NEW technology created by a Perth start-up company offers help for some of the four million Australians who are hard of hearing.

The bluetooth hearing buds, which boost everyday sounds, are a fraction of the cost of traditional hearing aids.

Clattering plates, a whistling coffee machine and background music would usually create the perfect storm to stifle conversation for Kevin Whitley, who has moderate hearing loss.

Mr Whitley is one of the first Australians to try the hearing buds, which amplify what you want to hear and cut out what you don't.

He said he could now hear what people were saying and felt less isolated in conversations.

“I can listen to all the music I love. They’ve got really good audio reproduction and they allow me to hear in those situations where I really struggle,” he said.

Justin Miller of Nuheara, which developed the buds, said they were adapted to each person’s hearing profile.

With an in-built, 15-minute clinical grade hearing test that can be done at home, the buds customise noise levels to each person’s hearing needs, combined with bluetooth technology that can be synced to a phone or TV.

At $650, which Mr Miller says is about one tenth the price of a hearing aid, the buds offer a solution for mild to moderate hearing loss.

For more extreme hearing loss, see a hearing expert.

Audiologists advise, if you have trouble hearing over background noise, to first have a test to determine if there could be other problems causing deafness in certain situations.