NTT Group of Japan recently announced the launch of a new brand, "cocoe," based on its sound technology, aiming to address the social isolation caused by hearing loss. Its first wave of products is quite interesting; instead of traditional hearing aids, it features the "cocoe Ear," touted as the world's first open-back sound collector, and the "cocoe Link," a TV transmitter supporting the latest Bluetooth Auracast audio broadcasting technology. These products not only showcase NTT's acoustic technology but also serve as a crucial test for Auracast technology to enter the home environment.
The pain point for 1430 million people: wanting to hear clearly but not wanting to wear hearing aids.
According to statistics, it is estimated that about 1430 million people in Japan face hearing difficulties, but the penetration rate of hearing aids is only about 15%, which is only half that of European and American countries. This "hearing gap" not only causes inconvenience in daily life, but may also increase the risk of dementia and social isolation.
Why are people reluctant to wear them? A major reason is the "foreign object sensation" of traditional hearing aids or in-ear microphones. The way they are worn inside the ear canal causes a feeling of blockage, pressure, and even makes one's voice sound muffled (Occlusion Effect).
Therefore, NTT's cocoe Ear was launched to solve this pain point. It adopts an "open-ear" design, which does not block the ear canal when worn. This means that users can hear ambient sounds naturally through their own ears. The device only enhances the high-frequency part of hearing that is weaker, achieving a "hybrid" hearing enhancement experience.
Powered by PSZ technology: Open design without sound leakage or feedback.
The biggest concerns with open-back headphones are sound leakage and microphone feedback (howling), a common problem with microphones. To address this, NTT has introduced its patented "PSZ" (Personalized Sound Zone) technology.
The principle behind this technology is to cancel out sound leakage by emitting sound waves that are "out of phase," creating an independent sound zone near the ear. This not only significantly suppresses sound leakage but also solves the feedback problem that is prone to occur in open structures.
Furthermore, to perfectly blend the "machine-processed sound" with the "sound heard directly by the ear," the cocoe Ear is equipped with a high-performance chip that reduces sound processing latency to an extreme 2.5 milliseconds (0.0025 seconds). If the latency is too high, users will hear echoes or ghosting, while the ultra-low latency of 2.5 milliseconds makes the brain almost imperceptible to the difference, thus achieving a natural listening experience.
Thoughtful design for users aged 50 and above
In terms of design, each Cocoe Ear weighs only about 10 grams, and considering that many elderly people wear glasses at the same time, the interference with the temples of glasses has been specially optimized. To address the concerns of test subjects over 50 years old about "losing" and "fatigue from wearing for a long time", the product also comes with a neck strap to prevent it from falling off, and emphasizes the comfort of wearing it for a long time.
Auracast takes a key step into the living room
Besides the receiver itself, NTT's cocoe Link TV transmitter, launched simultaneously, is even more strategically significant. It supports Auracast broadcast audio technology proposed by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, enabling TV sound to be broadcast directly to multiple cocoe Ear users.
Previously, Auracast technology was mostly used in public places (such as airport announcements and museum tours). NTT applied it to the "family living room" scenario, solving the problem that elderly people with hearing impairments would turn the TV volume up too high, disturbing other family members. They can hear the TV sound clearly through Cocoe Ear without having to turn the TV volume up unnecessarily.
NTT's entry into the hearing aid market as a telecommunications giant, leveraging its expertise in signal processing (DSP) technology to address hearing problems, is a path worthy of close attention. If Cocoe brand products can successfully lower the psychological barrier users have to accept hearing aids, it might offer a viable solution for Asian countries entering a super-aged society.
