Imagine waking up one day unable to speak. The most basic human interactions—asking for a glass of water, telling someone you are in pain, or simply saying “thank you”—become impossible. The frustration of being unheard, the helplessness of being unable to express even the simplest needs, can be overwhelming.
This was the fear my brother faced when he had to undergo a tracheostomy. While, fortunately, he did not lose his ability to speak, there was a real risk that he might. Faced with this uncertainty, we started looking for solutions that could help him retain his voice, even if he lost the ability to physically speak. That’s how Listen2Me was born—not just as a tool, but as a way to give people back the ability to communicate, to express themselves, and to maintain their independence even in the face of speech loss.
Many people experience temporary or permanent speech impairments due to medical conditions such as strokes, tracheostomies, ALS, or other neurological disorders. For these individuals, the ability to communicate is not just about convenience—it’s about autonomy, dignity, and quality of life. While there are existing text-to-speech applications, many are either too complex, too generic, or fail to provide a voice that truly feels personal.
Listen2Me was designed to bridge this gap.
Listen2Me is an assistive communication tool that allows individuals with speech impairments to type what they want to say and have it spoken aloud. But it goes far beyond basic text-to-speech functionality.
One of the most unique features of Listen2Me is its integration with ElevenLabs’ voice synthesis technology, which allows users to recreate their own voice based on a short audio sample. Instead of speaking with a generic robotic voice, patients can communicate with a voice that sounds like them—preserving a core part of their identity.
Typing every sentence from scratch can be time-consuming and exhausting, especially in urgent situations. Listen2Me provides context-aware AI-powered sentence suggestions, anticipating what a user might need to say based on their condition and daily routines. Common phrases—such as “I need a drink,” “Please adjust my bed,” or “I need my medication”—can be accessed instantly, reducing the burden of manual input.
What makes Listen2Me truly revolutionary is its integration with a powerful large language model (LLM) that learns from the user. This allows for:
This personalized, memory-enhanced AI makes conversations more fluid and meaningful, ensuring that individuals don’t just communicate basic needs but can also engage in deeper discussions—whether about daily life, their favorite hobbies, or personal interests.
Users can create, organize, and manage their own custom sentence collections. This allows them to build a personalized communication system suited to their specific needs, whether for daily interactions, medical requests, or social conversations.
Not everyone with speech impairments can type efficiently. That’s why Listen2Me is designed to be fully operable with just a mouse—no physical speech or keyboard skills are required. The interface is simple, intuitive, and optimized for both desktop and mobile use, ensuring that patients can communicate effortlessly wherever they are.
Language barriers should never be an obstacle to communication. Listen2Me supports multiple languages, currently English and German, allowing users to interact with caregivers or family members in their native language.
Not all users need high-end voice synthesis, which is why Listen2Me offers two speech output modes:
Browser-Based Speech (Default Mode)
ElevenLabs Integration (Advanced Mode)
Losing the ability to speak can be isolating. Simple interactions—ordering food, expressing pain, participating in conversations—become challenges. Listen2Me should be more than just an assistive technology; it is a tool for empowerment. It ensures that individuals who have lost their ability to speak can still express their thoughts, maintain relationships, and live with dignity.
And now, with large language model integration, Listen2Me isn’t just restoring lost voices—it’s making conversations intelligent, personalized, and more human.
What started as a personal project to support my brother has grown into something much bigger. Listen2Me has the potential to help countless individuals who face speech loss, whether temporary or permanent. And the best part? It’s free and open-source, developed by my brother and myself in our free time, with the hope of making life easier for those in need.
Because no one should ever have to lose their voice forever.
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