Hearing loss is one of those things many people consider a “future me” problem. We might feel a pang of regret at youthful indiscretions — looking at you, music-lovers who used to stand directly in front of the 10-foot amps “to hear the band better” — but we’d rather not think about the consequences until time absolutely demands it.

But there’s growing evidence that hearing loss is becoming more common than before, and that it’s increasingly affecting younger people. And like many other aspects of health, there’s value in addressing hearing loss sooner with both preventative measures and interventions that preserve quality of life. 

A 2021 World Health Organization report found that over 1.5 billion people worldwide currently experience some degree of hearing loss — by 2050, that number could grow to 2.5 billion. More alarmingly, the report says, 1.1 billion young people are at risk of permanent hearing loss. The cause? Listening to music at loud volumes over prolonged periods of time, particularly with headphones.

The science of hearing loss 

Many people don’t realize their daily listening habits pose a risk to their hearing health. According to the Centers for Disease Control, close exposure to very loud noises of 120 decibels (dBs) and above — for example, a siren or a firecracker — can cause immediate hearing damage. But more common, says the CDC, is cumulative hearing loss: the result of longer periods of exposure to lower-level noise. With prolonged exposure, it only takes about 70 decibels and up to damage hearing. You’re exposed to that level of sound more often than you might think.

Take your average morning: Blow-drying your hair — that’s about 80 dBs, right in your ear. Blending your morning smoothie, another 80 dBs. Walking through city traffic (70 dBs), past a jackhammer (130 dBs). The subway screeches into the station: 90 dBs. Listening to a podcast on headphones at near-max volume so you can hear it over said screeching: about 110 dBs. By the time you arrive at work, the average city-dweller has endured a cacophony that makes the open-plan office (60 dBs of background hum, give or take) seem library-quiet by comparison.

The WHO estimates that over 50% of people between the ages of 12 and 35 routinely listen to music with their personal audio devices at volumes that pose a risk to their hearing. That means significant portions of Generation Alpha, Gen Z, and Millennials would do well to think about their hearing now, or risk reaching their “sorry, say again?” era long before older generations.

The cost of hearing loss

The effects of untreated hearing loss are profound. The WHO calls it an “invisible disability” that’s long been stigmatized and ignored by policy-makers. That ignorance is expensive — globally, the WHO estimates that unaddressed hearing loss accounts for over $980 billion annually in costs related to health care, education, and loss of productivity.

What’s harder to quantify is the psychological impact of hearing loss. Hearing is, after all, at the core of how humans connect, communicate, learn, and experience music and other forms of art. In children, hearing loss can make speech and language development more difficult. In adults, untreated hearing loss has been associated with a higher risk of ailments like depression and dementia. For many, hearing loss is a distressing and isolating experience, which is why WHO experts recommend making hearing care a global public health priority, with interventions like early hearing screenings, better access to hearing technologies and rehabilitation services, and expanded insurance coverage.

The rise of OTC hearing aids

In the U.S., the FDA’s 2022 approval of hearing aids for over-the-counter sale to adults was a big leap forward in making hearing devices more accessible. By 2023, so-called “hearables” were all the buzz at CES as the next big trend in wellness-y wearables. Meanwhile, companies like Eargo — makers of the nearly invisible Eargo 7, an FDA-regulated OTC hearing aid — are bringing style and innovation to a product category that, let’s face it, has never exactly been aspirational.

The Eargo 7 has several key features that may help it appeal to a young adult who still gets carded for beer. It’s tiny (about the size of your thumbnail), nearly invisible when worn, water resistant enough to wear during a sweaty workout, and settings can be easily adjusted via an app. At $2,650, it’s less expensive than many traditional over-ear hearing aids available by prescription, and it’s self-fitting — no office visit or prescription required. Reviewers praise the device’s crisp, well-amplified sound. Niftiest of all, the Sound Adjust+ technology automatically senses your environment and optimizes settings accordingly — for example, emphasizing the clarity of speech in a busy restaurant.

The device is designed for adults with “mild to moderate high-frequency hearing loss” — the kind that can affect people of any age, in which higher-frequency sounds become more difficult to hear. A key symptom of high-frequency hearing loss is speech sounding “muffled” or unclear, especially when talking on the phone, watching television, or in a noisy environment. If you’ve ever planned an early night out so you could better hear your dinner companions, or had your partner give you “the look” when you turn the TV up too loud, you could be experiencing this type of hearing loss. (The company’s online hearing screening, while not strictly for diagnostic purposes, offers a hearing assessment from your computer.) 

But if hearing loss is becoming more widespread, and hearing aids are more readily available than ever, it remains to be seen if Millennials, the world’s largest generational cohort, are ready to embrace them. After all, the devices are practically a synecdoche for old age, right up there with grunting when you stand up and knowing where to buy strawberry hard candy. 

Then again, Millennials and Gen Z have already shown a knack for changing the conversation around disabilities and health in pretty profound ways. They can make an ASL interpreter a viral superstar. They took discussion of mental health from the realm of taboo to casual first-date fodder. If they can make hearing devices better, smaller, more stylish, and easily available, making them “cool” seems like the natural next step.

The Metaverse: Chances are you’ve heard a lot about it lately, mostly from people who aren’t sure exactly what it is — but they’re sure it’s definitely going to change the world. That might take a while, but even now the shared virtual world known as the metaverse is beginning to offer cool new possibilities for how we connect with each other and the things we love, from gaming to fashion to sports. And as we prep for Super Bowl LVI, it’s time to think about how the metaverse will affect our future football watching parties.

For sports fans, the metaverse-y future means a more thrilling, more immersive fan experience than ever before. Imagine your digital self watching the Super Bowl from the turf, finding new ways to fly your team colors, and connecting with fellow fans worldwide. Simply put, the metaverse could make the game you love even more edge-of-your-seat-exciting. Ahead of Sunday’s big game, here are five ways watching the Super Bowl could change completely in the metaverse. (And don’t forget to tune into NBC at 6:30 p.m. ET on Feb. 13 for this year’s game!)

You’ll still have your IRL friends over for game day…

Nothing’s more thrilling than watching the game with your closest friends, fellow superfans, and the random work buddies who might just be there for the chicken wing dip. That experience won’t disappear in the age of metaverse — in fact, the metaverse could make the whole season feel as exciting as Super Bowl Sunday by offering wildly immersive new ways of getting inside the game.

Imagine flexing that you attended every game for your favorite team — no matter where in the world you live? Someday, you might. In the metaverse, virtual season ticket holders can catch every game, even from thousands of miles away (help’s coming, Rams fans marooned in Pats country). Amazingly lifelike streaming tech will make you feel like you’re not just inside the stadium, but right on the 50 yard line — close enough to see the players sweat. You’ll use hand gestures to call up real-time commentary and analysis, and the truly obsessed fans could even use AI-powered apps to run simulations between different teams and lineups. Going deeper all season long means once you’re gathered for the big game, there’s more than ever to politely discuss — fine, heatedly debate.

…But you’ll also host an epic game-day watch party in the metaverse. 

Dying to have your faraway friends and family join the party too? Now they can. In the metaverse, you can host hybrid gatherings — like an IRL work meeting that remote colleagues call into, only fun. Imagine inviting friends to your custom-decorated digital fan cave. It looks a little like your apartment (you doubled the square footage, of course), but it’s completely decked out in your team colors, plus digital decor from posters and bobbleheads, to that super-rare framed throwback jersey you’ve wanted since you were 12. Or if you’re feeling fancy, choose a digital space that looks like the skybox at your favorite stadium. Too bad the metaverse can’t provide all-you-can-eat sliders (yet). 

New ways to show your team pride

Every fan knows a team’s talent and training can only take them so far — to clinch that sweet trophy, your team needs one thing: you, wearing your most ridiculous fan gear. In the future, your digital avatar in the metaverse will get dressed up for game day, too.

Before you say you’ll never pay real money for fake clothes, think again. So-called “v-commerce” (that’s virtual commerce) has already made inroads among fashion fans, who snap up limited-edition luxury brand clothing and sneakers for their online selves. Gamers buy character and weapon upgrades. And the NFL has already opened an official virtual merch store on one popular video game platform, selling helmets and jerseys for every team in the league. Expect more of that in the future, along with metaverse events to fuel the hype — perhaps a mid-game “drop” of limited-edition virtual merch, or an AR-powered scavenger hunt where players compete to win rare swag. The possibilities are endless — and if you’re still not down, painting your body with team colors will still (hopefully) be free. 

Go inside the game

You’re gathered around the virtual hearth. You’re swagged out. The game begins — and in the metaverse, you won’t just watch it, you’ll experience it firsthand. From the momentous coin toss to the tense final play, you could “direct” the game, choosing your vantage point with camera angles, calling up key replays, and even streaming your choice of commentary with a few quick gestures. You could head to your team’s virtual lounge to connect with your fellow superfans, chat strategy, and celebrate (or commiserate) together. Monday morning quarterbacking is even better in the metaverse, where instant translation allows you to chat with fans from around the world. And don’t worry, in the metaverse you can block the lunkheads who tell you your running back is trash.

Choose your own halftime

Halftime is always half the fun of watching — and in the metaverse, it’s even better. Imagine a choose-your-own-adventure halftime, where your digital self can re-live some of the most iconic performances in Super Bowl history. Want to witness the Latina pop diva dance-off that definitively proved hips don’t lie? Stand in the majestic presence of the Purple One as he delivers an epic guitar solo in the rain? Or attend the live halftime performance so you’re not confused by the next six months of memes? In the metaverse, the hardest part will be choosing what to immerse yourself in next.

NFTs, you might have heard, are kind of a big deal right now. The much talked-about, little-understood digital tokens are now a multi-billion market, bigger than many well-established cryptocurrencies. And they’re quickly forming the basis of a brand-new, global digital art market: one that operates 24/7 from anywhere with Wi-Fi, and has created frenzied, multi-million dollar bidding wars over everything from fine art, to Tweets, to that classic driver of tech adoption — no, not that one, we mean cat memes. 

While they’re currently most associated with the art world, NFTs are making inroads to music, too. Legacy and up-and-coming musicians are beginning to experiment with self-releasing their music as NFTs, and using NFT sales as a form of self-funding. Want to raise money to release an album without selling your idea to the suits at a record label? NFTs can do that — and a lot more.

And what makes NFT ownership of a digital asset different from, say, a downloaded song? That’s a little trickier to explain. “The NFT token is like a certificate of ownership, and since it’s recorded on this worldwide distributed network, anyone can easily validate who owns something and what that ownership entails,” says Deanna Audrey Hammond, Head of CX & Ops at NFT marketplace STURDY.EXCHANGE.

The wily, “what are they exactly?” quality of NFTs make them ideal sites for experimentation, which is one reason BACARDÍ chose the format for the third installment of its Music Liberates Music program, described by Laila Mignoni, BACARDÍ’s Global Head of Brand Marketing Communications, as an ongoing initiative to “champion and empower emerging artists and give them every opportunity to share their talent on a global scale.” This year’s edition puts the  spotlight on underrepresented female producers in the music industry. Meet a mixtape unlike any other: The Music Liberates Music Mixtape.

Presented by BACARDÍ and award-winning producer Boi-1da, it features three rising women beatmakers who are making waves for their Caribbean-inspired sounds and production styles: Bambii, Denise De’ion, and PERFXN. Boi-1da hand-selected each artist for their innovative sounds, and worked closely with them to finalize their tracks for the MLM mixtape. The resulting tracks were sold as a limited-edition NFT — available at $100 each through NFT marketplace STURDY.EXCHANGE, and each comes with a host of intriguing extras. In addition to an early release of the full tracks, buyers also receive a “Fanvestor Kit” complete with poster layouts, stickers, and social-ready assets to help spread the word about the artists. In effect, the kits invite each fan to become a “social manager” who is equally invested in the music they love.

And why would they want to do that? That leads us to the coolest “extra” of all — every purchase of an NFT Mixtape gives the buyer a percentage of the songs’ streaming royalties for a year. So the more the tracks are played and loved, the more the owner earns. Music fans already evangelize for the artists they love — that’s why they’re always asking for the AUX cord. With this Mixtape, fans can own a piece of the success they help create. 

For artists, the benefits are clear. The NFT mixtape offers the stage to artists often underrepresented in the music industry, and empowers them to take greater control of their creativity. NFTs could shift the balance of power back toward the artists, says Mignoni. “NFTs let artists release their own music, on their own terms. They have more control over how their music reaches the public, which allows them to have a larger share in their revenue, clear ownership over their work, and more autonomy over their own success.”  

Offering fans a stake in the artists’ success via streaming royalties is, Mignoni says, “a first-to-market model that we feel is particularly important for talent at the start of their career, while also helping foster a deeper connection with fans.” Incentivizing an artists’ most obsessive fans to promote them — it’s an idea that makes so much sense, you’re surprised it hasn’t happened before.

Collaborating on an artist-first initiative like NFTs is a natural fit for Music Liberates Music, BACARDÍ’s ongoing program to champion underrepresented voices in the music industry. As one recent study noted, only 2 percent of music producers identify as female. “Everything that we do at BACARDI ladders up to our overarching brand platform of ‘do what moves you,’ and for these producers, their music and their craft are what move them, what drives them,” Mignoni says. “We want to support that: With music being in our brand DNA for generations, it’s very important for BACARDI to continue to champion and empower emerging artists and give them every opportunity to share their talent on a global scale.”

As artists increasingly awaken to their potential, NFTs could occupy an ever-growing part of the music landscape. By cutting out middlemen and putting control back in the hands of creators, NFTs offer artists something that’s all too rare in the music industry: control over their creativity, a direct line to their fans, and, let’s hope, a bigger cut of their revenues. NFTs also offer a solution to questions of ownership that can plague the art world — art curators could easily check the provenance of digital artwork, for example, or music fans could determine exactly who owns that hyper limited-edition album. It’s also, well, kind of a flex. NFT owners don’t just have the personal satisfaction of knowing they own an original piece of artwork. They get that glowy feeling that everyone else knows they own it, too. It’s a value proposition likely to tempt artists the same way Kickstarter campaigns did in the 2010s. “Artists are beginning to understand NFTs as the evolution of crowdfunding,” Hammond says. “If they can connect their community to NFTs, they can see huge rewards.” 

NFTs also represent a sea change in everyday consumers’ tech adoption curve. “The transition from physical CDs to digital streaming completely transformed the industry. I see the movement toward NFTs as the next nodal transformation point in history,” Hammond says. More than simply a format change, music NFTs offer the added value of clear ownership, collectibility, and the exciting prospect of real-world benefits that may be offered to owners, such as merchandise giveaways, exclusive access to events or performances, and fan meetups.

NFTs are just beginning to move from the fringe “tech enthusiast” space, into the “early adopters” phase, where they’ll begin to shape a new reality around how we fund, engage with, and consume art and music, and could pave the way for virtual and augmented reality to create even more immersive worlds. “We’re going to see a rapid expansion of artists and fans entering the space in the next two to five years,” Hammond says. “It’s still early — but it’s exciting to help shape the space for good.”

In a year of transition, the value of foresight has never been more clear. Simply put, the businesses that invested in new technologies and ways of working are responding swiftly to changing market conditions, better serving their customers and employees, and creating products and services that are more proactive, more human, and more connected than ever before.

In partnership with Capital One, The Verge presents Tech and The New Normal, a series on the technology ecosystem that’s enabling our collective pivot toward the future. From the cloud computing that streamlined our overnight shift to working from home to the artificial intelligence that’s fueling businesses to respond quickly to customer needs.

These are the drivers of reinvention and collaboration that guide a new way forward for us all.

• Open Source as a model for the ‘New Normal’
• How A.I. is adapting to our ‘New Normal’
• How cloud computing became an unsung hero in a time of transformation
• The Pandemic Changed Our Digital Lives Forever — Here’s Why That’s a Good Thing
• When the world changed overnight, how did A.I. adjust?

Of all the ways our lives have been altered by the Covid-19 pandemic, our collective, rapid shift toward online experiences is one of the most profound. Before 2020, the digital world served as an addendum to our lives: Think, the ecommerce site that helped us track down obscure products from across the globe. The ride-sharing app we used to get to the office on a rainy day. The mobile banking app whose balance alerts helped us manage our money. Now, digital experiences are in many ways primary — the locus of where we shop, work, bank, learn and even socialize. In fact, U.S. e-commerce sales grew more than 30% during the height of the pandemic regional lockdowns, while responses to Covid-19 accelerated the adoption of digital technologies by seven years. 

But if our center of gravity has shifted toward digital experiences, those experiences need to change in profound ways, too. They must be frictionless and anticipate customer needs. They must retain an element of personalization and humanity that we’ve come to expect from IRL services. They must intelligently blend aspects of in-person and the online convenience that consumers now expect. And, they need to do all this at a greater scale, speed, and security than ever before to keep pace with rapid shifts in consumer behaviors.

If it sounds like a daunting challenge, it is — but the next generation of successful businesses must quickly evolve to meet this challenge with a smart blend of future-focused technology and human-centered design. Ahead, we talk to industry leaders about key insights they’re using to design more holistic digital experiences for their customers, what the future holds, and why it’s more important to get it right now than ever before.

Intelligent and connected

The businesses that succeed now, our experts say, are those that understand how to meet customers’ need for intelligent digital experiences — that is, they must be connected, relevant, and frictionless.

In a time when people may be less likely to feel comfortable stopping by a branch or popping into a store in person, “it’s increasingly important that digital experiences are proactive and intelligent, anticipating customer needs even before they do, and engaging customers when it’s contextually relevant,” says Ron Secrist, Managing Vice President of Digital Customer Experience at Capital One. 

In the early days of the pandemic, Secrist’s team anticipated customer needs by continuously updating answers to the most commonly asked questions on the Capital One homepage and simultaneously retraining its intelligent assistant Eno to direct customers to the information they needed on Covid-related context and information like relief programs, help with money management, and more.

Well before the pandemic, the bank built a seamless ecosystem of tools that have helped to make online shopping easier, faster — powered by data and machine learning. For example, the Capital One mobile app and digital payments tools provide a frictionless experience, making it easy to pay — anywhere, anytime. To effortlessly save money while shopping online, Capital One Shopping automatically finds lower prices, coupons and online credits. Meanwhile Eno, Capital One’s intelligent assistant looks out for unusual charges to help to stop fraud in its tracks. Together, this seamless experience provides the effortless transition from one touchpoint to another that customers have come to expect.

Suzie Reider, Global Managing Director at Waze, the navigation app with 140 million users worldwide, sees integrations as key to removing friction. “Customers always want an app that’s seamless and speedy,” Reider says. “But increasingly, customers also want integrations across their most commonly used apps.” So at Waze, they’re building smart updates that allow users to do more within the app — from accessing their favorite music streaming services, to buying online from the stores they navigate to, and making contactless fuel payments right at the pump.

As digital adoption took a quantum leap, existing technologies and tools have refocused, becoming more intelligent and connected to nimbly adapt to changing customer needs. Reider explains this as part of the recency effect, where recent heightened emotions leave a bigger impression in people’s minds. She believes “recency” may even take on a larger role in our future. “Recency is super relevant now, because what was true last week may not be true three weeks from now.” The fact that Waze’s maps are continuously updated by its 140 million-strong user base is already a selling point for many users. “This time has taught us that it’s important not to rely on data that’s 30 days old, because things are continuing to change so quickly.”

Personalized and contextually aware

“People have a huge desire for connectedness right now,” says Secrist. Perhaps that’s why our experts see an increasing demand for digital experiences that are personally tailored to each user. To meet that need, customers who log onto the Capital One homepage or open the mobile app may see different menu options based on their most common banking needs.

As the pandemic supercharged our shift to online shopping — the U.S. Department of Commerce reported that online sales spiked 31 percent in the three months following the pandemic’s outbreak in the U.S. — our need for better online security has grown exponentially. Enter: Capital One’s Eno browser extension. With the free browser extension, Eno is ready to automatically generate a virtual card number from any checkout page. Users can get a unique virtual card number for each merchant they shop with. Virtual card numbers from Eno help protect our customers from potential fraud by allowing them to shop online without sharing their actual card number In a way, it’s the ultimate form of personalization, and one that upgrades online security in a powerful way.

The need for contextual awareness drove Waze to update its maps in March with “Location Personalities” that allow businesses to put badges on the map indicating their choices for Covid-safe options like contactless payments and curbside pickup. The popular feature is part of Waze’s overarching desire to provide users with an experience that’s not only useful, but empathetic, says Reider.

Another facet of contextual awareness is simply ease of use — after all, no one likes navigating a complicated app or website, least of all when stress is already high. “People are overwhelmed — they want things to be easy,” says Secrist. “This is particularly true with screen fatigue and the mental load people are experiencing as a result of the pandemic. So businesses must make it especially easy to do what’s needed, for example by reducing the number of steps you need to pay a bill or make a transfer.” Understanding and anticipating customer needs so you can provide the right solutions, at the right time, is the key 

Best of both worlds

The world’s turn toward online services and experiences doesn’t mean the end of a human connection. In fact, our experts see them as equal counterparts. Moving forward, many predict a blurring of boundaries between the online and IRL shopping experiences. “Before the pandemic,” says Paul Moreton, Managing Vice President for eCommerce at Capital One, “you had physical point-of-sale payments, and online shopping — now the two are blending together. You might order ahead and pay online, then pick up in-store. Or you might shop in-store, and have things delivered to your house.”

An ideal model is one which automates the details, while preserving a sense of human contact and personalization — think the local bakery which now provides the top three brioche and sourdough loaf recommendations you might like based on your personal profile and lets you pay online. Secrist believes we’ll see more of this hybrid digital and physical experience in the future, where customers can “remain safe, but also get the goods and services they need, continue to support the local businesses they love, and have a sense of normalcy and human connection through this time.”

Future forward 

Looking ahead, we can expect to see more of these integrated approaches to digital products and services. For Secrist, continuing to streamline customer experiences, while making sure that online commerce works seamlessly as the holiday shopping season ramps up is key: “The percentage of online holiday shopping will be even higher this year than in years past, so we’ll continue to make it easy for customers to integrate their Capital One card to whichever payment service they choose, whether that’s Google Pay, Apple Pay, or PayPal.”

As the world adjusts to changes large and small, consumers undoubtedly appreciate these more connected, and increasingly human digital experiences. As Secrist says, “Five years ago, the focus was on creating a beautiful mobile app you could navigate easily. Now, the focus is on bringing the experience to you — personalized for you — in the moments that matter most.”