Whisper Hearing to stop supporting "Whisper Hearing System" hearing aids

#16

If I had to guess which company would be motivated to acquire new, innovative technology, I would think that it would be someone who’d want to make a big splash to raise its profile. Oticon doesn’t need to do that.

My money would be on Starkey. They hired an aggressive new VP for product development 5 years ago. In quick succession they’ve come out with the Evolv AI and the Genesis AI. They’re heavily committed to building with AI and to branding themselves that way. The Whisper technology would fit right in with that direction of the company. Moreover Starkey is an American company which would make the logistics of such a partnership that much easier.

1 Like
#17

Apple would be another possible buyer too. I remember hearing rumors a few years ago that Apple might be developing a hearing aid. That would be exciting IMO.

1 Like
#18

Apple might do it better but I might actually be able to afford a Google phone/brain. Google have a track record of interest in using AI in the hearing space. I’m not sure if Project Wolverine (Google working on 'Wolverine' project, a device that enables 'superhuman hearing' | US News) is still a goer though.

I just hope it does what it was mooted as doing, which is disrupt the cosy nature of the industry.

#19

Seems to me most likely buyer is Facebook when you look at where the founders came from…

#20

Can you elaborate on what that future would look like, Abram?

#21

Probably related to Inside Facebook Reality Labs Research: The future of audio - Tech at Meta

Will Resound/Jabra release a new aid this year?
#22

Facebook?!! So they buy what may be the best HA technology available and say to customers, “We have the best HAs money can buy, but you can’t use them without being logged into your FB account”.

Buried in FB’s privacy statement is the notice that FB will be recording everything the HA hears, including everything you say and everything that is said to you, and all the conversations around you. And everything that the HAs pick up will be recorded, transcribed, archived, and conglomerated with everything you type into FB or any website that has FB affiliate links, and used to construct an incredibly detailed and comprehensive picture of you and every other FB HA user.

But hey! These are the best HAs you can buy and we’ll sell them to you for $2500!

2 Likes
#23

Wow! Fascinating read. Thank you.

Who would’ve thought Facebook? But after reading that, it makes perfect sense. We just don’t know what new technology is right around the corner, do we?

1 Like
#24

I could be wrong, but Dwight Crow and Andrew Song are both ex-Facebook.

#25

You’re not wrong. They go back about 6 or 8 years since they left FB.

#26

I still think they need to hide the brain inside of something that people need to carry with them anyway- a mobile phone. That means Apple or Google to me. Both design their own chips. Google at least already have AI processors on-board.

#27

But couldn’t Oticon or Facebook or whomever design an app where the HAs use the phone’s processing power to achieve what the Brain did?

#28

Way above my pay grade! Going by things I half-remember reading or hearing about… I think the architecture for an efficient AI core is very different to that of a general-purpose core. I have no idea how tightly coupled the architecture of an AI core is to the application that’s using it. Would you need a ‘Whisper’ core or could you repurpose another? You’d think that Whisper might have gone that route if it were possible.

Or maybe it was the need for ultra-low latency communications that lead to the brain. A few years later ultra wideband is around the corner and that might be the missing link?

#29

What this Facebook article brings to light is just how quickly technology is evolving. There are new applications just around the corner that we haven’t even imagined yet . . . But someone in Silicon Valley or some other research lab has. That was the beauty of Whisper. A subscriber would be able to keep abreast of the new technology as it was emerging without having to buy new hearing aids to be able to take advantage of it.

So, as he sit here having to face the prospect of reentering the hearing aid market, I’m looking forward rather than backward at what might be coming onto the market rather than what’s already there. Whisper seems to be giving us 6 months notice with a full refund of what we’ve already paid into our accounts. So, that gives me a chance to see what’s on the horizon.

New hearing aid models often seem to be announced in the fall with availability coming soon after that. It’s been almost 3 years since Oticon announced the introduction of the more with its Deep Neural Network. Wides and Starkey followed in quick succession with their own Implementations of AI and Phonak made their aids 360. In that same span Whisper has come and gone and Philips has brought AI to Costco. I’m sure I’m missing something, but my point is that there are now multiple options available that didn’t exist just 3 years ago.

So, how do we get the inside track in the industry on what’s going to be announced this fall?

#30

My $0.02:
I would guess that the limitation of AI in the stated environment, that is hearing in noise, will be a challenge (to say the least).

Most noise cancelling products do well eliminating constant frequency noises, like jet engines, tires on the highway, air conditioners, etc. No AI involved (usually) just electronics using feedback.

Like many, the noise I want most to overcome is unwanted voices in the background. Not much different than I wanted 65 years ago. So, if AI can remove all voices, how will I hear my wife? Hmmm, maybe some possibilities there. :slight_smile:

In my simple mind (I did programming in the past), AI would have to have “bad” voices in a model (file) or “good” voices in the model or both. Perhaps I could record the good guys in my model and let only those pass through. Then add other unwanted sounds. So we would have to funnel the incoming sounds into a process that would take enough of a clip to compare it to the sounds in the model so as to make the “decision”.

We do similar with surveillance camera AI. If you want to recognize persons in a video camera stream, you have to have a model of thousands of persons in thousands of poses. So, the software looks at the first few frames and, if there is a person in the wanted zone of the image, it records an alert. Otherwise, it cancels it. Alas, although very accurate for all sorts of objects (animals, people, vehicles, etc), the time for analysis is usually over 100 milliseconds. We add the use of the graphics processor on the video card to improve significantly. Facial recognition adds a lot more.

Doing that, via Bluetooth, to a processor or smartphone could be challenging. Too much latency for live listening, I would think. Not sure. Wonder who is working on something like that?

Sounds like Whisper had the beginnings of the idea but (maybe) couldn’t find the technology. Just a WAG. Maybe they could have run wires from the HA’s to the brick, er brain?

My grandfather had a “brain” hanging around his neck connected to a single earpiece by a large pair of wires (1948). State of the art at the time.

Oh, our surveillance camera AI still thinks the neighbor’s cat, including his shadow from a night light, is a person. Angers the cat.

#31

Edit: I should add that we have a temporary fix at our weekly koffee Klatch. When the voices get too loud to hear in the place, we take turns yelling “hey” real loud. That provides quiet until the voices build again.

1 Like
#32

Louyo, Whisper actually accomplished the separation of speech from background noise very well and without lag time. That’s why I’m disappointed to seem leaving the arena. Of course you’re correct that separating speech from background noise is impossible when the background noise is OTHER speech.

#33

I am disappointed as well. I think too much focus here was wasted on their business model. Part of the “your aids wear army boots” attitude by a few.
My aids have a front focus program that works very well for me in noisy places. Hopefully, the next “Whisper” will come along and we will progress.

1 Like
#34

Intact human hearing separates speech from background speech, so it’s certainly possible.

I don’t know what to think about the success, or lack thereof, of Whisper’s efforts. Now we know they’re pivoting to a different product. Were they putting full effort into the hearing aids for the last year, or were they trying out potential new directions?

Maybe their hearing aid goal was achievable with continued work, but another product using the existing team’s skill set offered a surer or more lucrative exit i.e. eventual buyout or IPO. Just a thought. The venture capital investors have a lot to say about the company’s direction. And if you were an employee or executive that believed in the original mission, would you turn down a surer chance of making “eff-you money” in order to stick to that mission, if you even had a choice?

#35

Below is the letter I just got from Whisper. We’re getting a full refund. Whisper is collecting the system just to dispose of it, so there’s no reason not to keep it. But I’m going to replace it with a more polished system for daily use, since my long-outstanding Whisper issues (no media streaming, flaky Bluetooth, music program not separately tunable) aren’t getting fixed.

========================================================================

Thank you for being a loyal Whisper customer. We have enjoyed helping people hear better, but have made the decision to complete a voluntary market withdrawal of our Hearing Systems as our business direction changes, effective June 8th, 2023. Don’t worry, there are no known safety concerns with the devices, but this means we will no longer service, produce, or support the Whisper Hearing System.

We hope you quickly find a new replacement hearing device that meets your needs, and to minimize any inconvenience, we are providing you a full refund for your Whisper Hearing System.

Should you have any questions, we will continue to provide limited customer service support to facilitate product returns and refunds until December 1, 2023, after which we will no longer offer support for your Hearing System.

  • We ask you to return your Hearing System to Whisper as soon as possible so that we can properly dispose of it but no later than December 1, 2023.
  • You are eligible for a refund whether or not you return your Hearing System to Whisper.

How to Make a Return

Within the next two weeks, you will receive a return shipment box and pre-paid label for you to ship your Hearing System back to us for disposal. You can drop off the box at any FedEx location. If your shipping address has changed, please contact Whisper customer service at 844-936-4327 or by emailing support@whisper.ai to update your address to ensure you receive the return box.

System Refund Information

As an Allegro Credit financing customer, no future payments will be processed on your account and you will be provided a full refund for any payments made, including tax and service fees. This refund will be issued by Allegro Credit to your listed payment method within the next 3 to 6 weeks and any outstanding payment balances will be paid on your behalf.

You are eligible for a refund whether or not you return your Hearing System to Whisper.

If you have any questions, please contact us at support@whisper.ai or give us a call at 844-936-4327.

Thanks again for being part of our journey.

Andrew Song,

CEO

Whisper

1 Like