The thing that gets me is AI works on probabilities, so I expect it will be ineffective in the very difficult cases which can be resolved only by ‘breaking the rules’. The top fitters learn how and when to break rules by experience doing the easy and middling-difficult stuff.
So I can see AI replacing fitters, and I expect that will be detrimental to folks who don’t fit into the categories expected by AI.
Just spoke with a technical person at Jabra, and I asked if the Jabra Enhanced Pro 30 DNN chip worked regardless if you selected or changed the speech focus in the Hearing in noise card. The answer is yes as long as you are using the Hearing in Noise Card, you are using the DNN chip.
Well that clears all that up then, good to know.
I don’t think that is the full answer that you have been given by that Jabra technical person.
There is no speech focus adjustment in the speech in noise program (or card as you call it) if the Intelligent Focus option is selected in the fitting software. And Intelligent Focus is the only option that uses the DNN chip.
So put briefly, it depends how the hearing aid has been set up by the audiologist or HCP who did the fitting.
You can read how the hearing aid uses the DNN chip in Resound’s White Paper “Intelligent Focus:How deep learning augments human intelligence” If you want to read that paper then just google the exact title I gave in quotes.
Your hearing aid specialist or audiologist can set up your Jabra hearing aids to include the speech focus function. It was removed from the app as a default setting in the Jabra Enhanced Pro 20 hearing aids. However, the hearing aid fitter can activate that function in the 20s and 30s model hearing aids. I will search for the article you mentioned. Thanks.
Yes I know you can select the speech focus, but if you do that you lose the DNN.
I have Resound Vivia 9 rechargeables (which is identical to the Jabra EP30) and I do my own programming with SmartFit, so I do know something about all this.
Unfortunately, the article doesn’t describe what the end user is required to select in the app to get the DNN functionality. It talks a lot about single microphone noise reduction versus multi microphone noise reduction. All very interesting but nothing about how to operate the system that they developed. The person I spoke with, understood that there is a manual speech focus function, which you seem to imply doesn’t work with the DNN chip. She specifically told me that the DNN chip is activated anytime the user selects the, “Hear in Noise” card, Regardless of the other selections on that card. (Card is the term used by GN to select the various functions within their app). BTW I’m not disparaging your knowledge of the subject. I just want to know how to operate the hearing aids app to get the best results in noisy environments. I don’t have to know how my internal combustion engine in my car works to drive it safely. I just want better app documentation.
In SmartFit, you have various options you can choose. I’ll take some screenshots later.
So, what you are saying, if I read your post correctly, is that my Costco hearing aid specialist can select different noise suppression software in the SmartFit app? Therefore, he or she can select the DNN noise suppression functionality?
Yes exactly. I’ll post some screen shots later that you can show him. Might be tomorrow.
Apparently the screen shots are too many MB to post here.
Anyway you can say to your audiologist that he/she needs to look at the Directionality setting which is the top option in Advanced Features in the main menu bar.
Then select the Hear in Noise program.
The Directionality drop-down menu allows the fitter to choose one of: Omni, Fixed Directionality, Soft Switching, Autoscope Adaptive Directionality, Spatial Sense and Intelligent Focus. The Intelligent Focus option is recommended. You can’t select two at the same time.
Intelligent Focus, as explained in the paper I pointed you to, is the one option that uses the DNN chip and it’s only this one model of Vivia that has it. This is the exact same hearing aid as the Jabra EP30 sold by Costco.
If Intelligent Focus is selected then the Smart 3D app only shows the three tone controls and the wind noise reducer in the Sound Enhancer for Speech in Noise. There are no Autofocus adjustments available. So if you have Autofocus adjustments showing in the app for Hear in Noise, then your fitter hasn’t selected Intelligent Focus.
I hope this helps.
Thanks, I will check with my Costco person. I still have showing up in the app, in “Hear in Noise” the ability to select the speech focus to, Narrow, Medium, and Wide.
The article from Resound says that the “Intelligent focus” is the default setting. And, it makes no mention that the hearing aid fitter has to select that option in the SmartFit software.
The fitter doesn’t have to select it. But in my case what happened was that I used to have Resound Omnias and my audiologist had updated my fitting only a month ago. So when the Vivia finally became available, she used all the settings from my Omnias to set up the Vivias for me. I was using Autoscope and this just got copied across to the Vivias.
But when I connected to SmartFit myself at home, I noticed that Intelligent Focus wasn’t selected and looked into that before changing the setting. Then coincidentally I came across your post.
But I don’t know whether it’s a similar reason that yours was not set to the default. Anyway you are now informed enough to sort it out!
Intelligent focus uses the DNN chip. If you select a different type of focus, then it will not use the DNN chip for focus. The question is whether the DNN chip is now totally deactivated or whether it is still used for noise reduction.
My hearing aid fitter at Costco told me DNN chip was not used at all if you didn’t opt for intelligent focus. Is this correct?
I am sure that is correct.
I just got off the phone with Resound technical support. Again, they told me that regardless which focus was selected in the fitting software, that the DNN, (AI), chip still is active. I have called Costco for an appointment with my hearing aid specialist to have her change my settings. That way I will test out this theory.
They should read their own White Paper!
What the white paper doesn’t say, is that the intelligent focus function has to be activated in the fitting software or not. That’s the question. I have a call into Costco to make an appointment with my fitter. We will figure this out at that time. She can contact GN’s audiologist help line and they maybe able to shed the light of the truth on this subject.
My appointment with my hearing aid specialist at Costco is Sunday July 20th in the late afternoon. I will report back to this thread what she says about this issue.
I just asked ChatGPT your question. The answer is unambiguous.
ChatGPT responded as follows:
When you switch from Intelligent Focus to Adaptive Autofocus, the DNN chip is no longer active in the Speech‑in‑Noise program.
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What’s Going On Under the Hood
• Intelligent Focus combines:
1. A powerful 4‑mic binaural beamformer.
2. DNN‑based Intelligent Noise Tracker powered by the dedicated DNN chip, spotlighting speech vs noise  .
• Adaptive Autofocus, like other non‑Intelligent Focus modes (e.g. Fixed, Clear), relies solely on conventional beamforming and standard single‑microphone noise reduction (Noise Tracker II). It does not activate the DNN chip .
⸻
So, choosing Adaptive Autofocus means:
• You get dynamic or automatic directional changes, yes.
• But no DNN‑enhanced noise processing.
• Intelligent Noise Tracker (DNN) is exclusive to Intelligent Focus in the Speech‑in‑Noise program .
⸻
Here’s what the official ReSound documentation confirms:
⸻
Adaptive Autofocus (or similarly named modes like Clear Focus)
• These modes utilize 4‑microphone beamforming—allowing the hearing aid to automatically adjust directionality—but they rely on classic Noise Tracker II for noise reduction.
• The DNN-based Intelligent Noise Tracker, powered by the dedicated chip, is only active in “Intelligent Focus” mode within the Speech‑in‑Noise (Hear‑in‑Noise) program .
The supporting whitepaper states clearly:
“The combination of the new 4‑microphone binaural beam‑former and the DNN‑based noise reduction comprises the new Intelligent Focus feature”  .
That tells us that if you choose Adaptive Autofocus (Clear Focus) instead of Intelligent Focus, you still benefit from directional beamforming—but without the AI‑trained DNN handling noise reduction.”