IOT-Enabled Low-Cost Hearing Aid with Flutter Control App

Abstract

Hearing loss has a major impact on communication, situational awareness and personal safety, especially in noisy and urban environments where auditory cues are essential. Most hearing aids are designed as passive amplifiers of sound and generally do not dynamically adapt to variations in acoustic environment or personal taste. In this paper, we will explain the complete design and development of an IoT-based smart hearing aid system based on the ESP32-S3 microcontroller that implements I2S digital audio processing, as well as a mobile application developed in Flutter. Environmental sound is captured using an I2S MEMS microphone and processed in real time through digital signal processing techniques such as gain control, low-pass filtering, and high-pass filtering to enhance speech intelligibility while reducing unwanted noise. The processed audio is delivered via an I2S audio amplifier to earphones or a miniature speaker. Wireless connectivity enables real-time customization of hearing parameters through a mobile interface. A TP4056-based battery charging and protection module ensures portability, safety, and energy efficiency. The proposed system provides a low-cost, scalable, and user-centric assistive solution suitable for wearable hearing aid applications.