Person using gaze-directed hearing aid in a noisy environment.

Unlock Your Hearing Potential: How Gaze-Directed Tech Can Change Lives

Lena Kashyap in Tech & Innovation August 2025 • 4 min read.

"Discover the cutting-edge mobile tech that's revolutionizing hearing aids by using eye-tracking to focus on what you want to hear."

In today's noisy world, deciphering sounds can be a real challenge, especially in bustling environments. This is often referred to as the 'cocktail party problem' – the struggle to concentrate on a single voice amidst background noise. While those with healthy hearing can usually navigate these situations well, individuals with hearing loss often find it difficult to filter out distractions and focus on the sounds they want to hear.

Traditional hearing aids can amplify sounds, but they don't always solve the core issue of understanding speech in noisy environments. They often amplify background noise along with the desired sounds, leading to confusion and frustration for the user. This is where a new approach called gaze-directed beamforming comes into play, offering a smarter way to focus on specific sounds.

Gaze-directed beamforming uses eye-tracking technology to determine where a person is looking and then focuses the hearing aid's microphones on that direction. This allows the user to essentially 'listen' with their eyes, isolating the sounds they want to hear and reducing surrounding noise. Think of it like having a spotlight for your ears, illuminating the sounds that matter most.

Cochlearity: A New Approach to Assistive Hearing

Person using gaze-directed hearing aid in a noisy environment.

Researchers have developed a mobile platform called 'Cochlearity' that utilizes gaze-directed beamforming to enhance speech perception. This open-source platform runs on Android devices and uses an array of microphones, which can be worn comfortably on the head, for example, on eyeglasses. The system then uses eye-tracking to steer an acoustic beamformer, ensuring the listener hears best wherever they look.

Cochlearity uses a combination of passive (delay-and-sum) and adaptive (MVDR) beamforming algorithms to separate the 'attended' voice from the 'unattended' voice in a two-talker scenario. Delay-and-sum beamforming is a simpler method that uses the geometry of the microphone array and the speed of sound to combine signals. Adaptive beamforming, on the other hand, uses statistical learning to analyze noise sources in the environment and improve performance.

The Cochlearity platform offers several key advantages:

Mobile and Accessible: Runs on widely available Android devices.
Open-Source: Encourages broader adoption and further improvements.
Combined Approach: Uses both passive and adaptive beamforming.
Real-Time: Aims to provide low latency processing for a natural listening experience.

The system's effectiveness was tested by playing two different stories simultaneously from different locations. By tracking the direction of the user's gaze, Cochlearity was able to isolate the story the user was focusing on, effectively reducing the noise from the other story. This demonstrates the potential of gaze-directed beamforming to significantly improve speech perception in complex auditory environments.

The Future of Hearing is in Sight

The development of Cochlearity represents a significant step forward in assistive hearing technology. By combining eye-tracking with advanced beamforming algorithms, this platform offers a promising solution for individuals who struggle to hear in noisy environments. As the technology continues to evolve, we can expect even more sophisticated and user-friendly gaze-directed hearing aids that will empower people to connect with the world around them.

About this Article -

This article was crafted using a human-AI hybrid and collaborative approach. AI assisted our team with initial drafting, research insights, identifying key questions, and image generation. Our human editors guided topic selection, defined the angle, structured the content, ensured factual accuracy and relevance, refined the tone, and conducted thorough editing to deliver helpful, high-quality information.See our About page for more information.

This article is based on research published under:

DOI-LINK: 10.1109/embc.2018.8513566, Alternate LINK

Title: Towards Mobile Gaze-Directed Beamforming: A Novel Neuro-Technology For Hearing Loss

Journal: 2018 40th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC)

Publisher: IEEE

Authors: Markham H. Anderson, Britt W. Yazel, Matthew P. F. Stickle, Fernando D. Espinosa Inguez, Nathaniel-Georg S. Gutierrez, Malcolm Slaney, Sanjay S. Joshi, Lee M. Miller

Published: 2018-07-01

Everything You Need To Know

How does gaze-directed beamforming technology work to improve hearing in noisy environments?

Gaze-directed beamforming utilizes eye-tracking technology to pinpoint the direction a person is looking. This information is then used to focus the hearing aid's microphones in that specific direction. This allows the user to concentrate on the sounds they want to hear, effectively reducing surrounding noise and improving speech perception. It's like having a spotlight for your ears, illuminating the sounds that are most important to you.

What is meant by the 'cocktail party problem,' and how does it relate to the challenges faced by individuals with hearing loss?

The 'cocktail party problem' refers to the difficulty people often experience when trying to focus on a single voice in a noisy environment with multiple conversations happening simultaneously. Individuals with healthy hearing can usually navigate these situations, but those with hearing loss find it challenging to filter out distractions and concentrate on the sounds they intend to hear. Traditional hearing aids, which amplify all sounds, often exacerbate this problem by amplifying background noise as well.

What is Cochlearity, and how does it utilize gaze-directed beamforming to improve speech perception?

Cochlearity is a mobile platform designed to enhance speech perception using gaze-directed beamforming. It runs on Android devices and utilizes an array of microphones, often worn on eyeglasses, to capture sound. The system uses eye-tracking to steer an acoustic beamformer, ensuring the listener hears best wherever they look. Cochlearity combines passive (delay-and-sum) and adaptive (MVDR) beamforming algorithms to separate the 'attended' voice from the 'unattended' voice in scenarios with multiple speakers.

What are the key advantages of the Cochlearity platform?

Cochlearity offers several advantages, including its mobile accessibility, as it runs on widely available Android devices. Being open-source, it encourages broader adoption and further improvements from the community. The combined approach, using both passive and adaptive beamforming algorithms, enhances its performance. Furthermore, Cochlearity aims for real-time, low-latency processing to provide a natural listening experience.

What are the broader implications of Cochlearity for the future of assistive hearing technology and individuals with hearing impairments?

Cochlearity represents a significant advancement in assistive hearing technology by combining eye-tracking with advanced beamforming algorithms. This offers a promising solution for individuals who struggle to hear in noisy environments. The potential impact is far-reaching, as it could empower more people to connect with the world around them, improving their social interactions, work productivity, and overall quality of life. Further development could lead to more sophisticated and user-friendly gaze-directed hearing aids, customized to individual needs and preferences. Integration with other assistive technologies could also offer a more holistic solution for individuals with hearing impairments.