I think they want a hearing aid that could selectively amplify just one voice. Maybe the loudest voice in the vicinity, for example, while muting the others. Not sure how feasible it would be to do this in real time, though.
Conversation Boost for AirPods Pro helps you better hear conversations in crowded or noisy environments. Through computational audio and beamforming microphones, Conversation Boost focuses AirPods Pro on the voice of the person directly in front of you, making it easier to distinguish speech and follow along in face‑to‑face conversations.
Apple has all the tech needed to get this done, even in their existing product. I'm hopeful they will now feel they can release it. All I need is compression (amplification of soft sounds without over-amplification of loud sounds), equalization, and an app that allows me to make the necessary adjustments - with separate controls for exterior sound and the iOS audio chain.
For reference I had a friend whose hearing aids were doing this 15-20 years ago. He was able to have a conversation just fine in a crowded bar, whereas I couldn’t hear a thing over the din of background conversation.