Widex announced the launch of the Moment, a device that has “broken new ground by addressing one of the great unsolved challenges in the industry—no matter how good the sound, it still sounds like a hearing aid.”

According to Widex, “hearing aids can sound ‘tinny’ and ‘artificial’—which often prevents their adoption by those with hearing loss—when sound processed in the hearing aid reaches the eardrum a split second later than the sound that travels directly through or around the hearing aid’s ear-tip.”

Widex is reportedly “the first in the industry to eliminate that ‘out of sync’ sound for patients with mild to moderate hearing loss, without sacrificing the trademark Widex natural sound—which already has the lowest time delay compared to competitors.”

According to Lise Henningsen, Global Head of Audiology at Widex, this launch marks a fundamental shift not just for the hearing aid industry, but also for a general consumer public plagued by hearing loss at increasingly young ages.

“To lose your sense of hearing is to lose a fundamental part of yourself, often resulting in increased social isolation, subsequent depression, and other downstream psychological and neurological effects,” she said. “Though the traditional hearing aid has made tremendous strides in areas such as speech intelligibility, active noise cancellation, and more, a key frontier has been left uncharted—until today. Widex Moment doesn’t just allow you to hear better, it restores one’s sense of perfectly natural hearing, as you remember it before any loss occurred.”

Moment hearing aids available at the Honiton hearing centre

The Widex Moment platform achieves this hearing experience by leveraging two distinct signal pathways. The ‘classic’ Widex signal pathway is paired with a second ultra-fast signal pathway that adds extra gearing to the platform, the company says.

The Widex ZeroDelay™ Accelerator reduces the processing delay between microphone and receiver to below 0.5 milliseconds, which Widex says enables the two sound signals to meet at virtually the same time in the eardrum, helping eliminate the artificial sound quality and creating a more natural sound experience. This new sound experience is called Widex PureSound™.

However, though Widex Moment “breaks new ground in the area of sound purity, it doesn’t do so at the expense of other cutting-edge features—such as rechargeability and smart streaming to electronic devices—found in the industry’s most state-of-the-art hearing aids and demanded by tech-savvy consumers.”

Widex Moment has what the company says is “the smallest lithium-ion rechargeable RIC on the market, ensuring that no matter one’s lifestyle users will never miss a moment.” Furthermore, Widex Moment’s smart streaming capabilities are said to offer “robust connectivity to the devices one uses every day (iOS and Android).”

Devon hearing aids

Widex Moment also comes compatible with the SoundSense Learn smartphone app, which leverages AI and machine learning to personalise one’s hearing experience and create hearing programs based on a user’s typical environments—a daily commute, an open-office floor plan, a favourite restaurant, and more.

The app gathers a variety of anonymous data such as how often the user adjusts the volume, which sound presets they most regularly use, and how many custom settings they create. Based on these real-world preferences, a complete personalised listening experience is created for the user. These adjustments and custom settings can then also be shared directly and securely with their hearing care professional, which helps the professional tailor their consultation more and improve their service.

“The future of hearing aids will be unlocked through the combination of perfectly natural sound with the latest in streaming, rechargeability, and customisation—and that’s exactly what we’ve created with Widex Moment,” said Henningsen. “We’re breaking down the hearing aid stigma, across all generations, by equipping users with a way to experience one’s natural hearing, customised for any environment, while enabling connectivity with all of your favour apps and devices. It’s a seminal moment for not just our hearing aid industry but for the technology industry, in general.”

Widex Moment is available in 13 colours and six different styles and is available for purchase. For more information on WIDEX, click here.

Source: Widex

Images: Widex