a boost for the ears if an aid's too much

Soundhawk Smart Listening System, $300, www.soundhawk.com

Millions of Americans have some degree of hearing difficulty, but only a small percentage regularly wear hearing aids.

Hearing aids are expensive — they often sell for more than a thousand dollars per ear, and they are not usually covered by health insurance. Also, unlike eyeglasses, hearing aids have never been fashionable. They still carry a stigma of aging and infirmity, and many people who have difficulty hearing would rather suffer than be seen with them.

The founders of a technology start-up named Soundhawk are on a mission to change that. The company's first product, the Smart Listening System, is a clever device and app meant to help improve sounds in certain noisy environments.

The system, which sells for $300, looks a bit like a Bluetooth headset, but instead of letting you just make phone calls, it is packed with microphones and advanced audio decoding chips. It connects to a smartphone app that lets users customize how the device works in different environments. When you hit the Dining button in the app, the headset will cut down background noise and amplify sound from the person in front of you. In outdoor mode, it will reduce wind noise.

The Smart Listening System also comes with a wireless microphone that can be positioned a few feet from the user. Clip it on the person across from you in a noisy restaurant, or position it next to the TV, and you will hear everything the mike picks up.

You can think of the Soundhawk Smart Listening System as something like reading glasses for the ears. The company takes pains to note that the system is not a hearing aid and is not meant for people with impaired hearing. Instead, the device is classified by the Food and Drug Administration as a "personal sound amplification product."

There are already many of these devices on the market, but most of them are not very good. They're the sort of devices advertised in late-night infomercials for under $50. The Soundhawk Smart Listening System, by contrast, was designed by audio scientists who have worked at some of the world's best hearing-aid companies. The result is a new kind of hearing device, a boost for your ears even if, most of the time, you can hear well enough.

NEW YORK TIMES