While the traditional hearing aid has improved many people’s lives, for many, it has not always been the most usable piece of product design. Specifically, adjusting volume and digital listening modes can be particularly problematic. As technology has advanced, hearing aids have gotten smaller and smaller – which has left some users feeling frustrated by their inability to control their aids.

But a new take on this legendary piece of product design has been developed by Stuart Karten Design (SKD) and Starkey Laboratories, Inc, aimed at addressing these issues. Starkey’s S Series behind-the-ear (BTE), with its Sweep Technology, enables the wearer to adjust their hearing aid with just the sweep of a finger. The entire bottom edge of the hearing aid’s spine area is touch activated. This control area is ten times larger than traditional volume controls, and five times bigger than the usual memory button size.