The Live Listen app for iPhone currently allows the phone's mic to pick up conversations out of background noise and send the signal to certain hearing aids. You put the phone on the table in the restaurant, and it enhances the sounds you want to hear over the junk. In iOS 12 due this fall, the app can also be used with AirPods. This could be a useful tool for those of us who don't wear hearing aids (...or who want to justify buying AirPods). https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/05/airpods-to-get-live-listen-feature-in-ios-12/