According to new research, personal sound amplification products like the AirPods may help some people hear better, albeit in certain scenarios. This has a lot of potential because while millions of Americans could use hearing aids, few of them actually use them due to the price and social stigma related to those products.

AirPods Can Be a Sound-Boosting Microphone

A group of scientists believes Apple AirPods and other earbuds can alleviate some of the issues related to hearing aids. AirPods, in particular, are ubiquitous and can act as a sound-boosting microphone, thanks to the Live Listen feature that was released by Apple in 2016. While the company doesn’t market it as a tool for people with hearing loss, it does say that it can help its user hear a conversation in a noisy area or hear someone from across the room.

AirPods Are Ubiquitous Nowadays

Using the Live Listen feature, AirPods become something like a personal sound amplification product. So, a group of researchers got curious and wondered how AirPods with the Live Listen feature would perform compared to medical hearing aids. They recruited 21 individuals with mild and moderate hearing loss and started testing the two options under a variety of different conditions. Apparently, in some situations, the AirPods helped people hear better, and in a quiet environment, they even performed as well as basic hearing aids, being only slightly inferior to the premium products. In a noisy setting, the AirPods Pro was as good as the premium hearing aids when the noise came from the sides and didn’t help at all when the noise came from in front.

AirPods Are Inspiring Scientists

The new findings related to AirPods can help scientists and engineers design hearing aids and other personal sound amplification products that will be more sensitive in certain directions and, thus, more effective. Though the AirPods didn’t perform perfectly, the research shows they might be a viable option for people who need sound amplification. Earbuds are significantly cheaper than hearing aids, and that’s just another reason why they might be a preferred option for some.

In addition to being affordable, earbuds are very popular, which can relieve the social stigma that some people have with hearing aids. The cost of hearing aids is now expected to come down after the establishment of a new category for over-the-counter hearing aids that can be sold without a prescription. Still, the new devices might cost over $1,000, and that would make the good old AirPods a more affordable option.

Oscar Isaac has had one of the best jobs in the world for a long time. No, that is not being among the most popular and haunting working actors in Hollywood. The reference is to the fact that he is one of few men that are appointed the Internet’s Boyfriend. Whatever he is playing – a rebel hero in Star Wars, a musician in Inside Llewyn Davis, a tech CEO in Ex Machina, a space zaddy in the forthcoming Dune – a lot of people seem to have a crush on him.

Oscar Isaac in Scenes From a Marriage

The obsession with him ranges from middling to ardent on an average day. However, it just rose all the way up to 11 due to the HBO miniseries Scenes From a Marriage. In the series, Isaac and his co-star Jessica Chastain turn the slow dissolution of marriage into an acting showcase. In episode 4, Isaac dared to show even more than usual.

During one intense scene, Oscar Isaac and Chastain’s characters Jonathan and Mira meet up in the home they shared before they split up, to sign their divorce papers. The encounter ends up in passionate breakup sex. In these scenes, Jonathan and Mira use their bodies to express all the raw feelings that they can’t really put into words. When it’s all over, Jonathan stands up, baring it all, before he heads for the shower.

Since Jonathan is played by Oscar Isaac, the Internet lost its mind.

One of this Year’s Impactful Scenes

It is the latest moment in a series of strong ones on television this year that have featured male nudity, which is still rather rare when compared to the depiction of naked female bodies on screen. First was the shower scene in Netflix’s steamy drama Sex/Life, and then was the opening episode of satirical dark comedy The White Lotus.

Each of these scenes uses male nudity to make a statement about what is going on with the characters. In Sex/Life, it is a sign of the protagonist becoming obsessed. In The White Lotus. it serves to show the character’s concerns with mortality. Now, in Scenes From a Marriage, the scene is an elegant metaphor for romantic separation as the tone shifts from erotic (where the characters are one) to mundane, where they must each attend to everyday needs like hygiene.