Signia launches Signia Xperience hearing aids with built-in motion sensor

Press Releases
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Signia Introduces Breakthrough Hearing Aid Platform

Piscataway, NJ, September 17, 2019 - Signia introduces breakthrough hearing aid platform that understands the complete soundscape and adjusts to the wearer’s movements

  • Acoustic-motion sensors enable a completely new sound processing technology that measures more aspects of sound than existing hearing aids to deliver vastly improved hearing from any direction, in any situation – even when moving.
  • The new platform includes the new Pure 312 X (with optional T-Coil) and rechargeable Pure Charge&Go X hearing aids, plus a brand-new, all-in-one app for greater convenience.

Hearing aid innovation leader Signia (a brand of WS Audiology A/S) has launched Signia Xperience, a new platform that introduces the world’s first combination of advanced acoustic sensors with a built-in motion sensor. Signia Xperience hearing aids provide a complete analysis of the wearer’s dynamic soundscape, allowing for automatic adjustments between sounds in front of and all around the wearer for a personalized listening experience.

Hearing loss is as individual as a fingerprint for each person. Personal life circumstances are very individual, too, and so are the expectations and needs of those with hearing loss. Many hearing aid wearers have an active lifestyle and are always on the go – yet, current hearing aids don’t keep up. Existing hearing aids are unable to adapt to diverse listening environments as the wearer moves around. The Signia Xperience platform, built upon YourSound technology, was developed to fill this crucial gap and respond to rapid changes in the wearer’s environment.

The main benefits of YourSound technology

With the new YourSound technology, Signia Xperience hearing aids can identify more variables from the environment than ever before and ensure they know what is important at every moment. They also include a built-in motion sensor to take into consideration how the wearer’s movement affects their hearing in each situation. In addition, advanced new technology means the hearing aids no longer have to compromise about whether to focus on what is directly in front of the wearer or in the general surroundings. This enables the wearer to continuously benefit from the proper amount of frontal focus, while still being able to hear relevant speech from other directions, like when running in a park with friends or walking down a busy street.

The three key features of YourSound technology are:

  • Acoustic-motion sensors for a complete analysis of each wearer’s dynamic soundscape
  • Dynamic Soundscape Processing for natural sound and speech from any direction, in any situation – even when moving
  • Own Voice Processing (OVP™) for a natural sounding own voice

YourSound technology is delivered by the powerful Signia Xperience chip. It includes 80% more transistors and seven times the memory of the previous Signia Nx chip, while being 60% smaller. As a result, the first two hearing aids on the platform, the Pure® 312 X and the Pure® Charge&Go X, are smaller yet more powerful than their predecessors.

Pure 312 X: New sound, new look

Available now, the Pure 312 X includes all the benefits of the Signia Xperience platform in a new, appealing design created in collaboration with hearing care professionals and hearing aid wearers. With long-lasting exchangeable batteries, plus an optional T-Coil, this high-performing receiver-in-canal (RIC) hearing aid delivers a more personal hearing experience, with a clean, ergonomic design. Pure 312 X also has Bluetooth® connectivity for effortless streaming of phone calls, music, and TV audio.

Pure Charge&Go X: New form, new freedom

Pure Charge&Go X, available this November, is a RIC with Bluetooth connectivity that combines the advantages of the Signia Xperience platform with lithium-ion rechargeability. With 20% more charging capacity and 16% smaller than the previous Pure Charge&Go Nx, wearers benefit from a slim device that can support a long wear time even with streaming.

Pure Charge&Go X features a rocker switch for easier adjustments and comes with a new inductive charger with a lid to protect the hearing aids as they charge. The charger also works as a dehumidifier and is designed to fit custom ear molds.

Signia app: All patient needs in a single app

Along with these two new products, the Signia Xperience introduces a new app. The Signia app combines three existing Signia apps into one unified environment to meet every user’s needs, including:

  • Providing wearers with direct support from a hearing care professional
  • Remote control so the wearer can personalize their hearing experience
  • Easy management of streaming accessories to fully enjoy phone calls, music, and TV

Additional information about the Signia Xperience platform can be found at: https://pro.signiausa.com/signia-xperience/

About Signia

Signia stands for iconic innovation. Since its launch in 2016, Signia has already brought to the market several world’s firsts solutions. In addition to highly innovative hearing aids, Signia also delivers tools and apps to increase customer interaction and engagement on all levels of hearing aid management. Signia thus allows hearing care professionals and patients to get the most out of their hearing aids.

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Hearing Tracker’s coverage: Motion-Aware Hearing Aids Promise a More Natural Listening Experience

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Offhand these acoustic-motion sensors sound like an insignificant gimmick. But I really know nothing about this. Any pros on the forum want to comment on whether this really might be a significant breakthrough?

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I am not sure there is any significant step forward in technology here, other than it appears they have been able to reduce the size of the processor and the overall size of the hearing aid. One would have to see the previous 7Nx generation beside the Signia X to see if the size reduction is of any significance.

As for the use of a motion sensor, this is not new to Signia, and the 7Nx (as well as the Rexton Emerald, and Kirkland Signature 8.0) had it as long as you were connected to an iPhone (possibly Android as well). The hearing aids used the motion sensor built into the smart phone to determine if you were moving. They called the overall system the 3D Classifier. It used Acoustic Information, Own Voice Activity, and the phone Motion Sensor to identify 24 different listening environments. To their credit the default Automatic mode which uses the 3D classifier is pretty good. How much is due to the motion sensor input, I do not know.

This improvement unless it includes something else other than the use of a built in motion sensor strikes me as a lot more sizzle than steak. I suppose it might appeal to someone that does not intend to use a smartphone.

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They might have BLE 5 instead of 4 like we all currently have

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You’d have to be constructing an acoustic hologram of the entire listening space to make the motion sensors do any good. If you could track movement in 3 dimensions you could enhance stereo (and outer-ear-based acoustic directional filtering) 3-d imaging of sounds, to have better directional sense. I think that’s the least of most of our worries. But it’s an interesting development.

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No size 13 battery version or telecoil for rechargeable. They are smaller and Phonak like in appearance, though. I like my 13 T 7nx HAs a lot. Most of the features are on them already. WS Audiology is looking good.

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"• Be fully aware of sound in any situation
• Hear speakers in noise from any direction
• Understand single or multiple conversation partners even in noise"

Signia seems to be changing philosophy from directional mic focused speech detection to all-round speech detection for noisy environments. Similar to Oticon OPN?

Signia seems to be attributing this enabling to their new acoustic-motion sound processing technology.

As always the proof of the pudding will be in the eating. We look forward to some early adopter’s feedback.

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I found some supporting research here:

Research Evidence for Dynamic Soundscape Processing Benefits

2019-09-19

Matthias Froehlich, Eric Branda, Katja Freels

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The photo of the design looks a bit to the Marvel design

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Not sure this is really new for Signia. They claim to do this already with the 7Nx (KS8, Rexton Emerald), providing you pair with a smartphone that has a motion detector. They use the acoustic information, the own voice, and motion detection to identify 24 different scenarios for listening. It is called a 3D Classifier.

I smell a little more sizzle than steak here. Putting the motion detection into the hearing aids certainly brings the technology to those who do not use a smartphone. And, perhaps it works better than the smartphone motion detector. The smartphone certainly has more room to put one in, so I wonder if the detector in the hearing aid is as good?

In the “study” they compared the new aids to aids without motion detection. A fairer comparison would be to compare the new aids to the 7Nx connected to a smartphone. I suspect they don’t want to do that…

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The MEMS motion detectors are so tiny they’re almost nanomachines. You can get a 9-axis self-calibrating accelerometer/gyro/magnetometer with built-in sensor fusion in a chip-scale package about the size of a pinhead. They’re very advanced now.

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I guess the one advantage of having them in the hearing aids is that when they are in the smartphone you depend on the smartphone Bluetooth communication always being reliable. It is not always that way…

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Company tells that now do compare things automated realtime SNR, front back , ambient modulation and motion that not present in NX line. Main thing remain comapny not clarified it will support ASHA profile to stream android directly and backword accessory compatible so no connectivity upgrade. New comming later this year probably Nov end