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Key Takeaways
- Nearly 90% of people with hearing loss haven’t adopted a solution; the barrier isn’t technology, it’s stigma, and EssilorLuxottica is betting that style can fix that.
- 80% of first-gen buyers already wore glasses, which means the company found its market by combining two problems into one product.
EssilorLuxottica is the world’s largest eyewear conglomerate. It owns Ray-Ban, Oakley, Oliver Peoples, Persol, and Costa; operates retail banners including Sunglass Hut, LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, and GrandVision; and owns EyeMed, the second-largest vision insurance provider in the United States.
That scale gives the company an unusual vantage point on where consumer eyewear is heading, and one of its recent bets is on wellness technology. Nuance Audio, its newest release, is a line of glasses built to help adults with mild hearing loss, aimed at people who want hearing support without wearing a visible hearing aid.
It’s a small category for now, but it raises a larger question: whether frames can become a platform for health features, and whether a company that already dominates lenses and retail can own that shift, too.
The company that owns your eyes
EssilorLuxottica is the product of a 2018 merger between two industry heavyweights: French lens maker Essilor and Italian frame maker Luxottica. The combination gave the company a vertically integrated system with control over nearly every step of the process, from design and manufacturing to wholesale distribution and retail.
That integration is a large part of why it can attempt a product like Nuance Audio, which requires both technical depth and a working understanding of aesthetics and consumer behavior. The premise is simple: help people hear better without asking them to compromise on style. Now in its second iteration, Nuance Audio has added new designs and colorways, with in-house designers drawing on styles from the Paris and New York fashion week runways.
The intent is to make hearing support feel less like a medical device and more like something people would choose to wear anyway. The hardware has improved alongside the design, with a 25% increase in battery life and a 30% improvement in speech understanding, according to the company.
Nuance uses open-ear directional microphones built into the frames, paired with small speakers in the temples, so nothing goes in the ear canal. Volume and listening modes are controlled through the Nuance Audio app.
The most notable feature is directional amplification. Using directional microphones and beamforming, the glasses isolate the conversation in front of the wearer while reducing background noise. At a crowded dinner table, for example, Nuance homes in on the person you’re speaking with rather than amplifying everything around you.
A 1.6 billion-person problem nobody wants to talk about
According to the World Health Organization’s 2021 World Report on Hearing, an estimated 1.6 billion people worldwide experience hearing loss, including approximately 1.25 billion with mild to moderate hearing loss. Yet nearly 90% of this population has not adopted a hearing solution.
Research shows that most people wait nearly seven years after being diagnosed before seeking a solution, whether because of stigma, lack of information, or simply not viewing hearing loss as a serious issue. Many more never get tested in the first place, convinced that hearing loss is “only for old people” and unwilling to acknowledge that it could be happening to them.
EssilorLuxottica believes it can help close that gap by combining two problems into one solution: hearing support and eyewear.
The company found that 80% of the first-generation Nuance Audio customers already wore glasses. That points to an overlooked population: people who already wear glasses but also need hearing support.
And the value proposition goes beyond convenience. According to a spokesman, Nuance Audio costs roughly 80% less than traditional hearing aids and eliminates the need to buy a separate pair of glasses. By boosting style, reducing the discomfort and stigma associated with traditional hearing aids and lowering the price, EssilorLuxottica has turned an overlooked problem into a potentially lucrative solution.
Know your customer, then solve the next problem
Version 2 also replaces sliders with physical buttons, making the product easier for its older target audience to use.
It’s a small but important detail—and a great lesson in knowing your customer, listening to your audience, and building accordingly.
That is a change made in response to feedback, but staying ahead of the curve also means anticipating what customers may want before they realize it’s possible. EssilorLuxottica’s Transitions lenses are an example. They adapt to light, so the same pair works indoors and outdoors without a second set of glasses. Its Stellest lenses go a step further, helping slow the progression of myopia in children, while lightweight, durable frames stay comfortable and secure through the day.
The pattern is that the company doesn’t stop at the central problem; it identifies secondary pain points that accompany it and addresses them before the consumer has to think about them.
Beyond the product itself, the clearest demonstration of its impact comes from the people who use it. A testimonial can turn a product benefit from a marketing claim into a personal experience.
English musician and actor Martin Kemp, a spokesman for the product, recalls the first time he put on the Nuance glasses. The former Spandau Ballet bassist said it was the first time in years he could hear the birds in his backyard. That is a hard thing for a commercial or billboard to replicate.
“The response to Nuance Audio Glasses has been extremely positive, confirming that consumers are looking for a more natural and desirable way to access hearing support,” said Stefano Genco, Global Head of Nuance Audio. “In just one year, we have expanded to 14 countries and more than 18,000 stores, reaching consumers who are, on average, five years younger than traditional hearing-aid customers, with two out of three having never explored traditional hearing aids. With Nuance Audio Plus, our new product generation, we are taking another important step toward making hearing support a natural part of everyday life.”
Key Takeaways
- Nearly 90% of people with hearing loss haven’t adopted a solution; the barrier isn’t technology, it’s stigma, and EssilorLuxottica is betting that style can fix that.
- 80% of first-gen buyers already wore glasses, which means the company found its market by combining two problems into one product.
EssilorLuxottica is the world’s largest eyewear conglomerate. It owns Ray-Ban, Oakley, Oliver Peoples, Persol, and Costa; operates retail banners including Sunglass Hut, LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, and GrandVision; and owns EyeMed, the second-largest vision insurance provider in the United States.
That scale gives the company an unusual vantage point on where consumer eyewear is heading, and one of its recent bets is on wellness technology. Nuance Audio, its newest release, is a line of glasses built to help adults with mild hearing loss, aimed at people who want hearing support without wearing a visible hearing aid.
It’s a small category for now, but it raises a larger question: whether frames can become a platform for health features, and whether a company that already dominates lenses and retail can own that shift, too.