Zoom Charges Monthly Fee for Closed Captioning During Pandemic, ‘WBFO’ Reports
The challenges for hearing impaired people working remotely and utilizing video conferencing services during the coronavirus pandemic can make communication difficult. According to an article on the WBFO/NPR website, hearing advocate and Living With Hearing Loss founder Shari Eberts recently wrote an open letter—that turned into a petition with 58,000 signatures—asking video conferencing companies to remove the paywall from their captioning services.
According to the article, both Google and Microsoft have complied, but Zoom is still charging a $200 monthly fee for users to be able to access closed captioning.
Issues with video conferencing that include poor audio and/or sound quality as well as spotty internet connection, can make lip reading difficult. Even when using workarounds like speaker mode to be able to see a larger version of the person they’re speaking with and/or headphones to improve sound quality, a person’s lips can be out of sync with their words, Eberts says in the article. Closed captions could improve communication in these situations, she says.
“It’s hard for us to want to jump in or to share our thoughts because we’re not sure what’s been said. And obviously, there’s a lot of trepidation about looking silly or repeating something that someone just said,” Eberts is quoted in the article as saying.
To read the article in its entirety, please click here.
Source: WBFO
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Whisper may have a quiet name, but it could reverberate loudly in the hearing healthcare industry. The company launched its first new hearing aid on October 15—a product that really is significantly different from all others dispensed by audiologists and hearing aid specialists. And, yes, that’s right: the Whisper Hearing System is designed for dispensing by hearing care professionals. As such, Whisper represents the first new major hearing aid manufacturer with a product specifically designed for dispensing since the InSound Medical XT was approved by the FDA in 2003 (later purchased in 2010 by Sonova and renamed Lyric).
The Whisper RIC hearing aids and brain.
And a bit like Lyric, Whisper will use a subscription payment model for consumers. The leasing concept is gaining ground in hearing healthcare, in part due to the fact that technology moves so fast, hearing aids can be expensive, and frequent product upgrades are now a given in the industry. Whisper will be available via a comprehensive monthly plan that includes ongoing care from a local hearing care professional, a lease of the Whisper Hearing System, regular software upgrades, and a 3-year warranty that not only covers the system itself but also loss and damage. The company is offering a special introductory rate of $139/month (regularly $179/month) for a 3-year term.
The New Whisper Hearing System
The Whisper Hearing System essentially has three components:
A hearing aid processor that resembles an advanced receiver-in-the-canal (RIC) hearing aid;
The Whisper Brain is a small device that runs an AI-driven Sound Separation Engine to optimize sound in real time. It also enables connectivity to iPhones, and
A phone app that provides an interface for the consumer.
The Whisper team, which is largely composed of executives from the AI field, created the Whisper brain as a dedicated, powerful sound processing system that also allows for updates and other capabilities—instead of relying on the wearer’s smartphone for many of these functions. “We developed the Whisper Brain to run the core technology we’ve developed for hearing,” said company Co-founder and President Andrew Song in an interview with Hearing Review. “Think about your smartphone and all the processing inside it. We’re using the Whisper Brain to apply this type of processing to hearing without having to compete with smartphone games or applications. The Whisper Brain is a dedicated processor designed to provide the best hearing.”
However, the Whisper Brain isn’t required to use the hearing aid, as there may be situations where the wearer wants to step away from it or not take it with them. In those situations, the hearing aid uses the “onboard” hearing aid algorithms in the RIC (similar to other advanced hearing aids when unpaired to the user’s cell phone).
Wireless connectivity with iPhones is also provided through the Whisper Brain via Bluetooth, and the company says it may support other phones and has plans to expand on this in the future. The RICs use a size 675 battery with an expected use of 4-5 days with typical use including streaming, and the WhisperBrain has a USB port for recharging.
Not Your Grandfather’s Hearing Aid
Andrew Song
According to Song, Whisper started about 3 years ago in San Francisco when he began discussions with another Whisper co-founder, Dwight Crow, the company’s CEO. Song is the former head of products for an online instant-messaging (IM) system most of us are familiar with: Facebook Messenger Core. A mathematics and computer science graduate of the University of Waterloo, he is an expert in artificial intelligence and a member of Sequoia Capital’s Scout Program which was formed to discover and develop promising companies. Crow is the founder of Carsabi, a machine-learning based car sales aggregator acquired by Facebook in 2012, and he helped build the e-commerce segment at Facebook which yields over $1 billion per quarter in revenue. A third co-founder, Shlomo Zippel, was the applications team leader at PrimeSense which built the 3D sensor technology behind Microsoft Kinect.
Jim Kothe
The company then added as head of sales Jim Kothe, an audiologist and hearing industry veteran who has a wealth of experience within both the dispensing community and manufacturing, in addition to an extremely impressive team of executives with experience and leadership roles at companies like Facebook, Nest, Google, Invisalign, Johnson & Johnson, Solta Medical, and Cutera. Together they are collaborating on a product that blends artificial intelligence, hearing care, hardware, and software for helping solve the challenge of providing better hearing.
“I think for me, and probably for everyone at the company, it’s a very personal mission,” says Song. “Personally, the starting point is really my grandfather. He has hearing loss and is not an uncommon story when you work in this business: I’d say that he’s a hearing aid owner, but not a hearing aid wearer.”
This set into motion Song’s investigation into what hearing aid technology was doing, what experiences people were having with it, and why his grandfather had the complaints he did. “That really opened my world to all the exciting things that could be done, but also the opportunity we have for how we can really build a product to help [people like him],” says Song. “Since then we’ve been putting the product together and bringing the expertise that comes from hearing folks like Jim and the others on our team—and blending it with the kind of product and technology ideas we almost take for granted here in Silicon Valley. Products are becoming more consumer friendly, more consumer oriented, and we’re building some of those ideas into a new type of hearing aid product. So, while Whisper is a hearing aid regulated by the FDA, all of these things influenced our approach, our mentality, and our vision towards this space, and we think our approach is a little different [from those of other hearing aid manufacturers].”
The larger capacity for processing power is extremely exciting for Song and his colleagues, and he likens this advancement to the leap from analog to digital hearing technology.
The larger capacity for processing power is extremely exciting for Song and his colleagues, and he likens this advancement to the leap from analog to digital hearing technology. He says some great hearing aid algorithms have been, and will continue to be, created that will result in substantially improved hearing. However, there’s little point in having these algorithms if they can’t be fully employed in a wearable device.
He also says the problem in hearing aids is much more complex than, for example, those solutions found in noise-cancelling headphones. “Over time, [we’ve had] very ambitious people with a lot of ideas on what we should do with this powerful processing. What’s really exciting is not just having this technology, but also having a learning platform to be able to develop it. I think one of the most interesting parts of development is that the goal, at the end of the day, really isn’t about perfect noise removal. You need noise in your life. We have demos we can run that more or less perfectly remove noise…and it just creates sort of a weird environment. So, I think in many cases, the unique aspect of what we’re doing revolves around how do we use [the research] and how do we invent some truly novel ideas? Obviously, it’s not only about noise removal, but how we can use the powerful processing specifically in these hearing aids to make hearing aids really good for the purpose of listening. That subtlety is where we feel like we can really differentiate ourselves and truly make a difference in people’s lives.”
A System that Relies on Professional Care
Song says there has been a patient-centric approach at every turn in the design, development, marketing, and especially distribution of the Whisper Hearing System. And it starts with the hearing care professional’s expertise.
“I think there’s several very important things along that path; the first of which was to work with hearing care professionals who are the ‘artists’ in delivering great care,” Song told HR via a Zoom interview. “If I look at my grandfather’s experience, it was pretty obvious to me that having the right professionals made a huge difference. And so you can talk about using Zoom or you can talk about going direct to consumer, but it’s very, very obvious—even as a Silicon Valley engineer—that the audiologist is extremely important in the process. That’s why we made a decision very early on that we’d be working with professionals. And if you remember, when the company started in 2017, that’s when the OTC laws were getting passed. That’s where all the ‘cool stuff’ was supposed to be. Everyone was saying, ‘Get rid of these professionals!’ …But there’s a care-oriented mindset in hearing healthcare. You can see that there’s a personal aspect [needed] to evaluate what would be good for my grandfather. And when you talk to patients and you talk to audiologists, this becomes very clear. So, I think that was a very early decision that’s not necessarily about the product, per se, but about our business and how we best deliver the hearing system.”
One of the things Whisper also wants to address is the post-purchase feeling of regret that can accompany a high-end, high-technology purchase. As with any car, computer, or consumer electronics device, when a consumer purchases an expensive top-of-the-line hearing aid, there is doubtlessly a more advanced model with new processing capabilities and features that will be launched 6 months later. But, with hearing loss, Song believes that sense of regret can be magnified because hearing is such a personal, important 24/7 activity.
The Whisper Hearing Aid Brain
That led to the idea of a subscription-based system using a machine-learning platform that can be upgraded on regular intervals without continually replacing the actual hearing aid or brain itself. “The nature of our product is that it gets better over time. You don’t need to pay for [the upgrades]; the hearing aid learns on its own, and we’ll also deliver you a software upgrade every few months. [It’s] similar to how you might think of a cell phone plan…Fundamentally, that’s really what we’re trying to offer.”
It’s also important that professionals have the margins and revenues to be able to cover their expenses in order to provide exceptional hearing care, says Song. Whisper plans to provide upfront fees and work with professionals, while offering patients a better way to pay for the product, support, and systems that the company has developed. Currently, a select number of hearing care professionals are using the Whisper Hearing System, and the company is now expanding from this base of dispensing offices.
When asked how he thinks Whisper will change the hearing aid market, Song quickly replied, “I really hope that everybody around the world gets an upgradable hearing aid in the next 5 years. And, of course, I hope it’s ours. We have a lot to offer. But if the market moves toward Whisper in 5 years, then we’re competing with everybody to make the best upgrades. Frankly, I think that’s a big win for the industry. And it’s also a big win for my grandfather, right? I think, as part of that vision, we have to be really mindful about how much we bite off in any of our product development. So this first product represents a first step, especially on the device with this kind of learning capability and working with professionals on this payment model—all of the new things that we’ve already talked about. But there are other aspects around this kind of patient-centric, consumer-centric model with the professional and I think there’s a lot of interactivity that we can build on. There’s a lot of new ideas we have about how to better integrate everything together. And so, more and more, we’ll be able to build that out and address those issues because we’ll have an excellent learning hearing aid on the market.”
Funding for Whisper
The initial investment to establish the company came from Sequoia Capital and First Round Capital, and on Thursday (October 15) Whisper announced the close of a $35 million Series B funding round led by Quiet Capital for total funding of $53 million. Advisors for the company include Mike Vernal of Sequoia and former VP of engineering at Facebook; audiologist Robert Sweetow who is the former UCSF Director of Audiology; Lee Linden of Quiet Capital and founder of TapJoy and Karma; Rob Hayes of First Round which also invested in Uber and Square, and Stewart Bowers, former VP of engineering at Tesla who was responsible for AutoPilot.
“Software-defined hearing technology is the future,” said Vernal in a press statement. “By building the Whisper Hearing System around software, the Whisper team will be able to improve patient care with a device that adapts, upgrades, and improves continuously for the wearer’s benefit. This is the start of a new paradigm for delivering hearing technology, and we’re thrilled to partner with Whisper on this journey.”
“What I look for in a company is the team,” said Hayes. “The Whisper team combines incredible expertise in cutting edge artificial intelligence, software, and hardware with a genuine passion for helping people. I’m excited to work with them to transform the hearing space.”
Hearing Speech Requires Quiet—In More Ways than One
A very interesting paper by:
Kim Krieger, Research Writer, University of Connecticut
Perceiving speech requires quieting certain types of brain cells, report a team of researchers from UConn Health and University of Rochester in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Neurophysiology. Their research reveals a previously unknown population of brain cells, and opens up a new way of understanding how the brain hears, according to an article on theUConn Today website.
Your brain is never silent. Brain cells, known as neurons, constantly chatter. When a neuron gets excited, it fires up and chatters louder. Following the analogy further, a neuron at maximum excitement could be said to shout. When a friend says your name, your ears signal cells in the middle of the brain. Those cells are attuned to something called the amplitude modulation frequency. That’s the frequency at which the amplitude, or volume, of the sound changes over time.
Amplitude modulation is very important to human speech. It carries a lot of the meaning. If the amplitude modulation patterns are muffled, speech becomes much harder to understand. Researchers have known there are groups of neurons keenly attuned to specific frequency ranges of amplitude modulation; such a group of neurons might focus on sounds with amplitude modulation frequencies around 32 Hertz (Hz), or 64 Hz, or 128 Hz, or some other frequencies within the range of human hearing. But many previous studies of the brain had shown that populations of neurons exposed to specific amplitude modulated sounds would get excited in seemingly disorganised patterns. The responses could seem like a raucous jumble, not the organized and predictable patterns you would expect if the theory, of specific neurons attuned to specific amplitude modulation frequencies, was the whole story.
UConn Health neuroscientists Duck O. Kim and Shigeyuki Kuwada passionately wanted to figure out the real story. Kuwada had made many contributions to science’s understanding of binaural (two-eared) hearing, beginning in the 1970s. Binaural hearing is essential to how we localise where a sound is coming from. Kuwada (or Shig, as his colleagues called him) and Kim, both professors in the School of Medicine, began collaborating in 2005 on how neural processing of amplitude modulation influences the way we recognise speech. They had a lot of experience studying individual neurons in the brain, and, together with Laurel Carney at the University of Rochester, they came up with an ambitious plan: they would systematically probe how every single neuron in a specific part of the brain reacted to a certain sound when that sound was amplitude modulated, and when it was not. They studied isolated single-neuron responses of 105 neurons in the inferior colliculus (a part of the brainstem) and 30 neurons in the medial geniculate body (a part of the thalamus) of rabbits. The study took them two hours a day, every day, over a period of years to get the data they needed.
While they were writing up their results, Shig became ill with cancer. But still he persisted in the research. And after years of painstaking measurement, all three of the researchers were amazed at the results of their analysis: there was a hitherto unknown population of neurons that did the exact opposite of what the conventional wisdom predicted. Instead of getting excited when they heard certain amplitude modulated frequencies, they quieted down. The more the sound was amplitude modulated in a specific modulation frequency, the quieter they got.
It was particularly intriguing because the visual system of the brain has long been understood to operate in a similar way. One population of visual neurons (called the “ON” neurons) gets excited by certain visual stimuli while, at the same time, another population of neurons (called the “OFF” neurons) gets suppressed.
Last year, when Shig was dying, Kim made him a promise.
“In the final days of Shig, I indicated to him and his family that I will put my full effort toward having our joint research results published. I feel relieved now that it is accomplished,” Kim says. The new findings could be particularly helpful for people who have lost their ability to hear and understand spoken words. If they can be offered therapy with an implant that stimulates brain cells directly, it could try to match the natural behavior of the hearing brain.
“It should not excite every neuron; it should try to match how the brain responds to sounds, with some neurons excited and others suppressed,” Kim says.
The research was funding by the National Institutes of Health.
Original Paper: Kim DO, Carney LH, Kuwada S. Amplitude modulation transfer functions reveal opposing populations within both the inferior colliculus and medial geniculate body. Journal of Neurophysiology. 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.00279.2020.
Phonak’s Audéo Paradise Launch Supports the Company’s Overall “Well Hearing is Well Being” Mission
Voltaire said “Wherever my travels may lead, paradise is where I am.” Phonak is hoping its newest hearing aid, Audéo Paradise, will evoke similar sentiments in people with hearing loss over a vast array of listening situations, and lend further support for its tenet that “Well hearing is well being.”
As the successor to its premium Audéo Marvel product line, Audéo Paradise has big shoes to fill. Marvel was introduced in October 2018 and sold over 1 million hearing aids within its first year—the fastest-ever sales for the company and probably Phonak’s most successful hearing aid since its 2005 launch of Phonak Savia. A Marvel 2.0 upgrade was released last August which, among several other things, made RogerDirect technology available to all Marvel hearing aids while expanding form factor options.
The new Phonak Audéo Paradise, officially released today (August 19), is designed to provide “the next level of excellent sound quality” through its new PRISM (Processing Real-time Intelligent Sound Management) sound processing chip that features approximately double the memory of Phonak’s previous chip, “universal” connectivity options, and a new fitting formula designed to provide better fits (particularly for milder losses), reduced reverberation, greater dynamic range, and reduced listening fatigue in noise. The company is also introducing a new version of AutoSense OS™ (ASOS 4.0), the fourth-generation of its successful operating system which augments the existing feature set found in Audéo Marvel with a new speech enhancer, dynamic noise cancellation, and motion-sensor hearing technology for even better performance in noisy environments.
Honiton hearing centre near Exeter
The integrated motion sensor not only detects when the wearer is moving and having a conversation, but it also supports hands-free conversations while connecting with Siri®, Google Assistant™, or Amazon Alexa® via a simple double-tap to the ear. The new hearing aid also features proven lithium-ion rechargeable battery technology that provides a full day of listening, including audio streaming, on a single charge and comes with an easy-to-use portable charging unit.
In July, Phonak held an online premiere of its new Paradise hearing aid for members of the press, and later even allowed participants to try the product for themselves during a remote fitting session (look for the upcoming blog about the editor’s experience with remote programming for a mild hearing loss).
Sound Quality and Innovative App Features
During the online media event, Phonak Product Manager Fabia Müller detailed three new features of the Audéo Paradise. These key features are designed to improve ease-of-use for the hearing aid wearer, while enhancing communication in a multitude of listening situations, particularly in quiet, in loud environments, and for special situations involving movement:
Speech Enhancer is designed for more intimate one-on-one conversations with a friend or loved one by enhancing the peak elements of speech (ie, providing more gain on the soft input speech signals).
Dynamic Noise Cancellation is a new feature that employs a directional beamformer when users are trying to understand speech in a loud environment, like in a restaurant, bar, or playground. The new system works in combination with Phonak’s adaptive beamformer, as well as the motion sensor. Müller says the entire system can provide up to 4 dB SNR improvement.
Motion Sensor Hearing detects if the user is moving or stationary, then seamlessly steers the microphone mode and the dynamic noise cancellation appropriately to maximize the speech signal and retain natural sound.
“With Paradise, we are delivering crisp natural sound, brilliant speech understanding, and personalized noise cancelling,” said Müller. She says ASOS 4.0 system uses artificial intelligence (AI) to orchestrate a fully automatic experience, blending the new features above into the existing Audéo features to ensure that the beamformer and dynamic noise cancellation are in the appropriate settings—whether one is walking or standing still—in a wide variety of environments.
The myPhonak app can control sound settings for Phonak Paradise users.
Paradise also introduces a suite of personalized digital solutions so hearing aid wearers get the most out of their new hearing aids. Through the myPhonak app, consumers can now easily adjust the level of background noise, and even receive a hearing test directly through hearing aids from a professional remotely, without leaving their home. The Phonak Hearing Screener has also been upgraded so that any person can quickly receive a hearing assessment online.
Audéo Paradise users can also receive help in special listening situations from the app’s Hearing Diary. Within the diary, there are four broad areas: “sound quality,” “speech understanding,” “hearing aid,” and “other.” Within each of these areas, one can choose to rate your satisfaction in various situations like “conversation in quiet,” “restaurant,” “watching TV,” “music,” “workplace,” etc, then provide more specific comments and feedback for assistance and/or possible adjustment.
Broadened Connectivity Options
With Paradise, a simple double-tap to the ear can hail your favourite voice assistant like Siri or Alexa.
With the new Tap Control, Paradise users can activate Siri or Alexa, answer or reject calls, or even pause or resume audio streaming by tapping on the outer ear (upper helix/pinna). In previous Phonak Audéo hearing aids, there were two Bluetooth connections, with only one being active at any one time; with Audéo Paradise, there are now eight possible Bluetooth connections, with two capable of being active via the customisable Tap Controls.
New First-fit Capabilities and Advanced Processing
Phonak has also adapted its proprietary fitting formula to these new capabilities by introducing Adaptive Phonak Digital 2.0 (APD 2.0), an update to the original fitting formula introduced 15 years ago. There are three main changes in the new APD 2.0:
Adaptive compression speeds for greater dynamic range and reduced perception of reverberation;
“Linearalized” gain for higher inputs like loud speech-in-noise situations or music (ie, a “louder input kneepoint”), and
A new pre-calculation of the gain settings and amplification schemes for mild-to-moderate hearing losses to provide better first-fit acceptance at the first appointment for this unique user group.
Müller noted that research at Hörzentrum Oldenburg GmbH showed APD 2.0 helped reduce listening effort particularly in noise. Additionally, OSOS 4.0 uses AI to orchestrate these new features, as well as previous Audéo performance benefits, to provide the best speech intelligibility and sound quality.
In summary, Audéo Paradise is the first hearing aid to benefit from Sonova’s new sound processing chip, PRISM, which delivers crisp, natural sound in any environment for excellent sound quality. In quiet situations, soft voices over distance are enhanced by the Speech Enhancer. With the Motion Sensor Hearing, the hearing aids can detect when the wearer is moving while having a conversation and automatically adjust the directional microphones to focus on the direction of speech. Paradise wearers also have more control over how they hear thanks to a new personalised noise cancelling feature in the myPhonak app.
“When creating our latest hearing solution, we turned to nature for inspiration,” said Martin Grieder, Group Vice President of Marketing for Sonova in a press statement. “Hearing is such an intricate part of our existence and fundamental for our overall well-being. Nature is also the source of so many sounds that can soothe, relax and comfort us. What better way to rediscover sound than with a hearing aid inspired by nature itself – Phonak Audéo Paradise.”
The Bigger Picture of Brain Health and the Future
During the online media event, Phonak Director of Global Audiology Angela Pelosi pointed out that hearing loss fundamentally changes our perceptions of well-being, safety, and security—one of the many reasons why hearing healthcare needs to change its messaging from just solving immediate hearing problems to a more universal message of “Well Hearing is Well Being.” Increasingly, scientific evidence shows that untreated hearing loss is associated with comorbidities like falls, loneliness and depression, increased use of healthcare systems, as well as cognitive impairment (eg, see recent Lancet Commission update that confirmed untreated hearing loss as the largest modifiable risk factor in dementia).
Julia Sarant, PhD, of the University of Melbourne presented information on a study indicating improved executive function for all participants who used hearing aids for 18+ months. The research also found that people with greater degrees of hearing loss are more likely to have poorer cognitive function, and that older adults who use hearing aids may be able stabilize their cognitive status or actually improve it significantly over time. In other words, “Looking after hearing health is also looking after brain health,” says Dr Sarant.
Paradise Models and Availability
Audéo Paradise is available beginning today via licensed hearing care professionals in the United States. It will be offered in all performance levels across four models, all Roger compatible, including the Audéo P-RT, a lithium-ion rechargeable model with telecoil.
For more details on Audéo Paradise, visit the Phonak website.
https://honiton-hearing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Honiton-hearing-near-Exeter-.png630679adminhttps://honitonnew.leecurran.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/honitonhearinglogo.pngadmin2020-08-31 09:18:312020-08-31 09:18:31Phonak Launches Audéo Paradise Hearing Aid
Signia Launches Styletto X Hearwear, Honiton Hearing, Devon
Signia announces the launch of the Styletto X. This new device, said to be “the world’s first SLIM-RIC form factor” pioneered by Signia, is now available on the Signia Xperience platform.
Styletto X reportedly offers “the most complete hearing experience, combining one-of-a-kind style that patients desire with the uncompromised technology that hearing care professionals demand,” according to the company’s announcement. Signia says that this “highly sophisticated hearwear helps to improves listening in any situation—even when moving—and delivers better-than- normal-hearing in difficult noise.” Features of the Styletto X include exchangeable receivers, portable rechargeability, Bluetooth connectivity, and self-service patient support via Signia Assistant.
In addition to Styletto X, Signia has introduced additional products on the Signia Xperience platform, helping to empower hearing care professionals to address more patient needs and preferences. These new offerings include:
The Silk X, a “discreet alternative to customs,” helping to allow hearing care professionals to operate more efficiently with a same-day-fit.
An expanded Essentials line to offer Signia’s advanced technology to more patients, regardless of budget.
Three new CROS solutions (CROS Pure Charge&Go X, CROS Pure 312 X, and CROS Silk X) for a choice of styles and fittings for patients with single-sided deafness.
“With its slim, rounded form and striking color combinations, Styletto X was developed to attract individuals who wouldn’t otherwise consider wearing hearing aids, while providing new options to existing wearers looking to upgrade to a sleek and modern device,” said Dr Tish Ramirez, AuD, Signia’s Vice President, Clinical Education & Professional Relations.
As evidence of its appeal, the eye-catching Styletto form factor—preferred by 8 out of 10 consumers—was found to significantly increase in-store-conversion of people with hearing loss into satisfied hearing aid wearers.2
Signia is the “first hearing aid brand” to incorporate Qi wireless charging technology, helping to enable wearers to place the Styletto X pocket-sized charging case on a charging pad for greater usability.
“Styletto X features several enhancements to this already well-received design, based on feedback from our hearing care professional partners,” Ramirez added. “In particular, Styletto X now comes with exchangeable receivers to treat a wider range of hearing loss and enable more patients to benefit from this one-of-a-kind device.”
A New Era of Wearability and Autonomy
Signia is “the first hearing aid brand” to incorporate Qi wireless charging technology into a hearing aid charging case. With this technology, wearers can simply place the Styletto X pocket-sized charging case on a charging pad in cafés, restaurants, or cars, instead of having to plug it into the charging port. Styletto X can be fully charged in only four hours to provide a full day’s wearing, including five hours of streaming.3
The Signia Assistant can help hearing care professionals by leveraging artificial intelligence to help support patients, 24/7, with text-based dialogue, instant sound adjustments, and how-to-videos to answer handling questions.
Remote Fitting and Service Options
With Signia’s new Remote Care solution, hearing care professionals and hearing aid wearers can benefit from flexible fitting and service options via TeleCare, “the first full, live remote fine-tuning solution in the industry,” according to the company.
This hearing solution is available now in performance levels 7, 5, 3, 2, 1 and sDemo and in the contemporary color combinations Snow White/Rose Gold, Black/Silver, Cosmic Blue/Rose Gold, and in new White or Black.
1 Red Dot Design Award 2019, iF Design Award 2019 2 Hakvoort, Burton: Increasing Style, Reducing Stigma: The Styletto Solution (Signia White Paper, 2018) 3 Based on 16 hours wearing incl. 5 hours streaming per day
Source: Signia
Images: Signia
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Oticon Launches Ruby Hearing Aid for Budget-Conscious Patients
For consumers returning to work and social activities in an uncertain economic climate, the newest addition to Oticon’s line of technology offers a combination of “sound quality, sought-after features, and affordability,” according to an announcement from the company. The new Oticon Ruby “sets a new standard in the essential category, delivering great sound quality, hassle-free rechargeability, and easy wireless connectivity in one complete solution—all within the reach of today’s budget-conscious patients.”
Powered by the Velox S platform, Oticon Ruby introduces the new SuperShield feedback management system that “helps prevent feedback before it occurs, so patients can enjoy hearing without interruptions from unwanted whistling and squealing.” For patients who want the convenience of rechargeable batteries, a new lithium-ion rechargeable option helps provide a full-day’s* charge in a few hours. Bluetooth connectivity helps enable patients to connect to smartphones and other modern devices to stream audio and music directly to their hearing aids.
“After experiencing this time of social distancing, consumers recognise the value of easy access to modern technologies to stay connected with family, friends, and business colleagues,” said Don Schum, PhD, Vice President of Audiology for Oticon, Inc. “Phone calls, video chats, and other virtual connections have become their lifeline to the world. These connections are enhanced with better hearing. At the same time, despite the start of an economic recovery, some patients may be more careful about spending. Oticon Ruby allows practitioners to offer patients looking for sought-after features, like rechargeability and easy wireless connections, a quality solution at a more affordable price.”
Like all Oticon wireless hearing aids, Oticon Ruby is compatible with Oticon RemoteCare, a new telehealth solution that allows hearing care professionals to follow up online with patients to remotely adjust and fine-tune hearing aids in a virtual appointment. For select patients who have valid audiograms, first fit with Oticon RemoteCare allows hearing care professionals to fit new hearing aids remotely.
Honiton hearing centre
Oticon Ruby and all Oticon hearing aids use BrainHearing technology to “help support the brain in making sense of sound and enable patients to participate in challenging listening environments.” The Velox S platform powers the new SuperShield technology to analyse incoming sound levels, identify feedback, and prevent whistling before it occurs.
Oticon Ruby miniRITE R rechargeable hearing aids offer a full day* of power with an overnight charge. The charger helps provide a stable, reliable magnetic connection for charging that delivers power throughout the day, including streaming, with a three-hour charging time. A 30-minute recharge provides an additional six hours of power, according to Oticon.
With 2.4 GHz Bluetooth low-energy technology, Oticon Ruby helps deliver “easy wireless connectivity with low battery consumption to a wide range of devices such as smartphones, audio or music streams in stereo to both hearing aids from Bluetooth-connected mobile phones, MP3 players, PCs, and more.” Patients can pair Oticon Ruby with multiple TV Adapters and use the Oticon ON App to stream from any TV. The Oticon ON App also lets patients adjust volume, switch settings, check battery level, and access features such as Find My Hearing Aid and Oticon HearingFitness.
Devon ear wax removal
Oticon Ruby is available in a full lineup of styles, including miniRITE, miniRITE T (telecoil), miniRITE R (rechargeable), BTE and BTE Power Plus, and five popular colours. Oticon Ruby is compatible with Oticon CROS hearing aids.
*Lithium-ion performance varies depending on hearing loss, lifestyle, and streaming behaviour
Source: Oticon
Image: Oticon
https://honiton-hearing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Honiton-Devon-ear-wax-removal-Exeter-Tiverton-Lyme-Bay.png640640adminhttps://honitonnew.leecurran.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/honitonhearinglogo.pngadmin2020-07-20 10:47:392020-07-20 10:47:39Oticon Launches Ruby Hearing Aid for Budget-Conscious Patients
Apple Takes Another Step Toward Hearing Aid Functionality
On Monday, June 22, Apple introduced its latest operating system, iOS14, which includes —among many new features—a substantial move towards its AirPod Pros becoming a hearing-aid-like device. Almost buried as an afterthought at the bottom of Apple’s IOS New Features Preview are identical entries in the “Airpods” and “Accessibility” sections that say:
Headphone Accommodations
This new accessibility feature is designed to amplify soft sounds and adjust certain frequencies for an individual’s hearing, to help music, movies, phone calls, and podcasts sound more crisp and clear.Headphone Accommodations also supports Transparency mode on AirPods Pro, making quiet voices more audible and tuning the sounds of your environment to your hearing needs.
Hmmm…sounds a lot like a basic description of wide dynamic frequency compression (WDRC) or AGC, doesn’t it? Abram Bailey of Hearing Tracker, who broke the news yesterday, stated “This is the extremely exciting part, as it indicates that AirPods can now essentially be used to provide typical hearing aid functionality; applying personalised amplification to make it easier to hear those around you.” Bailey went on to show how the headphone accommodations use a custom audio setup with a listening test that generates an “audiogram” from the Apple Health app that “seems to indicate that the AirPods Pro will be capable of providing a very fine-tuned custom amplification experience, based on the audiogram (pitch-by-pitch hearing abilities) unique to the user.”
It should be acknowledged that Apple has for many years been developing hearing-aid-related features, including Live Listen for hearing aids and cochlear implants in 2014 (and later for AirPods and the Earpods), in addition to speech audiometry and speech-in-noise packages for developers, noise warning apps for its WatchOS, and more. The company sold more than 60 million Airpods in 2019, compared to about 15 million hearing aids worldwide for the entire hearing industry (4.2 million units in the US). Apple’s Wearables, Home and Accessories division had the most significant year-on-year growth for the company last year, with its sales increasing 41% thanks to the Airpod and Apple Watch, and the tech-giant owns an enviable 36.5% of the wearables market, according to CompareCamp. Mind you, this includes the “hearables” market that Nick Hunn predicted earlier this year will reach $80 billion a year by 2025.
As Paul Dybala, PhD, AuD, of AudiologyDesign points out in a recent LinkedIn post about Apple and its threat to the hearing industry, “If none of this impresses you, buy a pair of AirPod Pros and turn on the Active Noise Cancelling feature. Then change them over to Transparency Mode and listen further. Once you wipe your jaw off the floor, continue reading. Take your time, I’ll wait…” However, he then goes on to point out that hearing loss is widely viewed as a healthcare problem that should be addressed by a hearing healthcare professional, as shown in a 2017 survey by a study he did with colleague Brande Plotnick at Healthy Hearing.
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As a side-note, I’ve personally tried several of the products and hearing tests available in some of the better PSAPs. As one example, Alango Technology’s BeHear app did an impressive job of replicating an audiogram of my own mild sloping hearing loss and tailoring the sound to suit my preferences. The idea of an app doing this also reminded me of a September 2018 Hearing Reviewarticle by James Jerger, PhD, who—after describing three basic forms of automated audiometry—wrote:
“The most important issue is to catch up with the rest of the automated world…In spite of the many examples of successful automated systems summarised above, I suspect that there will be little further progress in the actual clinical use of automated audiometry of any variety until clinicians become part of the solution. It goes back to their initial educational experience. If the only procedure they learn as students is the manual Hughson-Westlake method on a conventional audiometer, it is unlikely that they will be easily diverted from that familiar path, sophisticated technology notwithstanding. PhD and AuD students—in addition to practicing clinicians—need to understand that automated audiometry can be carried out by less credentialed personnel, resulting in time and cost savings in a clinical setting. It is apparent this testing is moving into the digital/consumer realm [with the link going to Apple’s WDDC 2018 video that includes a demonstration of speech audiometry].
The point is professional hearing healthcare is so much more than automated tests and apps. As Dr Dybala notes in his article, it’s about assessing an often-complex medical problem and applying all of the tools available to tailor an individual solution that works for the patient in all kinds of listening situations, including (and especially) noise. However, as shown by Apple and others, the world of hearables with their automated testing and applied amplification should help millions of consumers make their first moves toward professional hearing care.
https://honiton-hearing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Apple-earpods.jpg14001400adminhttps://honitonnew.leecurran.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/honitonhearinglogo.pngadmin2020-06-30 18:09:002020-06-30 18:11:33Apple Takes Another Step Toward Hearing Aid Functionality
iHEAR Medical announced the launch of the Free @Home iHEARtest campaign, offering consumers the ability to test their hearing for free at home with the “only FDA approved home hearing screener.” The iHEARtest is said to “rapidly profile hearing ability based on guidelines by the World Health Organization (WHO).”
Honiton Hearing centre
“The Free @Home test addresses compromised hearing care during the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic,” said Adnan Shennib, Founder and CEO of iHEAR Medical.
The iHEARtest kit includes “factory calibrated earphones” to ensure accuracy of test results, according to the company. The Free @Home iHEARtest can be ordered online or by phone (1-844-443-2744, Toll-Free) for delivery directly to the customer’s home. Customers pay $9 to cover the cost of two-way shipping and handling, and have 30 days to take the iHEARtest and return it using the provided pre-paid return label and packaging.
Devon hearing shop
According to iHEAR Medical, the iHEARtest was approved by the FDA following years of clinical research demonstrating safety and accuracy. Additionally, clinical studies under the oversight of an independent Institutional Review Board (IRB) have shown the iHEARtest’s “ease of self-use, accuracy and 96.4% agreement with standard practice audiometry for the assessment of normal versus disabling hearing impairment.”
Source: iHEAR Medical
https://honiton-hearing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Devon-hearing-aids-.jpg320600adminhttps://honitonnew.leecurran.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/honitonhearinglogo.pngadmin2020-06-17 08:55:282020-06-17 08:55:28IHear Medical Launches Free @Home Hearing Test
Hearing aids in Devon at the Honiton Hearing centre.
Starkey announced that “the world’s first 2.4 GHz custom rechargeable hearing aids” are now available in all configurations and colours.
“We are proud to continue offering industry-leading technology even in this time of disruption,” said Starkey President Brandon Sawalich. “We want to thank our valued partners for their continued business and the opportunity to provide hearing health care to you and your patients. We sincerely appreciate the work you do and are maintaining 98% on-time delivery. How we work is changing, but our mission is the same: to serve our customers better than anyone else.”
To learn more about Starkey’s ground-breaking custom rechargeable hearing aids, please click here.
All Starkey hearing aids are available at the Honiton hearing centre East Devon
Wearing masks have become common practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. For people who use behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids, however, this may be uncomfortable, according to a blog posting by audiologist Sheri Gostomelsky on the ChicagoNow website.
Gostomelsky suggests several creative solutions to the problem which include putting your hair in a bun and looping the elastic around the bun itself; sewing buttons onto a headband that the mask loops over; creating an extension for the mask, and sewing or purchasing a mask with ties instead of elastic.
To read the posting in its entirely, please click here.Hearing Review also recently published a study by Goldin, Weinstein, and Shiman about how medical masks essentially functioned as a low-pass acoustic filter for speech, attenuating the high frequencies (2000-7000 Hz) spoken by the wearer by 3 to 4 dB for a simple medical mask and close to 12 dB for the N95 masks.
Source: ChicagoNow
https://honiton-hearing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Devon-hearing.jpg320640adminhttps://honitonnew.leecurran.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/honitonhearinglogo.pngadmin2020-04-15 12:42:402020-04-15 12:42:40The Challenge of BTE Hearing Aids with Masks
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