easier
if they were more readily available / being sold, and if everyone were using
them.

I like to be cool and do the same thing everyone else does. just being honest.

~~~
abakker
I've learned that it is just necessary to bring foam earplugs to a lot of
events. (even movie theaters now).

In general, if the performers are wearing them, you probably should be, too.
Your health is not a good place to think about being worried about what other
people aren't doing to protect theirs.

~~~
dawnerd
You should look into something like these instead of regular foam.
[http://www.etymotic.com/consumer/hearing-
protection.html](http://www.etymotic.com/consumer/hearing-protection.html)

I got a pair for EDC after realizing the foam earplugs were ruining the music.
These reduce the volume with minimal muffling. Also pretty cheap considering
they'll last a long time.

I picked them up at guitar center - they can help you get the right ones.

~~~
mi100hael
For those that use earphones a lot at work or on public transit or whatever, I
also highly recommend Etymotic's in-ear isolating earphones. They are
basically those musician's earplugs with a small driver in the tip. They
reduce external noise on-par with foam plugs, so I can listen to my music at
much lower volumes rather than cranking the volume of the music to drown out
my surroundings. The sound quality is quite good as well. I have the hf3 model
and they are by far better than any other earphones I've used that are sub
$200.

~~~
iamatworknow
Their headphones are great in terms of the quality of sound they produce, but
their durability leaves a lot to be desired. I've used both the MC5's and
HF5's and both ended up with shorting out on one side (HF5) or falling apart
(MC5) on me within just a few months.

~~~
mi100hael
Interesting, mine have held up pretty well. My hf3s are going on four years
old. I've used them on a near daily basis at work and fairly frequently under
a motorcycle helmet. The exterior sleeve of the cords is starting to fray at
the attachment points to the actual earphones, but they still work just fine.
I expect I'll have to finally replace them within the next year or so, but
I'll do it happily because they've outlived everything else I can remember in
my daily rotation including two phones, a laptop, a wallet, and a backpack.

~~~
iamatworknow
>The exterior sleeve of the cords is starting to fray at the attachment points
to the actual earphones, but they still work just fine.

That's how it started with my MC5's. I put a piece of heat shrink tubing over
the fray in order to postpone their demise but ultimately the plastic housing
of the driver itself broke. The HF5's one day just stopped working out of one
ear. I was never particularly rough with them or anything and only really used
them at the office, but that was it for me.

I since moved on to a pair of Sennheiser MM 550-Xs but stopped using them
because there was Bluetooth interference in my office (every one of about 70
desks in an open plan has a Bluetooth phone headset). Plus, the band messed
with my hair and scalp.

Now I'm on a pair of Sennheiser CX 686G SPORTS that I originally bought for
running but now use at the office. Sound's good enough and the build quality
is superb since it was designed to be tossed about while doing active stuff.

I would gladly go back to Etymotic if they came out with something new in the
$100ish price range, but for now I'll stick with Sennheiser. I've bought
probably 6 different pairs of headphones from Sennheiser of varying styles in
the past decade or so, and they all still work (with varying degrees of wear
and tear). The only time a pair has broken on me was because I stupidly tried
putting them on after they spent a night in a below-freezing car and didn't
give them time to warm up, snapping the plastic headband, and their warranty
service still replaced them with no questions asked.

------
KaiserPro
I'm a drummer. Fortunately before I destroyed my hearing my dad forced me to
wear ear defenders.

since then it's been a habit. These look nice and all, but basically all you
really need are ear plugs.

[http://www.thesafetysupplycompany.co.uk/p/449062/howard-
leig...](http://www.thesafetysupplycompany.co.uk/p/449062/howard-leight---
laser-lite-disposable-foam-ear-plug-uncorded---box-of-200-pairs---
hw-3301105.html?gclid=COjc2c7u59ACFekp0wodkRoLsg)

comfy, snug and 32db (depending on version) of attenuation. That means that
you can go to a loud gigs (95db) without the risk of tinitus.

same goes for bars. Loud noises are draining, have your hearing shattered by
someone shouting in your ears is a pain.

Yes, if you choose the colourful ones its obvious. there are natural colours.

Bose makes a lot of song and dance about how you can adjust for noise, your
ears do that already. The advantage of normal ear plugs is that you still
retain some of the dimensionality that earphones loose.

Sadly I've had a child, and all that shrill screaming has basically killed off
10db of sensitivity of my hearing. but I'm 10db up form most of my musician
friends

~~~
owlninja
These are not just earplugs...they can enhance conversation in loud places as
well.

~~~
KaiserPro
Don't get me wrong, for those of us who have to use hearing aids this is a
godsend, it allows directionality that previously was impossible.

However, for people with "normal" hearing, this will be a step down in
usability.

The earlobe is shaped like they are to allow your brain to pickout and isolate
sound in three dimensions+. Firstly this is automatic, you've been doing it
since before you were born.

Secondly, the design of the era plugs completely remove the "shaping" sound of
the earlobe (for want of a better term. This is why stereo records still sound
flat, they don't have the extra metadata the deformities of the earlobe
provide. hence binaural recordings.)

Yes that means you can remove the background noise completely, and replace it
with the "what's in front of you" but that is a 2d (if you're lucky) image, so
good luck differentiating between two people close together. Ear plugs
_shouldnt_ mess with the "metadata" because they should be in the earcanal.
All they are doing is attenuating the signal, not re-writing it.

However I can't state enough how much this is going to improve people who are
dependant in earphone's lives. For the rest of us, ear plugs are most likely
far superior

\+ Experiment: Stereo is sort of 2d. However, its complicated. you can
describe a horizontal circle of noise, crudely by altering the two channels.
However depth is replaced by loudness. (in the same way size of an object for
2d photos) Now, you know that in real life you can differentiate vertical
sounds as well.

 _edit_ : ex sound engineer, so none of this is scientific. Please research
binaural, and 3D sound. Criticism welcome

~~~
e40
_However, for people with "normal" hearing, this will be a step down in
usability._

A step down from using ear plugs or without anything in the ear?

~~~
KaiserPro
both. However earplugs give a longer lasting effect :)

------
musesum
So, same market as the DopplerLabs Hear One?

I am the ideal customer: some hearing loss from my VJ days, but still
appreciate frequency response. I render all my music at 192Khz.

Basic hearing aids suck at frequency response. Most drop off at around 8KHz
Meanwhile, Apple has created a pipeline for hearing aid.
[https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201466](https://support.apple.com/en-
us/HT201466) I haven't used it.

I often work out of noisy cafes. So, I wear Bose Quiet Comfort 20 earbuds. If
I forget, I will go back home to fetch them. Have even taken the QC 20's to
public concerts to use the noise cancellation feature instead of earplugs.

~~~
sna1l
I was pretty excited for the Hear One's but now they've been delayed until
March. :(

If they can actually land a product with a truly wireless experience, that
would be awesome!

~~~
musesum
Yep, Doppler _and_ Apple delaying product.

A friend has worn the simple noise cancelling version of the Hear One to a
loud concert. She loves them.

Another friend has the Bragi Dash earbuds and was complaining of some
Bluetooth drop-out.

IMO, would rather have a neck band sending out RF than something sitting
inside my head. Maybe the new passive WiFi solves that concern at 1/10,000 the
power?

~~~
KingMob
IIRC, the new passive Wifi requires a reflector device in the room.

------
ElijahLynn
I was reading this paragraph.

"...and people always talk much louder to compensate for the noise. I was
pleasantly surprised that I was able to hear the server without any extra
effort..."

And initially was wondering how he got an audio feed to his server in a
restaurant and then was like "Why would he want to listen to his server". And
then realized that there are human servers in restaurants.

~~~
Florin_Andrei
Time to go play outside.

~~~
ElijahLynn
Truth!

------
afshinmeh
Can't open the website.

PDOException: SQLSTATE[HY000] [1040] Too many connections in
lock_may_be_available() (line 167 of
/var/app/current/hearphones/includes/lock.inc).

~~~
olegkikin
Mirror: [http://archive.is/iFcM7](http://archive.is/iFcM7)

------
h4nkoslo
This is basically the same idea as electronic ear protection of the kind
typically used for shooting sports, with the addition of a directional
microphone to the existing global microphone.

It works extremely well in that form factor, basically like having Superman
ears. Conversations are audible, you can turn up the sensitivity to where you
can hear footsteps clearly in a house, and gunshots are reduced to the level
of, eg, a heavy book falling off a shelf.

[https://smile.amazon.com/Howard-Leight-Amplification-
Electro...](https://smile.amazon.com/Howard-Leight-Amplification-
Electronic-R-01526/dp/B001T7QJ9O/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1481307350&sr=8-3&keywords=electronic+ear+protection)

------
nkrumm
Hard to tell exactly what this entails, but there is a very functional low-
cost solution already on the market called the Pocket Talker
([https://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Talker-Ultra-System-
Headphone/...](https://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Talker-Ultra-System-
Headphone/dp/B000S01IOE))

------
borisjabes
Looks like Bose smells the same opportunity as Doppler Labs with their "Here
One" [https://hereplus.me](https://hereplus.me)

------
falcolas
Someone will have to explain the difference between these and your average
hearing aids, which perform a very similar function, but tuned by an
audiologist to your needs.

~~~
DasIch
Hearing aids compensate for a health problem, the goal here seems to be to
improve hearing even for those that don't have hearing problems.

If hearing aids are glasses, these are binoculars/telescopes/microscopes.

~~~
emptybits
Maybe a better analogy is ... if hearing aids are glasses, these are reading
glasses.

i.e. off-the-shelf, self-diagnosed, cheap and easy solution for part-time use
without getting "medical"

(I say "cheap" because I don't know what the Hearphones will cost but I've
helped relatives shop for hearing aids and WOW ... from what I gather, as you
step up in price in a company's line of hearing aids, ticking off more boxes
in their feature matrix, they're probably just enabled bits of code in an
otherwise identical DSP ... and the price increments go like this:
$3K-$4K-$5K),

------
mikestew
"You’re one of the select few invited to the Bose Corporate Center facilities
to demo Bose Hearphones for yourself."

Wow, I feel so special, and all I did was click a link on HN. This sounds like
the Bose version of those cheap late-night "as seen in TV" amplifiers. Yeah,
Bose is overpriced for what you get, but at least their stuff is if decent
quality. Dunno, after too many years of standing in front of a Marshall stack,
be it my own or other's, I could see myself interested in this.

~~~
gilstroem
Came to the comments to say this. Slightly awkward use of cheap classical
marketing tricks, for such a big company.

It may still work for emails, because people might be unsure of how many mails
are actually sent out, but this is cringe in 2016.

------
mschip
I wonder what the side affects of prolonged usage would be. As in, would my
ability to block out ambient noises without the device decline from not using
the ability?

~~~
deckar01
Their are already headphones let in ambient sound and headphones that fully
block ambient sound. I don't think adding a volume knob to the ambient sound
is going to change your brain's hearing calibration.

~~~
nickparker
I think the unique part of this, which may have an effect, is that it's
selectively blocking ambient noise, and it's meant to be worn during
conversation.

I can't think of anyone today who wears noise-cancelling headphones while
trying to hear noise from outside the headphones. Everyone I know takes their
headphones off to communicate or listen to specific sounds outside the
headset.

Who knows, but my point is that there are two slightly different tests here.
We already know that wearing noise-cancelling headphones to block _all_ sound
doesn't affect our hearing when they're off. It remains to be seen whether
using them to filter some sound effects our ability to filter some sound
without them.

------
farnsworth
I'm not hard of hearing but I often have trouble understanding people at noisy
meetups or conferences (or hell, parties). This sounds like an awesome
solution. I'm sure I'm not the only one. But what compounds the problem is
that I seem to be worse than most at understanding accents (thanks, growing up
in middle America). I've gotten better recently, but still.

~~~
pixelcloud
That means you probably have hearing damage. I read an article recently
regarding this, many younger people have issues with this and it IS physical
damage.

~~~
timtammittee
You are probably talking about what we call a hidden hearing loss. It is
called like this because there are currently no clinical tests available.

The reason for this is probably a selective death of synapses in the inner
ear. We separate between three types of auditory nerve fibers (ANFs): High
spontaneous rate (HSR), low spontaneous rate (LSR) and mid spontaneous rate
(MSR). Basically the HSRs are our high gain fibers used for low sound levels.
Their response saturates quite early. LSRs on the other hand are low gain
fibers used for higher levels.

the ANF synapse can release a large amount of neurotransmitter into the
synaptic cleft (in this case glutamate) the problem is that high
concentrations of glutamate can are actually harmful and HSR fibers seem to be
quite sensitive to these high concentrations. If there is a long term exposure
to a noisy environment the high glutamate concentration might selectively
kills your HSR fibers. The problem with this is that your threshold of hearing
is still normal as there is no damage to the HSR fibers which you need to
detect low level sounds so your audiogram looks perfectly fine. But you will
start to get problems if you are in situations where you need your full
dynamic range e.g. understanding speech in a noisy environments.

As you can see from my writing, this is a current subject of research so we do
not know for sure but it seems like that you have to be quite careful with
long time noise exposure even if the sound levels are below what is normally
considered as harmful.

~~~
Chico75
It sounds a lot like what I am experiencing too. Is there any point talking
about it to a specialized doctor (an ENT?) ?

~~~
timtammittee
Its always good to have yourself checked from time to time. But there is
nothing you can do about sensory hearing loss, hidden or non hidden (apart
from hearing aids). That's why you should be careful to start with.

There are some indications that people with damage might be more at risk for
the hearing loss to get worse. Maybe because they where more sensitive to
start with. So everyone protect your ears!!

------
andy318
This is cool. Something i've wished for. Its kinda sad that many
restaurants/bars are so noisy that one cannot enjoy a conversation -
[http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB100014240527487040228045750410...](http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704022804575041060813407740)

------
cvigoe
This reminds me strongly of when cigarette companies started to produce
nicotine patches. Without sounding too cynical (it does look like a product
that could be useful for people who just happen to be in noisey environments a
lot) , I can't help but think Bose are trying to position themselves at the
top of a new product line: hearing aids for people who damaged their own
hearing through excessively loud earphone music but rebranded to not be
considered so obviously as "hearing aids" in the current sense. Not that
that's necessary all that bad, it makes sense for a top consumer audio company
to tackle this "problem" if it is a thing; I'm by no means an ear expert but I
wouldn't be surprised if a surge in hearing aid demand is due as the effects
of prolonged earphone usage starts to surface.

------
kriro
I have Bose noise cancelling headphones...possibly the best purchase I have
ever made since they allow me to basically turn off the environment when on a
train (or plane but I commute about 1h each way daily via train so that's
where they shine). My soundy friends tell me Bose sound quality is not in the
upper echolon (my hearing is not fine grained enough to hear a difference so I
don't really care) but the filtering is really amazing. Not surprised they
improve on that and branch out a bit. I usually listen to stuff without vocals
(X meets metal:
[https://www.youtube.com/user/331Erock](https://www.youtube.com/user/331Erock))
when reading as I can't concentrate if there's lyrics.

~~~
e40
I have the QC 35's, and I have to agree with you. It was, I thought, an
extravagant purchase, but after having them for a month I think not. I use
them at least an hour a day and they are amazing, albeit expensive.

------
scandox
I never understood my poor ability to focus sound could be a thing until I
read Douglas Coupland's account of sneezing out a lump of...well..his
lung...his brain? I don't really know...but it's a great anecdote:

[http://boingboing.net/2011/09/09/how-coughing-up-a-piece-
of-...](http://boingboing.net/2011/09/09/how-coughing-up-a-piece-of-his-lung-
inspired-douglas-coupland-to-write-a-bio-of-marshall-mcluhan.html)

~~~
6stringmerc
This is fascinating, because for years I've noticed that I have an acute
opposite thing - I can separate sounds drastically when otherwise it shouldn't
make sense. As in, I can hear a conversation, focus on it, and pick it up
faintly even though it's something like 15 feet away and around a corner and
mixed in with lots of general white noise. It's not a 100% thing but I think
it came from years and years of practice in music (identifying different
instruments, their lines/notes) and also intentionally eavesdropping
conversations at bars and stuff (to practice writing better dialog).

It's a very interesting condition to have, because sometimes certain sounds
will jump out at me in ways that wouldn't bother most other people - for
example, the newest GMC TV commercials on US TV have this marimba chime thing
that kicks in at the very end and it's a purposefully off-tempo, non-
harmonized cacophony that drives me effing bonkers.

------
sprokolopolis
As someone who is unilaterally deaf, this is very interesting to me. I hear
fine in one ear, but am completely deaf in the other.

People who hear in stereo seem to isolate particular sounds (like a voice)
much easier from background noise without any/much conscious thought; whereas,
I have to consciously focus on filtering out the ambient noise. Having 2 audio
channels seems to allow for a sort of spacial filtering/differentiation to
pinpoint particular streams of sounds. I have found that turning my head in
space allows me some ability to differentiate foreground/background noise by
comparing their relative change in volumes as my ear changes direction. That
is more fit for deciphering sounds coming from a distance and not helpful in
the case of a close conversation. If I am having trouble with a conversation
in a noisy setting I normally revert to lip-reading. Unfortunately lip-reading
makes it difficult to read body language and facial expressions.

As a young kid I felt a bit left out of the experience of stereo music. I
experimented with setting up several of my family's radios around my room and
tuning their equalizers differently to roughly separate parts of the music. By
moving and turning through the room, I was able to experience the music in a
slightly more spacial way.

------
joel-stages
Long time reader, first time caller...er commenter. I might be biased since I
work for them, but at www.stages.co we've JUST unveiled a headphone and a
tabletop product (that lets you use any existing headphones) that I think this
thread would find relevant. Directional listening, noice cancellation, noise
reduction, high quality audio, user configurable admittance criteria - we have
it all.

~~~
hearingguy
Are those products you have at stages.co already developed and built or are
they in development? Why would someone use that desktop device instead of the
headphones?

~~~
joel-stages
We'll be bringing developed products to CES in January 2017 and will be
announcing details on our production rollout plan soon. The reason for the
desktop product is to allow you to use any existing set of headphones you
already own, but still take advantage of our microphone array, unwanted noise
reduction, music quality improvements, etc. Basically, we wanted everyone to
be able to take advantage of our tech, even if they have a pair of headphones
they already love.

------
daenney
Aren't these just the QC35's with their companion app? What am I missing?

~~~
kabes
I think you mean the QC30's. I just got those and the app seems different. I'm
betting they're probably the same hardware with different software and will be
sold separately. Because... more money

~~~
daenney
Right yes, sorry, the 30's.

Mmm, according to the description of the iOS Bose Hear app:

 _Companion app for Bose® Hearphones™ conversation-enhancing headphones to let
you hear the world on your terms. This app is not compatible with Bose QC30
Headphones._

Now I'm curious if the Hearphones have the same ANC capabilities as the QC30s
+ the extra stuff. That would be interesting.

~~~
thinkling
Hearphones page says: "Directional microphones help you focus on conversations
in noisy places. Focus, amplify or reduce real-world sounds to the level you
want." So the hearphones don't just do cancelation of repetitive-signal type
noise, in addition they will amplify sound from the direction you're facing to
help carry on a conversation.

The Bose QC series don't have that. Nor does the PocketTalker product
mentioned in another comment here.

------
aagoldin
We (in Alango Technologies) liked the HearPhones for this product type.
Actually, we liked it so much that two years ago we used it to name the
category of Bluetooth headsets with hearing enhancement and assistive
listening functionality as HearPhones™ (www.alango.com/hearphones,
www.old.alango.com/hearing/index). As a DSP software provider, we started
working on a licensable software package that allows transformation of a
Bluetooth headset into a powerful hearing aid. Of course, BOSE were aware of
it as well and, apparently, liked the idea and the name so much that they
decided to name their upcoming product HearPhones™. We, obviously, don’t like
their idea… Anyway, our company will introduce our own concept product from
HearPhones™ category. It will be a stylish Bluetooth headset with fully
customizable hearing enhancement capability. You will get much more
information about it very soon (hopefully next week) on www.wearandhear.com

------
FreedomToCreate
So basically this is augmentation of the ear. Focus sounds you want to ear,
block the ones you don't. Pretty cool, but at the same time its kind of the
first step towards the concept shown in Black Mirror where you just block out
people you don't want to hear or see. They just become a muffled background
noise.

------
bsmith
These seem to me, at least, to be a clever, premium re-branding of hearing
aids. I found myself wanting some despite having only moderate (if detectable)
hearing loss, especially for the ability to focus in on a conversation in a
loud environment. That is a very draining situation for me to find myself in.

------
andy_ppp
If they could just remember someone's name for me the first time they say it
that would be great ;-)

~~~
sgs1370
You are spot on. Please, let augmented reality help us with this without ads.
(Edit: I personally would be willing to pay a monthly subscription)

------
sundvor
Not limited to those with bad _hearing_ , auditory _processing_ issues are
common amongst those with ASD / autism spectrum disorders / Aspergers / The
Geek Syndrome.

This looks like an excellent product, and great work to their engineers.

------
jluk
Neat prospect, but I'm not convinced this is a big enough problem for the
majority of people which is how this is marketed. I would also expect a price
point comparative to other hearing aids to further distance the average
consumer.

~~~
cracell
Depends on price for me.

I have trouble hearing in noisy environments. When I was young I was diagnosed
with an auditory processing problem so I assume it's related to that.

When I meet with someone in a noisy environment I just accept that I'm only
going to understand every other word that someone says. Which leads to a lot
of smiling and nodding blankly.

I know very expensive hearing aids could handle this for me but it's not a big
enough problem for me to check into that route. However if this was $150 bucks
or so I might get some. Though I expect the price tag will be more like $600.

~~~
jluk
Interesting, to me I would never carry an additional independent hearing aid
for this problem. I generally have my keys, wallet, smartphone, and possibly
music headphones. If this could be paired in with existing headphones -
awesome, otherwise I can't see many people adding an additional headphone to
the aforementioned list without a larger problem. I do like the expansion of
the Bose objective though with this.

~~~
j2bax
Do you have reason to believe these aren't intended to replace your current
daily driver headphones?

------
6stringmerc
Hm, okay. Not quite Google-Glass level overkill personal tech in the wild, but
I'm not sure these will find a good patch of target market. Not quite hearing
aids, not nearly as cool as headphones _intending_ to keep the world out...I
just have my doubts as to how well these are going to be adopted.

Oh, and if there comes a time when there are YouTube/Vine videos of jerks
coming up behind people wearing these and screaming and/or otherwise messing
with them, well, I wouldn't be surprised. Not that I'd approve, mind you. But
would I laugh? No comment.

------
raz32dust
Kudos to Bose for marketing. Can't wait to see the execution.

Today, people who wore glasses or had to wear hearing aid were those with
vision and hearing problems. We are moving to an era where we would
voluntarily wear visual/hearing aid all the time because they enhance our
natural abilities so much that it would be hard to do without it. We are now
starting to augment the most basic senses with technology, in a way that is
affordable enough that everyone will be doing it. In that sense, this is the
dawn of an era of bioelectronic super humans.

------
pluglus
I am totally bothered by noise in the bars. Or the fact that you go to sports
bar, but you cannot hear the audio. I was thinking of building on Pi something
that would plug to TVs audio output, and then broadcast that to local Wifi in
the bar. So that smartphone that's connected to same wifi could receive the
audio and you could listen to it on your smartphone. Turns out there is
someone already doing it: [http://www.limeonair.com](http://www.limeonair.com)

~~~
pbhjpbhj
Like a hearing aid induction loop (a transmitter that plugs in to a venues
mono-out and [I gather] transmits on a frequency for specially hearing aids).

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_induction_loop](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_induction_loop)

------
fapjacks
We have similar directional, sound-suppressing "headphones" for use in the
military. Specifically I used them as a gunner on a Bradley (BFV) and a gunner
on a regular ole Humvee gun truck. This kind of thing is pretty impressive. I
could talk to other gunners in other turrets in our security element that were
reasonably close without using the radio. You could still hear everything
happening around you -- incredibly important -- without blast sounds and
weapons fire causing your ears to ring.

------
blauditore
OT: I've seen an error page when opening it for the first time:

    
    
      PDOException: SQLSTATE[HY000] [1040] Too many connections in lock_may_be_available() (line 167 of /var/app/current/hearphones/includes/lock.inc).
    

Reloading once made it work.

Out of curiosity, is this an amost-hug of death or something else broken? (I
know nothing about Drupal.)

~~~
Tade0
Somebody's been coding on production I think:

    
    
        Warning: date_timezone_set() expects parameter 1 to be DateTime, boolean given in format_date() (line 2062 of /var/app/current/hearphones/includes/common.inc).
        Warning: date_format() expects parameter 1 to be DateTimeInterface, boolean given in format_date() (line 2072 of /var/app/current/hearphones/includes/common.inc).

------
gravypod
Are they calling these headphones to avoid medical device testing? These
aren't headphones and that's not their main feature.

~~~
Tade0
There's more money to be made in certified medical devices. My father worked
in medical device certification before he retired and fought a long and
eventually losing battle with a businessman, who wanted to have his vacuum
cleaner product certified as a medical device(ostensibly it was supposed to
somehow deliver drugs by spraying them on the floor).

------
bshimmin
I humbly submit that they need to work on the name. I've had a long day and
not much sleep and my eyes didn't recognise the difference between
"hearphones" and "headphones"; the two even sound pretty similar. I know it's
intentional and clever, but it's quite subtle. Especially if you don't have
good hearing...

------
callesgg
I actually use my normal noice cancelling BOSE headphones for this sometimes.

If one presses the passthrogh button it has a somewhat enhancing effect.

------
bks
I guess that we hugged them too hard, connection error -
[http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://...](http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://hearphones.bose.com/)

------
Mankhool
I have always used my QC20 noise cancelling earbuds in this way so I'm glad it
will get better. Just last weekend in a noisy eatery I put them in and my SO
and her friend thought I was listening to music, but I said, "No, now I can
hear YOU". Cool.

------
LyalinDotCom
As someone who lost hearing in one ear as a young kid Its always exciting to
see companies work on this space. Honestly from their marketing websites its
not 100% clear where this is going but I do look forward to seeing

------
logicallee
they need to get into something they can rent at clubs and concert venues.
Clubs are ridiculous. Every time I go to a club, I don't wear hearing
protection, and this means that I am consciously making a choice to lose some
of my hearing. I should be able to get some foam things that reduce my hearing
damage to something reasonable.

but imagine if I could rent some kind of insert that actually lets me talk
with others who also have theirs (because it filters using also a microphone.)
how awesome would that be.

clubs and concerts, dance halls etc suck. waaay too loud.

~~~
daenney
> Every time I go to a club, I don't wear hearing protection, and this means
> that I am consciously making a choice to lose some of my hearing.

Maybe you should consciously make a different choice, such as bring ear plugs
with you. There's plenty of brands that come in a container that fit easily on
a keychain so they're not forgotten.

~~~
logicallee
I'm not going to be the only one at a club who brings hearing protection with
me. It's not hip. Clubs need to start giving them out either for free, or
renting them, or something. it needs to be available on location there. I
don't see anyone else wearing them.

~~~
Jtsummers
If you're making health decisions based on what's hip and what's not, you need
to reevaluate your priorities.

Many earplugs can be very unobtrusive in appearance unless people are looking
directly at your ear canal. Not to mention that many, in clubs, are already
going to be drunk or otherwise inebriated. Unless you wear bulky hearing
protection like the guys on a flight line crew, few will notice, and those
that do won't remember.

------
beepboopbeep
I'd be interested to see what happens to the noise level of a bar room with
everyone using these. Would the clarity of sound reduce everyone's volume to
conversational?

------
disposablezero
When I go with family to the shooting club, we have these hearing protectors
that double as hearing enhancement. This seems like a natural extension off
the range.

------
dotnetisnotdead
really interested in the technology behind this. Obviously non voice
frequencies can be filtered but how are they determining which voices are too
far away to matter?

I'm sure I could probably read up more, but if these work it's definitely a
"shut up and take my money" situation for me. I'm about as ADD as it gets and
I have a really hard time when there are multiple conversations going and I
try to listen to them all.

------
_glass
If they can't do the acoustics right, this is the solution. But the focus
should be to push good architectural design. Which is lacking almost
everywhere.

------
WhitneyLand
What is this? Hearing aid, directional headset, hybrid?

------
TACIXAT
It's so weird that we create personal products to address noise in public
spaces rather than addressing the unnecessary noise first.

~~~
pvdebbe
Yeah. I just tend to avoid the noisy establishments.

------
lancewiggs
The hard problem to solve there is not the filtering - but the calibration.
That's going to be the interesting bit to observe.

------
Coincoin
I wonder if that could be useful for people with misophonia. Having power over
what sound one ears could have a dramatic effect.

------
gesman
Experience new [potentially] super [maybe] coolexotic headphones by coming to
Bose event in MA.

Ok. Duh?

Why so many points to this story?

------
brak1
So are these just like normal hearing aids (with a diff design),
designed/marketed by Bose?

------
kozak
The military already uses similar tech to be able to shoot and hear voice at
the same time.

~~~
swimfar
There are passive versions available as well. Obviously they won't have the
same capabilities as active noise canceling, though.
[https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01BCR0MNO/](https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01BCR0MNO/)

------
oAlbe
Am I the only one that seeing those things thought of the Seashells from
Fahrenheit 451?

------
themihai
Bragio has had this feature for a while. What's the innovation/news?

------
chuckreynolds
Yessssss... can just turn people and environments down... love it! WANT!

------
ElijahLynn
This is augmented reality.

------
pkstn
> Error messagePDOException: SQLSTATE[HY000] [1040] Too many connections in
> lock_may_be_available() (line 167 of
> /var/app/current/hearphones/includes/lock.inc).

~~~
lucasgonze
Moral of the story: don't hit the database for brochure pages, except in an
async way that won't block page loads on fail.

------
agumonkey
archive is case of DDoS [http://archive.is/iFcM7](http://archive.is/iFcM7)

------
known
Hasn't China ventured into this?

------
imranq
Wow - this is hololens for your ears!

------
0xCMP
How is this on the top of HN? It's barely clear what these actually be like or
how they work? Am I missing something?

~~~
ZenoArrow
The technology behind them isn't groundbreaking, but I can think of some good
uses for devices like this.

Basically it appears to be a combination of noise cancelling and directional
microphones so that you hear more of what you're pointed towards. If you want
to get a better feel for how these devices could work, I'd recommend taking a
look into directional microphones.

~~~
0xCMP
I'm not saying the technology isn't useful, but this has been done before. It
hasn't worked before, so when it appears at the top of HN I assumed (given the
higher standards we usually apply here) there was a reason beyond an _okay_
marketing website with vague details. Which I didn't expect from Bose (which
in my mind == quality and the website wasn't) nor the top of HN.

------
tbarbugli
Not going to be awkward at all!

------
vadym909
I can pretend to be listening to the wife while my ears focus on the game
score from the TV?

------
doublevea
Buy Other Sound Equipment. Bose is largely overpriced given the quality of
headphones.

------
Neliquat
Bose has not delivered in tech since the 70s. Color me skeptical, but this
seems like a cheap hack for an existing product of theirs with a crapload of
dodgy marketing.

~~~
lobster_johnson
Their noise canceling headset and earbud products are better than anything on
the market, so that's not quite right.

I use the QC20 earbuds, which are even better at noise canceling than the QC15
headphones. As a developer, they are my number one tool to get into the zone.

They're also very calming on airplanes and elsewhere with a lot of low- or
high-frequency noise.

I have tried a number of noise canceling headsets, but Bose is the best,
something reviews also confirm.

(Audio quality is also in the top range, according to me. Not quite as good as
my Sennheiser HD25, but close enough.)

------
artur_makly
I have a hard time hearing only my wife.

It's like an fine-tuned harmonic anti-sound barrier that turns on
automatically after 4 secs.. Wifephones please.

------
soared
Is it just me or does this landing page suck? The top banner doesn't go all
the way to the edges, logo is square but buttons are circular, grey icons on a
black background, only black and white, etc, etc. Then you get this absolutely
butchered review:

> I was with my husband at Smokey Bones

What is that?

> …The room was very noisy as it always is there because they have tv's going
> and lots of music and people always talk much louder to compensate for the
> noise.

I'll let this one slide

> I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to hear the server without any
> extra effort order my meal with smooth going.

With smooth going eh?

> My husband and my conversation was not strained

Glad to hear your husband were comfortable

