Charles Sternberg, Associate Editor10.03.23
Hearing aid innovator Signia has introduced Integrated Xperience (IX), a hearing aid platform capable of pinpointing multiple conversation partners in real-time – providing sound clarity and definition for patients in multi-speaker scenarios, even when the wearer or speakers are in motion.
Group conversations in noise are the biggest unmet need for people with hearing loss. A missed word can lead to a missed opportunity to contribute, which can lead to frustration, isolation, and ultimately withdrawal.
Despite years of technological advancements, traditional hearing aids fall short of solving this problem. Their focus has been on reducing noise first and then preserving speech, but they don’t fully account for the natural interactions of a conversation, the effects of moving your head, and people coming in and out of the discussion. That changes with Integrated Xperience.
Signia Integrated Xperience leverages insights into changing positions of speakers to ensure uninterrupted engagement in even the most noisy, immersive environments – creating more engaging conversations that allow patients to contribute and ultimately enjoy a more rich and meaningful life.
“Every conversation is a powerful opportunity to cultivate stronger connections with friends, family, colleagues, and beyond. Whether it's a casual encounter at a grocery store or lively discussion in an office or a cocktail party, conversations don’t stand still – and hearing technology needs to evolve to support these dynamic conversational environments,” said Mike O’Neil, President of Signia U.S. “With Signia Integrated Xperience, we’re delivering a solution to HCPs that empowers wearers to actively contribute to every conversation, creating a future – that now exists today – where every conversation becomes an enriching and fulfilling experience, rather than one that’s frustrating and isolating.”
In a study focused on speech performance in a group conversation scenario, Signia Integrated Xperience provided a significant improvement in speech understanding, with 95% of participants experiencing greater hearing clarity with Signia Integrated Xperience compared to without.1
The technology works in three stages, allowing patients to engage, interact, and participate in immersive group conversations regardless of their location, movement, and noise level:
Featuring a sleek receiver-in-canal (RIC) design, Pure Charge&Go IX features the company’s RealTime Conversation Enhancement solution – which enables enhanced group conversation performance for patients with mild to severe hearing loss.
Pure Charge&Go IX also features Signia’s Own Voice Processing (OVP) 2.0 technology, which ensures own-voice comfort that activates whenever a patient speaks to keep their voice sounding natural and clear. The new hearing aid also delivers enhanced, future-proof connectivity – ready for the upcoming Bluetooth LE Audio standard and currently equipped with iOS, ASHA, and Bluetooth operability.
Furthermore, Pure Charge&Go IX is compatible with the AI-powered Signia Assistant. Bolstered by a cloud-based live Deep Neural Network (DNN) trained and updated with real-world data, Signia Assistant understands the patient’s environment and adapts the hearing aids to provide personalized support. HCPs can review and validate these adjustments, ensuring optimal benefits for each patient and streamlined appointments to focus on their needs.
Pure Charge&Go IX is also available with an optional T-Coil that allows patients to connect to public sound systems in places like airports, concert halls, universities and more.
Silk Charge&Go IX is the world’s first and only rechargeable, instant-fit, completely-in-the-canal (CIC) hearing aid. It is a small and unobtrusive solution that delivers superior speech in noise performance. The hearing aid is also instant-fit, which saves time for HCPs, and will be offered with the option of customized earmolds. It comes equipped with a built-in power bank to provide charging on the go and can be charged through USB 3.0 or with a wireless Qi charger.
Both models are available as IX CROS for wearers with single-sided deafness.
Reference:
1 Jensen et al. (2023). Power the conversation with Signia Integrated Xperience and RealTime Conversation Enhancement. Signia White Paper
Group conversations in noise are the biggest unmet need for people with hearing loss. A missed word can lead to a missed opportunity to contribute, which can lead to frustration, isolation, and ultimately withdrawal.
Despite years of technological advancements, traditional hearing aids fall short of solving this problem. Their focus has been on reducing noise first and then preserving speech, but they don’t fully account for the natural interactions of a conversation, the effects of moving your head, and people coming in and out of the discussion. That changes with Integrated Xperience.
Signia Integrated Xperience leverages insights into changing positions of speakers to ensure uninterrupted engagement in even the most noisy, immersive environments – creating more engaging conversations that allow patients to contribute and ultimately enjoy a more rich and meaningful life.
“Every conversation is a powerful opportunity to cultivate stronger connections with friends, family, colleagues, and beyond. Whether it's a casual encounter at a grocery store or lively discussion in an office or a cocktail party, conversations don’t stand still – and hearing technology needs to evolve to support these dynamic conversational environments,” said Mike O’Neil, President of Signia U.S. “With Signia Integrated Xperience, we’re delivering a solution to HCPs that empowers wearers to actively contribute to every conversation, creating a future – that now exists today – where every conversation becomes an enriching and fulfilling experience, rather than one that’s frustrating and isolating.”
In a study focused on speech performance in a group conversation scenario, Signia Integrated Xperience provided a significant improvement in speech understanding, with 95% of participants experiencing greater hearing clarity with Signia Integrated Xperience compared to without.1
Integrated Xperience: Unleashing the Power of Conversation
Built on Signa’s Augmented Focus split processing technology which processes speech and background noise separately to create a clear contrast between the two, Integrated Xperience features Signia’s RealTime Conversation Enhancement solution that analyzes, augments, and adapts to the dynamic flow of multi-party conversation environments.The technology works in three stages, allowing patients to engage, interact, and participate in immersive group conversations regardless of their location, movement, and noise level:
- Analyze - Processes 192,000 data points every second to detect speakers and analyze conversation dynamics.
- Augment - Uses the data that’s analyzed to control multiple focus streams that lock onto and dynamically highlight each speaker’s voice amidst the noise. Simultaneously, Augmented Focus split processing technology processes background sound to ensure a comfortable, immersive conversational experience without distractions.
- Adapt - Signia’s patented Multi-Stream Architecture updates 1,000 times per second, merging focus streams into dynamic auditory space that adapts to evolving conversations. This allows the real-time tracking and enhancement of multiple moving speakers, ensuring wearers can fully engage in group conversations.
Signia Pure Charge&Go IX and Signia Silk Charge&Go IX
Pure Charge&Go IX and Silk Charge&Go IX hearing aids are the first two models to leverage the Integrated Xperience platform, offering a substantial improvement in conversational ability for patients.Featuring a sleek receiver-in-canal (RIC) design, Pure Charge&Go IX features the company’s RealTime Conversation Enhancement solution – which enables enhanced group conversation performance for patients with mild to severe hearing loss.
Pure Charge&Go IX also features Signia’s Own Voice Processing (OVP) 2.0 technology, which ensures own-voice comfort that activates whenever a patient speaks to keep their voice sounding natural and clear. The new hearing aid also delivers enhanced, future-proof connectivity – ready for the upcoming Bluetooth LE Audio standard and currently equipped with iOS, ASHA, and Bluetooth operability.
Furthermore, Pure Charge&Go IX is compatible with the AI-powered Signia Assistant. Bolstered by a cloud-based live Deep Neural Network (DNN) trained and updated with real-world data, Signia Assistant understands the patient’s environment and adapts the hearing aids to provide personalized support. HCPs can review and validate these adjustments, ensuring optimal benefits for each patient and streamlined appointments to focus on their needs.
Pure Charge&Go IX is also available with an optional T-Coil that allows patients to connect to public sound systems in places like airports, concert halls, universities and more.
Silk Charge&Go IX is the world’s first and only rechargeable, instant-fit, completely-in-the-canal (CIC) hearing aid. It is a small and unobtrusive solution that delivers superior speech in noise performance. The hearing aid is also instant-fit, which saves time for HCPs, and will be offered with the option of customized earmolds. It comes equipped with a built-in power bank to provide charging on the go and can be charged through USB 3.0 or with a wireless Qi charger.
Both models are available as IX CROS for wearers with single-sided deafness.
Reference:
1 Jensen et al. (2023). Power the conversation with Signia Integrated Xperience and RealTime Conversation Enhancement. Signia White Paper