Hearing loss is the number one disability in the world - with an estimated 25 million sufferers. Yet only 5 million of those people wear hearing aids.

Mark Stehly finally bought a pair when the many sounds of the world merged into one.

"You can't differentiate a conversation that you want to have with someone, with other conversations going on around you," says Stehly.

His hearing aids have a high-tech advantage for a savvy businessman on the go. They not only help him hear better, they are also compatible with a wireless Bluetooth cell phone.

The new Epoq hearing aid from the Oticon company has capabilities never before seen in a hearing aid. Advantages that are geared specifically toward professionals with hearing loss.

"You can now talk on your cell phone through the streamer," says hearing instrument specialist Lisa Jesionek. "You can listen to your TV and you have volume control on all of these devices."

Jesionek says the Epoq device is so small, people hardly see it.

The "invisibility" is very appealing to retail developer, Robert Parrish, who hates the look of large cell phone headsets.

"With the blue tooth compatible, I don't have to have an apparatus hanging from my ear," he says. "And I could take a phone call that's reasonably discreet."

The Epoq has only been on the market since June. So far, the only downside seems to be receiver which is worn around the neck. That receiver picks up the wearer's voice during phone calls.

"You might have to pick it up a little bit or move it closer to your mouth when you have a lot of background noise," explains Jesionek.

Mark Stehly has experienced no problems -- only plusses. "This has been a God send," he explains enthusiastically. "It's really been great. Because now I don't miss the conversations when people call me and need to talk to me. I can be very timely and I can do it in environments where before I could not use my cell phone."

And, in those rare moments where there's downtime, the Epoq has an added bonus: it can hook directly into an IPOD allowing wearers can listen to their favorite tunes without missing a beat -- or any conversation around them.

E-mail jstjames@wfaa.com