State of the art advances at AudiologyNOW!
The Hearing Journal · 2008
Enter Zōn, with BluWave Starkey Laboratories (www.starkey.com) unveiled Zōn, its next generation of hearing solutions, at AudiologyNOW! 2008. Zōn features BluWave signal processing, a new proprietary signal processing system that allows Starkey's most advanced product to work more efficiently. Zōn, which comes in a stylish yet discreet receiver-in-canal (RIC) style, is a powerful, customizable RIC for patients with hearing losses ranging from mild to moderately severe. According to Starkey, Zōn has the widest fitting range and most usable high-frequency gain of any instrument in its class, as well as the highest Kemar DI scores, lowest operational noise floor, and, thanks to Directional Speech Detector (DSD) from BluWave, the most consistent directional performance over time. Other features include: Active Feedback Intercept (AFI), providing up to 20 dB of added stable gain; a research-driven design that emphasizes comfort and patient acceptance and makes the device virtually disappear behind the ear while having minimal skin touch points; and environmental resistance with HydraShield, a combination of materials used to prevent corrosion and offer consistent performance in any environment. “Zōn is a triumph of art and science—the perfect marriage of industry-leading technology and patient-centric design,” said Jerry Ruzicka, president of Starkey Laboratories. Starkey's unique integrated real-ear measurement (IREM) allows for the fastest initial fitting, leaving more time for patient consultation.Figure: Champagne is one of the colors that Zōn wearers can choose among.Next — from Unitron Hearing Unitron Hearing (www.unitronhearing.org) introduced its Next™ series at AAA, with four product lines—Next 16, Next 8, Next 4, and Next E—each with a unique set of purpose-driven features for client needs.Figure: The Next series.All Next products feature feedback-management technology to detect and suppress multiple feedback peaks faster, while maintaining superior sound. The company says this provides more usable gain, an expanded fitting range, more open styles, and larger venting for more natural sound. Next 16 and Next 8 feature autoPro3™ and autoPro2™ respectively, which integrate independently fitted “sound destinations” into one seamless automatic function. AutoPro allows fitters to customize the adaptive features and frequency response within each sound destination. Next 16 introduces Comfort-Clarity Balance to address situational listening preferences more precisely than with a volume control alone. Comfort-Clarity Balance gives clients direct control over speech enhancement and noise reduction. Featured in all Next products, antiShock™ is designed to eliminate the discomfort of sudden impulse noises without affecting speech. Next 16, Next 8, and Next 4 also have level-dependent speech-enhancement technology. Widex brings Passion to America Passion, the eagerly awaited new receiver-in-the-canal (RIC) hearing instrument from Widex (www.widexusa.com), made its American debut at AudiologyNOW! 2008 in Charlotte. Widex markets this remarkably small hearing aid as the instrument that requires no compromise between performance and size. Passion hearing aids, with Integrated Signal Processing (ISP), provide outstanding sound quality, comfort, and cosmetics, according to the company. Automatic Passion hearing aids come in 12 stylish colors and offer the NanoCare Wax Guard System designed to provide the ultimate protection against wax and moisture. Said Widex, “If ever there was a discreet and great-sounding hearing instrument custom-designed for the active and vital baby boomer generation, this is it!”FigureFigure: No wonder Widex advertises its new Passion instrument as “ear candy.”Bernafon makes its Move Bernafon (www.bernafon-us.com) introduced audiologists to Move, an upper mid-range hearing system family that offers functionality to fit the patient's individual lifestyle. The automatic program has nine different signal processing modes based on adaptivity to changing environments with an emphasis on speech or comfort. According to the Swiss manufacturer, a new copy program function and freely configurable programs make Move flexible, easy, and fast to fit.FigureThe large range of BTEs includes a micro-BTE with a T-coil and an optional standard earhook. All BTEs are suitable for open fittings with the modular thin tube system Spiraflex. The micro-BTEs come in 10 housing colors. Bernafon also showcased Brite, which it said has enjoyed “tremendous market success” since its launch last fall and earned Bernafon the “Red-Dot” Design Excellence Award. Brite uses Bernafon's Lifestyle Profile, in which information about the client's particular listening needs and priorities are assessed during the fitting and used throughout the fine-tuning of the device. Sonic Innovations turns ten Sonic Innovations, Inc. (www.sonici.com), celebrated its 10th anniversary in Charlotte by introducing two products. The largest publicly traded U.S.-based hearing aid manufacturer added the Velocity™ mini-BTE to its premium line. According to company CEO Sam Westover, “The Velocity is, to the best of my knowledge, the smallest fully featured BTE hearing aid available.”FigureDesigned for persons with mild to severe hearing loss, it has 24-channel digital signal processing, digital noise reduction, fixed and adaptive directionality, auto-switching, and a feedback-cancellation system. It's available for open-ear and closed-mold applications. The Velocity™ mini-BTE also has an automatic feature that eliminates the need to push a button when using the telephone. The company also unveiled the Ion™ 400, an open-ear micro-BTE for mild to moderately severe hearing loss. It also comes with 24-channel digital signal processing, adaptive directionality, and feedback cancellation. Victor Bray, PhD, VP and chief audiology officer, noted, “The Ion 400 is designed to be moisture resistant, making it perfect for those with active lifestyles.” ReSound products from A to Z ReSound (www.gnresound.com) showcased five new hearing instruments at AudiologyNOW! 2008, the greatest burst of innovation and development in the company's history. Its most talked about product at the show was ReSound Be™, which introduces a new form factor to the industry: IOT (Invisible Open Technology). IOT combines the best features of a BTE and an ITE into a new type of open device designed for comfort.Figure: ReSound introduced Be in Charlotte.Figure: ReSound Dot will add a high-power receiver option.ReSound Dot™, which was released in January and is the company's smallest BTE instrument, will soon be available with a new high-power receiver. This option will make Dot more flexible and suitable for more patients. Being firmly committed to the idea that low cost should not mean low sound quality, ReSound unveiled Ziga™ in a package featuring the same technologies designed to give the company's premium instruments their natural sound quality. Ziga makes the option of adaptive directionality available to even the budget-conscious patient. Azure™, ReSound's most popular premium in-strument ever, now comes with the new Silhouette BTE housing for cosmetic appeal. The new Azure also incorporates practical en-hancements to ease fitting and enhance patient comfort.FigureFinally, ReSound entered the super-power category with Sparx™, which the company says, “provides the perfect fusion of power and sound quality.” Siemens Vibe is first in the crest Siemens Hearing Instruments (www.usa.siemens.com/hearing) introduced Vibe™, “the world's first crest-fit hearing aid.” It fits securely into the crest of the ear, leaving the ear canal open. Since it doesn't rest behind the ear, accessories like eyeglasses, sunglasses, and bicycle helmets don't interfere with Vibe.FigureAimed at baby boomers for whom “bold is in,” the new style of instrument offers an expanding selection of interchangeable snap-on covers with colors named “Cheeky,” “Dynamo,” and “Fearless,” and in such patterns as the checkered “Fast,” feminine “Flirt,” and leopard “Wild.” Wearers can choose up to five covers with their purchase. “People are bold and courageous in all sorts of ways, and Vibe is a reflection of those spirits,” said Thomas Powers, PhD, vice-president of audiology and professional relations at Siemens. “Its look and feel allow wearers to improve the quality of their life without sacrificing their lifestyle.” Vibe contains Siemens advanced technology, including SoundSmoothing® transient noise suppression, FeedbackBlocker™, eight-channel digital signal processing, and a microphone that uses the natural contours of the outer ear to collect sound and then funnels it into the ear canal. Explorer for young ears Siemens also launched its first dedicated pediatric instrument at AAA. Explorer™ 500 offers versatility and features to enable kids to stay connected to their world. Compatible with most FM systems and easily upgradable, the model is described as “the ideal hearing instrument for infants, toddlers, and teens.” Powers said that Explorer “is designed to help children explore their environment while addressing the needs of safety, sensitivity, and style.” It has safety features tested for the crib, school, and playground. Circle 152 on Reader Service Card Tek helps wearers stay connected To help hearing aid wearers incorporate personal technologies more easily into their lives, Siemens introduced Tek®. Through Tek Connect, a wireless remote control, the system allows wearers of certain Siemens instruments to control wireless communications between their hearing aids and their cell phones, PDAs, MP3s, audio systems, televisions, and even personal computers. Tek Connect communicates wirelessly with mobile devices, allowing phone calls, music, and data to feed directly into the hearing aid. Circle 153 on Reader Service Card Pure, with SoundBrilliance Siemens also introduced Pure®, a nearly invisible hearing instrument for those with mild to moderately severe hearing loss.FigurePure has SoundSmoothing technology and SoundBrilliance, a new technology to enhance the perception of higher pitched sounds. The model comes in two performance levels and in the smallest available RIC (receiver-in-canal) and CIC configurations. It was engineered to provide the exact strength the wearer needs. It also has TruEar™ technology and e2e® wireless 2.0 so wearers can localize the source of sound from all directions and hear more naturally. Circle 154 on Reader Service Card Discreet solutions for severe loss Also new from Siemens are Nitro and Nitro 16 custom models, which offer high power in a discreet package. Providing up to 70 dB of gain, the models feature enhancements designed to improve hearing comfort, including SoundSmoothing, data logging, feedback cancellation, and a noise-reduction system that reduces steady-state environmental noises.Figure: Lucy came to a preview party in Charlotte for the new Siemens products. She was joined by other celebrity guests including Rocky Balboa, Crocodile Dundee, Jack Nicholson, and Marilynn Monroe.Cable-free fitting from Phonak Phonak (www.phonak.com) says that the fitting system it introduced in Charlotte “fulfils a longstanding dream of hearing professionals around the globe—fitting hearing aids without programming cables!” Thanks to iCube, a new programming interface, the broadband wireless capability of Phonak's CORE (Communication Optimized Real-audio Engine) platform allows hearing instruments to be fitted without programming cables. Fitting data are transmitted via Bluetooth from the fitting computer to iCube and then streamed from iCube to the hearing instruments. iCube can also be connected to the computer via USB cable. According to Phonak, eliminating cables enhances the fitting experience for professionals and patients alike and leaves clinicians more time to devote to the needs of the client. Cable-free fitting with iCube is an option for all new CORE platform products. Naída SuperPower for all ages The launch of Naída SuperPower completes the Phonak power offering. These new, smaller models extend Naída's benefits to patients with moderately severe to severe hearing loss. With the new iView system status monitor, Naída SuperPower is also appropriate for children. Naída SuperPower models deliver a gain of up to 75 dB and a maximum output of 136 dB SPL. They come with the same features as Naída UltraPower, including SoundRecovery, which compresses and shifts otherwise inaudible high frequencies into an adjacent area of audible hearing; the WhistleBlock feedback-cancellation system, SoundFlow automatic, WindBlock Management, and the wireless QuickSync function for one-touch binaural control. Circle 157 on Reader Service Card Micro model of Exélia Phonak has also expanded its new Exélia line with the Exélia micro, which it describes as “the most advanced, highly featured micro-style hearing instrument.”FigureThe Exélia micro superior hearing performance is based on SoundFlow, an automatic system that creates an infinite number of situation-specific programs. This is backed by the VoiceZoom multi-channel directional system and WhistleBlock feedback cancellation. Circle 158 on Reader Service Card Phonak exhibits new receivers Phonak also unveiled its ML9i and ML11i Dynamic FM receivers at AudiologyNOW! Together with the recently launched Inspiro transmitter, the ML9i and ML11i receivers offer unprecedented speech understanding and user comfort, the manufacturer said. ML9i is the design-integrated receiver for such state-of-the-art Phonak instrument as Exélia, Savia Art, Eleva, and eXtra. ML11i is the tiny, water-resistant, design-integrated receiver for the Naída SuperPower hearing instrument. Both new receivers package the benefits of the new Dynamic FM platform: Adaptive FM Advantage, which improves speech scores in noise by over 50%; Monitoring, a wireless check of receiver status; and ChannelFinder, a protocol to find an interference-free channel. Circle 159 on Reader Service Card Economy class Audéo III With last month's launch of economy class Audéo III, Phonak says that its line of stylish Audéo Personal Communication Assistants (PCA) now has a product for every budget. Audéo is de-signed to provide effortless listening combined with maximum clarity and understanding, even in challenging listening environments. Its avant-garde design comes in a wide choice of color combinations, and its extremely small size and light weight help make it discreet and comfortable.FigureAll the benefits of canal receiver technology (CRT), including a smooth frequency response and freedom from occlusion, are available in Audéo IX, V, and III. Circle 160 on Reader Service Card Oticon starts pediatrics brand SOMERSET, NJ—Oticon, Inc. (www.oticonusa.com) has established Oticon Pediatrics as a distinct brand within the company's portfolio. “Our commitment to People First has always included a focus on the youngest and most vulnerable members of the hearing-impaired population,” said Peer Lauritsen, president of Oticon, Inc. “With Oticon Pediatrics, we affirm our belief that it takes a truly dedicated approach to help children with hearing problems achieve their full potential.”Figure: Sheena D. OliverFigure: Max HansenFigure: Maureen Doty TomasulaFigure: George LindleyThe Oticon Pediatrics management team consists of Sheena D. Oliver, AuD, MBA, manager, Oticon Pediatrics; Max Hansen, manager, Oticon Pediatrics; Maureen Doty Tomasula MA, product marketing manager; and George Lindley, PhD, AuD, manager, pediatric training and education. The team also includes 13 knowledgeable account managers/audiologists, customer service professionals, audiology support staff, and a pediatric audiologist. Further information is available from Maureen Doty Tomasula at 888-OTIPED1 or [email protected] or at oticonusa.com. AHAA Convention draws a throng ORLANDO, FL—Well over 400 associates and exhibitors attended the American Hearing Aid Associates (www.ahaanet.com) 12th annual convention here in February. The major “buzz” came from enhancements to the new AHAA Expansion Network (AEN) based on input from network members (associates). The improved AEN features a more focused and definitive professional development and guidance program for five groups of individuals involved in most practices. The AEN is designed to provide much more hands-on help and guidance to the more than 2000 network members through the organization's 32 associate managers posted around the country. The managers act as quasi-directors of operations for each practice in the network and provide quarterly training to key employees in the practices. The convention program offered more than 40 professional development topics, divided into separate tracks for owners/ CEOs, directors of operations, practice development managers, audiologists/ dispensers, and telemarketers. Attendees gave the program high marks for its scope, relevance, and practical applications that they could implement immediately. Several AHAA top executives were among the key speakers, including Vince Russomagno, the CEO, and the president, Tina Soika. Hearing aid manufacturers and software vendors exhibited and 10 companies also gave program presentations.