Most of us accept that our eyesight will fade with age, which is why reading glasses seem to multiply – in our bags, on our desks and on every surface in the house. But we’re far less willing to acknowledge that our hearing may be on the same path. So when EssilorLuxottica, the company behind Ray-Ban and Oakley, invited Zoomer to a glamorous dinner at 1 Hotel Toronto for the launch of Nuance Audio Glasses, the latest in wearable tech, we were intrigued.

Although I don’t have hearing loss, I have noticed that restaurants are getting noisier, friends are speaking more quietly and the TV volume is perhaps a tad high. So the idea of having a pair of stylish-looking glasses that I could pop on during dinner or at a cocktail party, discreetly allowing me to tune in the person I’m talking to while tuning out the background noise, seemed worth a try.

Nuance Audio Glasses can be configured and all settings managed by the user on its smartphone app.

Critically, for those of us who are too vain to contemplate hearing aids just yet, the hearing assistance on this hi-tech eyewear is completely invisible. I worked with the technicians at the event to calibrate the glasses for me, which can easily be done on your own at home by using the Nuance app to modify the listening experience. The glasses now made conversations noticeably easier to follow, particularly in the app’s “Frontal” setting, which helped me focus on the person across from me while diffusing the surrounding noise. There are several listening modes for everything from one-on-one conversations to larger group gatherings and, while the glasses take a little time to get used to, the learning curve is short. They also let you customize how clearly you’d like to hear your own voice.

Zoomer creative director, Tanya, wearing the Panthos Nuance Audio Glasses in burgundy (left) and the Square frames in black.

After an evening with them, I could see myself wearing them at a noisy restaurant or in a crowded room and wanting to feel confident that I was hearing the conversation clearly. The glasses use directional microphones and open-ear speakers to enhance speech clarity while reducing background noise, creating a remarkably natural listening experience.

I was drawn to the Panthos frames in Shiny Burgundy rather than the Square style. Although both frames are easy to pull off, I decided to stray from my typical large black frames. They’re also available in Shiny Black and Blue. What I also liked about Nuance is that, besides being multitaskers – with hearing and vision taken care of in one package – you don’t need an audiologist’s prescription, so the barrier to entry is low. They come with a charging pad: the battery lasts for about eight hours, so unless you’re at a raging party, they should last all evening – or comfortably through a workday.

 

Three More Wearables Worth Trying

Oura Ring 4

A discreet wellness tracker for people who hate wearing fitness watches –  you’ll notice these sleek titanium rings on many fashionable and famous hands. It monitors sleep quality, heart rate, recovery, stress and activity, then translates the data into genuinely useful insights. If you’re trying to improve your sleep or understand how your body is aging, it’s one of the smartest wearables available

Plaud NotePin S

A wearable AI note taker that acts like a discreet second set of ears, the Plaud NotePin S lets you capture conversations, meetings and everyday thoughts without reaching for a phone or notebook. Small enough to clip onto clothing or wear as an accessory, it can record, transcribe and summarize conversations into searchable notes. The real benefit? Less time trying to remember every detail, and more freedom staying engaged in the moment. 

 

Apple Watch Series 11

Beyond counting steps, this watch can monitor your heart rate, ECG, sleep, temperature trends and activity and, crucially for the elderly or people with balance challenges, also provides fall detection and emergency SOS.