Flare Audio wants to upgrade your ears with passive hearing device earHD

The lugholes attached to your bonce have a very particular design. Sound reflects off of the pinna, which acts like a funnel. This helps you determine where sound’s coming from, but it also causes distortion, which is rubbish for focus, immersion, and high-def audio. Enter earHD (from £199). Resembling a pair of tiny ear trumpets from the future, this wearable acts like a satellite dish, focusing sound uniformly into one central location. Point them forwards and you can focus solely on what’s in front of you. The sound isn’t amplified (earHD isn’t a hearing aid), but the result is reportedly like ‘cleaning’ what you hear – there’s less clutter, increased detail, and a heightened audio experience. All that might sound like a load of rot, but boffins at the University of Southampton have verified the claims, which – if you were getting excited about this Kickstarter – may be music to your ears.