There has been a lot happening in the hearing aid world recently, with new technology launched by Phonak, Signia and Oticon. I recently attended the Phonak EON launch in London, where I had the opportunity to see the new technology first-hand. I have also been looking closely at the latest releases from Signia and Oticon.
If you already wear hearing aids, or you are thinking about getting them, you may be wondering what all these new features actually mean for you. Here are the key developments worth knowing about.
Phonak EON
One of the biggest areas Phonak is focusing on is something I hear from patients all the time: “I can hear people talking, but I struggle to understand them when there is background noise.”
Spheric Speech Clarity™ 3.0
One of the main features of the new Phonak Audéo EON Sphere. It uses artificial intelligence to help separate speech from background noise, making conversations easier to follow in places such as busy restaurants, family gatherings, cafés, weddings and social events. Rather than simply making everything louder, the aim is to make the voices you want to hear clearer.
AutoSense OS™ AI 8.0
This allows the hearing aids to automatically recognise your surroundings and adjust themselves. You could move from a quiet room, into the car, then into a busy shop or restaurant without constantly changing programmes yourself.
HYPERSONIC™ Chip
This new chip powers Phonak’s advanced AI processing while helping make the new Sphere hearing aid smaller and lighter than the previous version.
WindBlock™ 2.0
Designed to reduce irritating wind noise, which could be particularly useful if you enjoy walking, gardening, golf or spending time outdoors.
EasyGuard™
A receiver protection system designed to help prevent earwax from blocking the hearing aid. It may sound like a small feature, but wax blockage is one of the most common reasons hearing aids suddenly sound quieter.
Signia MaX
Signia’s new platform is called Multi-adaptive Xperience, or MaX, and its main focus is helping you manage real-life conversations. At the heart of it is a system called Acoustic Intelligence™.
RealTime Conversation Enhancement™ AI
Designed to follow several people speaking around you. If someone speaks on your left, another person answers opposite you, and somebody else joins in from your right, the hearing aids are designed to keep track of the conversation as it moves around you. This could be particularly useful if group conversations are one of your biggest difficulties.
Own Voice Processing™ AI
A common comment from new hearing aid wearers is, “My own voice sounds strange.” This technology recognises your own voice and processes it differently, helping it sound more natural.
Dynamic Noise Control™ AI
Looks at the background noise around you and decides how much noise reduction is needed, while trying to keep the important voices clear.
Ambient Scene Adaptation™ AI
The hearing aids continually analyse your surroundings and adjust automatically as your environment changes.
Oticon Reveal
Oticon has taken a slightly different approach with its new Reveal hearing aids. Reveal uses a Dual AI system, with two artificial intelligence systems working together.
Speech AI
Focuses on making speech clearer and easier to access.
Context AI
Helps preserve useful sounds from your surroundings. For example, if you are walking through a park talking to somebody, you want to hear the person speaking, but you may also need to hear a bicycle coming from behind, traffic or someone calling your name. Oticon’s aim is to give you clear speech without completely shutting out the world around you.
Reveal AI Clarifier™
Designed to provide clearer speech information to the brain rather than simply making sounds louder.
4D Sensor Technology
The hearing aids also take into account how you are moving and interacting with the people around you. Turning your head towards someone, for example, can give the hearing aids extra information about who you are trying to hear.
Wind & Handling Stabilizer™ 2.0
Designed to reduce annoying wind and handling noise, making outdoor listening more comfortable.
Three different approaches to better hearing
Hearing aid | Key technology | Main focus for you |
Phonak EON | Spheric Speech Clarity 3.0 + AutoSense OS AI 8.0 | Strong focus on helping speech stand out in difficult background noise. |
Signia MaX | RealTime Conversation Enhancement AI + Own Voice Processing AI | Strong emphasis on following group conversations and making speech feel natural. |
Oticon Reveal | Speech AI + Context AI | Aims to provide clear speech while still keeping important sounds around you available. |
So, which hearing aid is right for you?
There isn’t one hearing aid that is automatically best for everybody. You could have two people with very similar hearing test results but completely different lifestyles.
One person may mainly want to hear their partner and television more clearly at home. Another may spend a lot of time in restaurants, meetings and family gatherings. Someone else may spend most of their free time outdoors.
That is why I don’t recommend hearing aids based on the hearing test alone. I also look at where you struggle, who you want to hear, your lifestyle, your phone use, your dexterity, your budget and what you actually want your hearing aids to help you achieve.
The newest hearing aid isn’t automatically the best hearing aid. The best hearing aid is the one that is right for your hearing, your lifestyle and the situations where you want to hear better.
If you would like to find out whether any of this newer technology could benefit you, please feel free to get in touch with The Ear Company. As an independent audiologist, I am able to compare hearing aids from different manufacturers and help you find the technology that suits you best.