2024.Mar.28

REPORTS

Report on the 6th BAIRAL Research Meeting for 2023
“asEars: Designing and Evaluating the User Experience of Wearable Assistive Devices for Single-Sided Deafness”

The 6th BAIRAL research meeting for 2023 was held online on March 18, 2024. At this session, Ken Takaki, a PhD Student at the Graduate School of Engineering at the University of Tokyo was invited to speak on the theme of “asEars: Designing and Evaluating the User Experience of Wearable Assistive Devices for Single-Sided Deafness.”

asEars is a glasses-type device developed by Takaki to support the hearing of people with single-sided deafness (SSD). Despite the significant inconvenience in daily communication and hindrance to social participation caused by SSD, the prevalence rate of hearing aids remains at around 4%. To address this problem, Takaki, who experiences SSD himself, tried to design and develop a device with higher usability and social acceptability than conventional hearing aids. Furthermore, to understand the differences between those who accept such devices and those who do not, and to identify factors influencing the social acceptability of the device, Takaki conducted a user experience analysis with the cooperation of 10 individuals with SSD. In this process, participants were asked to use both asEars and traditional Contralateral Routing of Signals (CROS) hearing aids for two weeks each, and the study was designed to compare the two.

The results of the survey revealed that asEars was rated higher than CROS hearing aids in terms of effectiveness, naturalness of hearing, and the spectator’s influence (the extent to which people around the user thought the device should be used). On the other hand, there were factors where CROS hearing aids were rated higher, such as usability. However, in terms of overall satisfaction derived from multiple factors, asEars was found to be more acceptable than traditional hearing aids. Additionally, it was noted that there were lessons from traditional hearing aids; for example, while miniaturization of devices provides comfort, it does not always result in better social acceptance. Takaki suggested that this indicated the need for the development of diverse designs to cater to various aesthetic preferences, providing users with more choices.

Following the presentation, a discussion ensued covering various topics, including the technical mechanism of asEars, the influence of various attributes of experimental participants on the acceptance of the device, and the current status and challenges of the study of the parties involved in the field of science and engineering. For the B’AI Global Forum, whose mission is to advocate for the use of new technologies to assist minorities, including people with disabilities, and to safeguard their rights, Takaki’s practical initiatives were highly suggestive. They highlighted the importance of incorporating the perspectives of stakeholders, including individuals directly affected, in both the development and societal implementation of technology.