A 10-year-old girl experienced a life-changing moment when she tried on a pair of cutting-edge smart glasses that allow her to see spoken words instantly.Kendyl Pool was born profoundly deaf due to malformations in her inner ears.
Since she was just six months old, American Sign Language has been her primary way of communicating with the world. Conversations outside the signing community, however, have often felt distant and fragmented.
That changed on her birthday.
Kendyl’s mother, Bri, stumbled upon the high-tech ‘caption glasses’ while scrolling through TikTok and immediately sensed their potential.
The $1,500 glasses convert spoken language into real-time captions that appear directly on the lenses, making conversations visible as they happen.When Bri surprised Kendyl with the gift, the reaction was unforgettable.
‘She had no idea something like this even existed,’ Bri shared. ‘The moment I started talking and the words appeared in front of her eyes, she froze. Then she got emotional. She couldn’t believe she was reading my words in real time.’
Developed by HearView, the glasses connect via Bluetooth to a smartphone app that uses advanced voice recognition to transcribe speech instantly onto a tiny built-in display.
The captions appear with minimal delay, allowing Kendyl to follow conversations naturally without looking down at a phone or device.
Beyond understanding others, the glasses have also become a tool for Kendyl to practice speaking.
‘She can’t hear her own voice,’ Bri explained. ‘So she’ll say ‘Mom’ over and over and wait to see if it shows up. When it does, her face lights up.’
As the only deaf member of her family, Kendyl has sometimes struggled with feeling different. The glasses have already helped bridge that gap, giving her more confidence in social settings and making it easier to interact with people who don’t know ASL.
Another powerful feature allows conversations to be saved in the app, so Kendyl can review important moments later, including instructions from teachers or doctors.
‘For years, captions on TVs and devices have lagged or been inaccurate,’ Bri told SWNS. ‘I tested these glasses myself, speaking quickly and using different phrases, and the accuracy is incredible.’
She added, ‘This isn’t just technology. It’s inclusion. Full access to conversations in real time changes everything.’