Is anyone working on letting voices pass through earbuds?

[Cytuser1]

It seems that earbuds are improving all the time. Is anyone working on the acoustics of letting voices and other critical sounds pass through while still blocking ambient noise? I frequently wear headphones but I need to take them out if I want to hear people asking questions.

 

[SaMaster14]

Isn’t this what “transparency” mode in the new AirPods Pro is supposed to solve?

If I don’t have anything playing, I can keep my AirPods in my ears and hear people speaking/outside noise just fine as if they AirPods weren’t even there.