Kapiti Hearing

How AI is Making Hearing Aids and Audiology Smarter

If you wear hearing aids or are thinking about getting them, you might have heard the term “artificial intelligence” (AI) being used. AI is changing how hearing aids work, making them smarter, more comfortable, and better suited to everyday life in Aotearoa.

In the past, hearing aids simply made all sounds louder. But today’s AI-powered hearing aids can do much more. They can tell the difference between a quiet room at home, a café full of people, or a windy walk on the beach—and adjust themselves automatically to suit the environment. That means clearer conversations, less background noise, and fewer times you need to fiddle with settings.

These modern hearing aids use machine learning, a type of AI where devices are trained using large amounts of sound data. While they don’t “learn” or change on their own once you’re using them, they’re very good at recognising speech and reducing background noise based on what they were trained to do. One of the most helpful features is the way they focus on speech, making it easier to follow conversations, even in noisy places like restaurants or community halls.

AI isn’t just helping with hearing aids—it’s also being used in audiology clinics. Some New Zealand clinics now use AI-powered transcription tools that turn spoken conversations during your appointment into accurate written records. This helps the audiologist keep better notes and allows you to feel confident that everything is clearly understood and remembered.

As AI technology continues to develop, hearing aids and clinic visits are only going to get better. For Kiwi's this means less hassle, better hearing, and more confidence to enjoy conversations with whānau, friends, and your community—wherever life takes you.