Most people can’t even begin to understand the difficulties people face when they are deaf. We couldn’t imagine giving up any of our senses, but giving up our sense of hearing would be a struggle, to say the least.
Over the years, there have been several different inventions that have helped individuals who are deaf to lead a life with limited challenges. One of the newest opportunities is the XRAI Glasses.
These glasses do something unique that may have been thought to be right out of science fiction just a few short years ago. They listen to what is going on around the person who is wearing them and then provide real-time subtitles for the spoken words.
This helps those who are deaf to take part in conversations in a way that was never possible before. Sign language and reading lips have their limitations, but subtitles are a whole new game.
The CEO of XRAI Glass, who makes these glasses had a grandfather who was hard of hearing. When he would watch TV, he had to rely on subtitles so they took that information and it inspired the creation of a new product. Quite simply, these glasses help individuals with hearing difficulties to access the world around them.
People who have already used the glasses consider them to be a very powerful tool. It is especially beneficial now that we see the challenges associated with wearing masks, as the COVID 19 pandemic made that painfully clear.
The glasses do cost about $354, but most people are able to look beyond the high price tag and consider the positive aspects of wearing them. Many who have commented on these glasses on social media offer very positive comments.
There are other devices that have tried to assist in this way but these glasses are more advanced. They use augmented reality to provide the transcription and completely eliminate the need for lipreading.
Even if you are in a noisy environment, where it may be more difficult to understand what somebody is saying, these glasses do their job. It also helps people communicate from different countries and cultures because it can translate language.
Aside from the personal use of the XRAI Glasses, these tools can also have an impact on professionals as well. In various meetings where people need to access information or communicate with others from different cultures and languages, these glasses may be able to help in ways that were not possible before.
We will have to wait and see how these glasses impact the deaf community but for now, it seems to be something that is well-needed.