MyHearingAids
Providing functionality at your fingertips.
Challenge
I found the need to develop an app that could integrate with hearing aids and allow users to optimize the capabilities of their hearing aids.
After seeing frustrations users had with getting what they needed from their hearing aids, I wanted to make an app where users could make adjustments on the fly and get the most from the hearing experience.
Research & Synthesis
Team:
Solo UX Designer
Duration:
Six weeks for
Student Project
Tools:
Figma, Miro, Pen & Paper,
Google Suite
Methods:
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User Interviews
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Comparative/Competitive Analysis
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Affinity Map
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Problem Statement
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Persona
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User Flow
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Design Layout
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Wireframing
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Usability Testing
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Stylization
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Prototype
User Interviews
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What are your experiences with hearing aids?
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What are some pain points or issues you encounter with using hearing aids?
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What could make the hearing aid experience better for you?
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How would an app help with using hearing aids?
Click image to enlarge
I began my research by conducting user interviews with 3 participants who use hearing aids, have direct interaction with someone who uses them, or know someone who does.
The demographic I chose was of older people, since they are more apt to use hearing aids.
I wanted to see what experiences people had with hearing aids and how that might be improved by an app.
I organized the data from the interviews into an affinity map to understand people's pain points and needs.
Takeaways:
Users felt that a hearing aid app would help with:
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Ability to make adjustments
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Tuning and Programming
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Enhancing higher frequencies
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Dealing with outside noise and crowds
Comparative & Competitive Analysis
Click image to enlarge
For the next step in my research, I used a Comparative and Competitive Analysis
with other apps that companies provide to interact with their hearing aids to see what features would be best to include in my design and fulfill the needs of users.
My plan was to incorporate features that were already in use and pool them all
into one app.
My analysis of the data provided information showing:
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All competitors offer Volume control
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7 out of 13 competitors have Source and Environment Adjustment and Balance control
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4 out of 13 competitors offer Directionality and Equalizer control
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3 out 13 competitors have Sound Exposure, Noise Reduction and Activity monitoring as well as Speech to Text
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2 out 13 competitors offer Hearing Testing
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1 competitor has Bluetooth integration
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1 competitor has a Translate option for speech
Persona
Problem Statement
Users need a way to interact with their hearing aids so that they can make adjustments as needed and enhance the hearing aid experience.
How might we interact with hearing aids?
How might we be able to make adjustments to hearing aids remotely?
How might we enhance the hearing aid experience?
Design Layout
Click image to enlarge
With the results of the user interviews as well as the comparative and competive analysis, I began to focus on what features would be beneficial for a hearing aid app and how to lay out the information architecture.
I began with an affinity map to organize the features I wanted to incorporate. Later, some categories would merge in order to simplify the app for the user.
User Flow
Click image to enlarge
Once I organized the features I wanted to incorporate in the app, I made a user flow of how a user would navigate the menus on the app in my final prototype.
This flow demonstrated just one path a user could take while choosing a menu of features.
Wireframing
I began my wireframe process by hand sketching how I wanted to design the layout of features from my research. I wanted to have menu access in a home screen as well as bottom navigation.
For the next step of wireframing, I raised the fidelity in a digital wireframe, where I began making my color choices and determining accessibility.
Seeing that the demographic was a bit older, I wanted to have a more simple design that could be readable and easily accessed. I chose colors that were calming and wouldn't distract the user.
Usability Testing
Once I created my initial prototype, I conducted usability testing to see if the design solution solved user pain points and established proper naviation of the app.
Main Takeaways:
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Design discrepancy with the footer of the home screen versus other screens. It should be consistent through all screens
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White font in footer was difficult to read on top of a light background color
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Navigation of the app was easy to follow and intuitive
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Features of the app were useful in working with hearing aids
Results of the testing suggested making the following changes:
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Choosing a lighter color for the background of the footer
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Choosing a darker color for text and icons in order to be more readable
Final Stylization
Welcome
Home
Interact
Program 1
Program 2
Services
Status
Translate
Volume
Exposure
Locator
Once I incorporated the changes from usability testing this became my final stylization of the prototype.
Final Prototype
Here is the final clickable prototype I created in Figma.
Key Learnings & Next Steps
My next steps would be to further design the menu categories and to find a way for the app to work with any hearing aids, not just proprietary devices.
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