Hearables represent more than the latest music listening earbuds; they can also be technologically smart hearing devices for those who are hard of hearing as shown by design student Julia Marina. She has come up with a beautiful hearing aids concept that is so stylishly fashionable that we cannot help but be in awe.
Hearing Aids as Assistive Technology
The design student from Santa Catarina Federal University (UFSC) is no stranger when it comes to examining general attitudes about hearing disabilities. It is through her drive to diminish the stigma usually associated with assistive technology that she has found a way of enhancing the user’s self-confidence by blending the wearable tech hearing aid with the human body.
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Personally, I think that this is a great idea, but there are those who will most likely see her device as a way of making people feel like they have to mask their disability. As a person who is passionate about design and health, ergonomics and assistive technology, I do not think that her objective was to make people feel ashamed of their hearing loss or impairment.
Marina’s work is clearly solving a problem. The OH hearable device is an excellent representation of a stylish hearable designed to remove the stigma associated with hearing aids. We cannot wait to see what else she comes up with.
Founding editor-in-chief of FashNerd.com, Muchaneta is currently one of the leading influencers writing about the merger of fashion with technology and wearable technology. She has also given talks at Premiere Vision, Munich Fabric Start and Pure London, to name a few. Besides working as a fashion innovation consultant for various fashion companies like LVMH Atelier, Muchaneta has also contributed to Vogue Business, is a senior contributor at The Interline and an associate lecturer at London College of Fashion, UAL.