Universal Communication Pioneered by "Hearables"

Early winter morning, several years later. "Mr. Hito, it's 5:00 AM. Today is the day you wake up two hours earlier than usual. You fell asleep at 11:17 PM, with 5 hours and 37 minutes of sleep. You woke up briefly at 2:10 AM. Your body temperature is 36.2°C, which is normal. You're sleep-deprived, but let's push through today. The outside temperature is 3.6°C, 1°C lower than yesterday. It will be sunny in the morning, but rain is forecast for Shimbashi around 1 PM, so don't forget your umbrella."

This is coming from the earbuds in my ears. They're completely inside my ear canal, so no one else can see them. They feel almost weightless, so I can wear them 24/7 without issue. Even though I'm wearing nothing else, they accurately tell me my sleep duration and quality based on my heart rate and body movements. They even alert me if there's an earthquake in the night, which is reassuring.

Of course, I'm the only one who can hear it. Even on days like today when I have to leave early, it doesn't make a sound like a smartphone alarm, so I don't wake up my family who are still sound asleep. When I leave the house, it's still dark. But the earbuds automatically select and play music that matches my mood. The night faded away with "One Perfect Sunrise," one of my favorite songs. I felt motivated!

Can "Hearables" tell you your mental and physical condition?

The story at the beginning describes services that are technically almost entirely feasible (though sensor miniaturization and battery advancements are still needed). In the first installment, I mentioned how "hearing aids are amazing," and now hearing aid manufacturers are gaining attention through the wearable transformation of hearing—the "hearable."

For example, hearing aids that completely "fit inside" the ear canal have existed for quite some time. Around 2010, even smaller types appeared that "hide" inside the ear canal. These place a tiny device near the eardrum in the outer ear canal, known as the "Invisible In The Canal" (IIC) type. A representative example is Starkey's "SoundLens" (marketed in Japan as "Otorensu").

Beyond that, hearing aids are truly at the forefront of sound technology, featuring sound compression and amplification, noise cancellation, feedback cancellation, and directional microphones. These features could be invaluable as "auditory enhancements" even for those without hearing loss—for instance, when wanting to pick up distant sounds or, conversely, to focus on necessary sounds in noisy environments.

Regarding sensing biological information from the ear, Japan's Salus Tech has developed technology to measure biological signals like pulse waves using commercially available earbuds (apparently, this is possible even without a microphone!). President Ogawa Hiroshi explained, "We experimented with various methods like fingertips to capture pulse waves, but concluded the ear is optimal for accurate measurement because its proximity to the brain minimizes fluctuations." (I was pleased to hear he reached the same conclusion through a different approach than mine).

Capturing vital signs like pulse, combined with voice-based emotion analysis, could provide detailed insights into both mental and physical condition. This holds promise for applications in sports and healthcare. As in the opening story, recommending music tailored to one's emotions is no longer a dream. It will also prove valuable for health management in an aging society.

More than one in ten Japanese people could actually benefit from wearing hearing aids.

As mentioned above, hearing aids hold significant potential as hearable devices. However, despite Japan's aging population, they haven't necessarily become a major market.

According to the Japan Hearing Aid Manufacturers Association's "JapanTrak Survey Report (2012 and 2015 editions)," while more than one in ten Japanese people could actually benefit from wearing a hearing aid, the actual ownership rate among those with hearing loss is less than one in seven (Japan's hearing loss rate is 11.3%, with a hearing aid ownership rate of 13.5% among those with hearing loss). In Western countries, the hearing aid ownership rate among the hearing impaired is often two to three times higher than in Japan (Germany: 34.0%, UK: 41.1%, France: 30.4%, USA: 24.6%). As a result, Western countries overwhelmingly dominate the global market share for hearing aid manufacturers.

There are various reasons for this, but one key factor is the high cost of these highly sophisticated and precise devices (purchased from authorized specialty stores, even basic models cost tens of thousands of yen, while high-performance models can approach 500,000 yen).

When I learned about this societal challenge, I intuitively recognized the potential of "economies of scale." As Gunpei Yokoi of Nintendo famously said, "Lateral thinking with mature technology" – examples abound. The Game & Watch succeeded by boldly mass-producing when LCD technology matured, driving down costs. Similarly, the iPod, discussed previously, achieved Apple's global dominance by mass-producing when hard disk technology matured.

Therefore, I wondered: Isn't it crucial for hearable devices too? By mass-producing them as universal products for everyone, prices will drop, ultimately making them accessible to those who truly need them.

Universal Communication Pioneered by Hearables

For example, by widely incorporating the hearing aid functions discussed above into hearable devices, wouldn't the following applications become possible?

Furthermore, Japan's aging population will continue to grow. As people age, their vision and hearing inevitably decline. Consequently, even those previously considered "others" will eventually require extensions of their hearing and vision (I am no exception, already experiencing nearsightedness and having had sudden hearing loss). Furthermore, Japan is actively promoting inbound tourism as a national policy. However, foreign visitors often feel inconvenienced due to cultural and language barriers. Hearables could excel as simultaneous interpretation receivers or guides. Of course, some inbound tourists also have hearing or visual impairments. Therefore, both "elderly individuals" and "foreign visitors to Japan" can be considered groups requiring hearables.

Organizing these as the "3+2 market" results in the diagram below.

When discussing this, we often receive comments like, "But what about people with severe hearing loss who can't use hearing aids?" or "Visually impaired people rely on their ears, so wouldn't they avoid wearing devices there?"

Of course, this concept certainly faces many challenges at present. However, the fundamental premise is a vision of a future where "everyone can be connected through ear devices" and "communication transcends age, gender, borders, and disabilities." I believe this holds the potential for what is literally "Universal Communication."

Personally, I also see potential approaches for severe hearing impairments that involve stimulating the brain through the ear. For visual impairments, there's also the method of "bone conduction," which transmits sound directly through the skull without covering the ears.

Finally, animals communicate through vocalizations, and in the past, the "Bowlingual" toy, a communication tool for dogs, was a hit. The climax of the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" left a strong impression with aliens communicating through electronic-like sounds. An era may come where communication through sound transcends not just humans, but even species!