Earbuds are becoming a much more common sight, which is leading to a slight revolution in terms of hearing aids — companies are making in-ear buds that look like the headphones we all wanna wear, but are also building assistive technologies into them. Case in point, the new Jabra Enhance Plus earbuds, which are designed to give those with up to moderate hearing loss a little boost.

Enhance Plus other things

The name comes from the fact that they a) enhance your hearing and b) do the stuff you’d expect from a set of earbuds, like play music and connect you to phone calls. But Jabra’s newest in-ears are its smallest set to date, which makes them very small indeed. Which is great, because those with hearing issues often ignore the problem because assistive technologies are… well, large and obvious.

The Jabra Enhance Plus buds, when they launch, will be available without a prescription but the company reckons they’ll do a fair job of making conversations more audible for those experiencing issues. The buds will do this using four dedicated microphones that reduce noise, along with an algorithm that’ll help with that. A custom microprocessor will work on making conversations clearer, and they’ll also ship with an IP52 rating, so wearing them for long spans will be possible without sweat torching them.

The buds will also last out most of the day, according to Jabra. They’re claiming a 10-hour-on-a-charge battery, climbing to 30 hours when you throw in what the case adds. We’re not sure if that’s just the hearing assistance, or if Jabra’s figures account for the fact that its users might listen to music or make calls with these little in-ears.

If you want a set, you’ll have to wait, however. The Enhance Plus are due to launch at a selection of hearing care clinics in the US this year, with pricing turning up closer to the time. Jabra also makes the Enhance Pro PM, which is more of an authentic hearing aid — but it comes with a $1,800 (R27,300) price tag.