(Image: Getty) Electronics manufacturers are increasingly producing software and products that address hearing loss. Smartphone apps, earbuds, and soundbars help people understand real-time, in-person conversations, phone calls, and streaming media. "It's remarkable that so many more tech companies are even thinking about people with hearing loss," says Joe Montano, a New York City audiologist and professor at Cornell University's Weill Medical College. Montano was pleasantly surprised to learn that big box retailer BJ's is now selling a "dialogue clarifying" soundbar that makes it easier for people with hearing loss to understand movies and TV shows by reducing the prominence of music and sound effects in the soundtrack.