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Improving communication with face masks

The use of masks and increased distancing while talking because of the coronavirus pandemic is a unique challenge that can be very frustrating even for people with normal hearing. But for the hard of hearing it can prove especially difficult. Signia offers flexible solutions for you as a Hearing Care Professional (HCP) to optimize speech intelligibility in this “new normal” world. This new audiology bulletin explains the adverse effects of masks and social distancing on speech understanding and how HCPs can improve their clients’ hearing experience with the right advice and program settings in Connexx.

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Tinnitus Sound Therapy Trial Shows Effectiveness for Those with Tinnitus

This study demonstrates the benefit of partial masking, encouraging patients to seek help from audiologists interested in providing support for tinnitus patients. Thirty-three percent of our participants with bothersome tinnitus benefited from maskers provided through Signia instruments without any counseling whatsoever. Within that responsive group, 38–75% of them experienced improved quality of life in the domains of thoughts and emotions, sleep, concentration, and hearing.

Jun 14, 2019

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How to use AutoFit (IMC2)

AutoFit™ is a beneficial feature in the Connexx™ Fitting Application that automatically provides the Hearing Care Professional (HCP) with an optimized real-ear insertion gain (REIG) setting without the need for the HCP to manually match targets. This paper describes how to perform quick match-to-target fittings using AutoFit from Connexx Version 8.5 onwards.

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A Comparison of Feedback Cancellation Systems in Premier Hearing Aids

This Hearing Review publication reports on a study which uses three tests to evaluate the various aspects of hearing aid performance directly affected by the FBC: Aided Gain Before Feedback, Max-REIG, and a sound quality evaluation using Multi-Stimulus Test with Hidden Reference and Anchor (MUSHRA). Considering all potential trade-offs, the Signia FBC can be considered a best-in-class algorithm in this multifaceted benchmark analysis.

Hearing Review

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Comparison of Music Sound Quality Between Hearing Aids and Music Programs

While hearing aid users often wear their hearing aids for music listening, they are frequently dissatisfied with the sound quality of music. This AudiologyOnline article details a study which describes music sound quality ratings between the universal and music programs of five premier market hearing aids, and which hearing aid achieves the best overall sound quality ratings.

AudiologyOnline, August 2017

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Moving Beyond the Audiogram Towards a Patient-Centered, Interactive First Fit

It has long been known that pure tone audiogram (PTA) measurements cannot fully account for the variation in speech intelligibility scores measured from hearing impaired listeners. With regard to hearing aid fittings, it is clear that there is no simple solution that would allow us to perform a consistently perfect customized fitting by even adding one additional variable to audiogram data. A transition from the “average” patient fitting towards a more individual fitting requires several stages. In this paper, these stages are described and explained, based on data obtained from several clinical studies.

AudiologyOnline

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A Comparison of Signal Quality of Direct Streaming Hearing Aids

Study shows that Signia Pure 13 BT consistently received the highest mean ratings compared to the average of the four competitor products. This advantage held true for five different genres of music and for a streamed mobile phone speech signal. Signia Pure 13 BT also was rated considerably higher than the other products regarding annoying artifacts.

Canadian Audiologist, Vol. 4, Issue 4, 2017

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Signia Rated Superior to Competing Products for Music Sound Quality

Listening to music is important for most hearing aid users, and, having a high quality signal is essential. Using the MUSHRA methodology, samples of music were rated for the premier instrument from four leading manufacturers. Data analysis revealed significantly higher ratings for Signia primax for both the universal program and for the music program. The superiority was present regardless of music genre, or whether the music sample was familiar or unfamiliar.

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Comparison Study of Speech Recognition Using Binaural Beamforming Narrow Directionality

This article examines the advantages provided by the Signia primax Narrow Directionality processing for speech understanding in background noise in four studies: Comparisons of the primax system to previous research with the binax platform, SNR benefits related to average speech understanding, and comparisons to a competitive product using Signia adaptive directional and narrow directionality processing.

The Hearing Review, May 2017

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Direct Streaming with Pure 13 BT

“Direct streaming” describes transmitting an audio signal from a mobile device to a wearer’s hearing aids - without using an intermediate accessory to relay the signal. Direct streaming is the most desirable streaming technology available for hearing aids, and has become even more important because of increasing usage of smart phones.

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The Connected Ear

“Connectivity” is a word that is used a lot in today’s society, and for good reason. Whether we are connecting with friends and acquaintances on Facebook, using our smartphones to connect to media and news websites, or checking the weather, the theme of connectivity plays a big part in most people’s lives.

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Motion Detection. A System for the Listener on the Move.

Pure 13 BT is the first solution that marries the until-now separate worlds of hearing instruments and advanced smartphone technology to improve signal-processing. With the new myControl app from Signia, the hearing aids can access information from the wearer’s smartphone, enabling them to detect the acoustic environment and anticipate the listener’s intent and preferences more precisely than ever before. The hearing aids cannot know for certain what the wearer wants to hear, but with the movement information, they can predict it with better accuracy. In addition, the user can control their instruments, monitor their acoustic environment and, of course, stream directly from their iPhone or iPad.

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How to Use Connexx 8.3 Hearing Profile

Connexx 8.3 offers a new functionality called Hearing Profile designed to further individualize first fit for each patient. This feature uses a short sound quiz and questionnaire to quickly assess the cognitive functions and preferences of the patient. The resulting personal hearing profi le is combined with the patient’s audiometric data to propose one out of five first fit configurations when using primax fit. This precision first fit promotes better spontaneous acceptance and reduces the need for extensive fine tuning.

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Basic Remote Tuning

Signia TeleCare is the world’s first telehealth tool that instantly connects hearing aid wearers with their hearing care professionals (HCP). By bringing patients and professionals closer than ever before during the critical home trial period and beyond, TeleCare helps patients stay satisfied with their new hearing aids even after they leave the office, and helps HCPs save time and differentiate their practice.

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How to use the myControl App

The myControl app provides the wearer with a convenient way to control their Bluetooth directstreaming hearing aid Pure 13 BT (1). The myControl app is available for Apple mobile devices (iOS 9.3 and onwards), and can be downloaded free of charge from the App Store.

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myControl App

The myControl app provides the wearer with a convenient way to control their Bluetooth ® directstreaming hearing aid Pure 13 BT. The myControl app is available for Apple mobile devices (iOS 9.3 and onwards), and can be downloaded free of charge from the Apple App Store.

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Signia Click Sleeves for RIC fittings improve audiological performance and usability

As digital hearing aids become increasingly advanced, the spotlight often shines on signal processing features, software functionality, and connectivity capabilities, rather than the physical components. At Signia, however, we constantly seek to improve every aspect of design, engineering, and production processes to create a better hearing aid. The new Click Sleeve for Receiver-in-Canal (RIC) fittings is a seemingly simple yet effective solution which improves both wearer comfort and audiological performance.

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Signia Tinnitus Therapy Options

Tinnitus and hearing loss often go hand-in-hand. For those patients whose tinnitus is not mitigated by amplification alone, Signia hearing aids offer hearing care professionals three types of tinnitus therapy approaches to customize for each patient. Static Noise and Ocean Wave signals are both sound therapy approaches that have been proven to provide relief for many tinnitus patients, especially when combined with established therapy approaches.

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Multi-center Evidence of Reduced Listening Effort Using New Hearing Aid Technology

A review of clinical studies from three leading hearing aid research centers show a consistent trend for the Signia primax features to significantly reduce listening effort. Moreover, research from one site revealed that speech recognition performance for hearing-impaired listeners (pure-tone average 35-60 dB) using the primax Narrow Directionality algorithm was equal to that of normal-hearing individuals for the same speech-in-noise task.

Hearing Review, February 14, 2017

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How to Use primax Tinnitus Therapy Options

Tinnitus Notch Therapy – the novel and unique alternative therapy approach to treat tonal tinnitus – is easy to fit with primax and Connexx. In addition, ample options for conventional treatment of tinnitus using different static and modulated broadband acoustic stimuli are also available. This comprehensive tinnitus treatment toolkit is a powerful asset for any hearing care professional working with tinnitus patients.

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Motion SP: The New Super Power

Although only a small percentage of our patients suffer from severe to profound hearing loss, designing the ideal hearing solution for them brings unique challenges. With their particular listening needs in mind, Signia has offered generations of hearing solutions with increasingly sophisticated technology.

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Listening Effort, Speech Intelligibility, and Narrow Directionality

Dr. Veronika Littmann at Signia R&D, together with Dr. Harvey Dillon and his research team at NAL recently published an article on Narrow Directionality in The Hearing Review. The article reports on a study which showed that Narrow Directionality provided a significant listening advantage in a laboratory experiment comprising a frontal target speech in diffuse speech babble. For this experiment, participants with moderate hearing loss matched the intelligibility performance of a group of age-matched near-normal hearers. The range of effort incurred in listening for the hearing-impaired participants also matched that of the age-matched, near-normal hearing group.

The Hearing Review, January 2017

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Signia TeleCare – the Future of Hearing Care Starts Now

What would you say if smartphones can even help you provide hearing care? What if there is a smartphone application which could ensure a continuous and secure communication channel between the hearing care professional (HCP) and the patient? What if during the critical hearing aid trial period, there is an app which provides continuous support to help the patient’s adjustment to the new devices? What if the HCP can easily send new settings remotely to the patient’s hearing aids as needed without the patient coming into the office? There is no need to wait any longer: Signia TeleCare has just arrived.

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Hearing Aid Batteries: The Past, Present, and Future

Modern digital hearing aids offer a huge variety of form factors, features, and wireless connectivity options that allow for individual hearing solutions. However, the price of functions like situation-based real-time processing, binaural algorithms, or streaming is an increased demand on battery performance. So far, the topic of efficient powering has received only scant attention, but this may change soon due to the many good reasons for using rechargeable batteries.

AudiologyOnline, October 19, 2016

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Notch Therapy: A New Approach to Tinnitus Treatment

Tinnitus affects a staggering number of individuals. Population studies conducted in six different countries reported the incidence of prolonged tinnitus varying between 4.4 and 15.1 percent for adults. One study reported 2.4 percent of the population responded “yes” to the description of tinnitus as “tinnitus plagues me all day” (Moller, 2011).

AudiologyOnline, October 13 2016

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Optimising hearing aid processing for music appreciation

Hearing aid manufacturers’ main focus has, up until recently, been improvement of speech intelligibility. Today’s hearing aid users have much broader demands however and often cite improved music perception as a key outcome or goal. Drs Tish Ramirez and Rebecca Herbig from Signia outline the changes in technology that hearing aid manufacturers are implementing to try to address this need.

Published in ENT and Audiology News, September/October 2016, vol. 25 no. 4. ©Pinpoint Scotland Ltd. All rights reserved.

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Reducing Reverberation with EchoShield: Clinical Outcomes

Improved understanding of speech in background noise is a common desire of hearing aid wearers, and a design goal of hearing aid manufacturers. Over the years, technology has been developed to specifically address this concern. Noise reduction algorithms contribute significantly to sound quality and reduced listening effort; directional microphone technology can substantially improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at the ear of the listener.

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Objective Measurement of Listening Effort

Listening Effort is the mental exertion listeners experience trying to solve an auditory task such as understanding speech (or detecting a target among interferers). Because listening effort is influenced by the clarity of the signal, it is therefore affected by hearing loss, as well as signal degradation caused by background noise or bad sound quality.

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SPEECH

The SPEECH is the core of primax. This is the engine responsible for the automation of the Universal program, and it is clinically proven to reduce listening effort for the wearer throughout the day*. More than a single feature or innovation, SPEECH steers a conglomerate of algorithms and processes which work in concert to achieve the goal: less listening effort.

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EchoShield

Reverberation is the persistence of sound caused by sound waves reflected from surfaces. When the room is large or reflective enough, the reverberation mixes with the original speech source and degrades the signal quality. The EchoShield program reduces the effects of reverberation so that the sounds are clear and crisp again, reducing listening effort for the wearer.*

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Wireless CROS & BiCROS

The primax wireless CROS solution is designed for people who have normal hearing in one ear and unaidable hearing loss in the other. Sounds from the unaidable side are received by the microphones of a CROS Pure transmitter device, processed, and wirelessly transmitted to the side with normal hearing.

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A New Wireless CROS and BiCROS Solution

While the majority of individuals with hearing impairment have hearing loss in both ears, 10% or so of this population have a unilateral condition. Of this group, for many, the impaired ear is unaidable, and this condition often is referred to as single-sided deafness.

Canadian Audiologist - vol. 3, issue 4, 2016

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TwinPhone

While we recommend easyTek as the ideal solution for use with Bluetooth phones, TwinPhone is the perfect solution for people who typically use the same nonBluetooth phones at home or at work. TwinPhone allows the wearer to hear the phone conversation in both ears without easyTek.

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HD Music

As a major improvement upon the binax music program, an industry benchmark, primax offers three dedicated music programs. These dedicated music programs are uniquely designed to enrich the sound quality of music and to maximize the enjoyment of music, whether the wearer is listening to recorded music, attending a live concert, or making music himself.

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Listening effort

Depending on the acoustic situation and the context, listening can require more or less attentional and cognitive processing. This dynamic activity of the brain which accompanies and enables listening is ongoing and cumulative. And it happens regardless of how much of the speech is actually understood.

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Reducing Listening Effort via primax Hearing Technology

The primary goal of amplification is improving speech understanding. When listening situations become noisier or more challenging, this is even more important. However, beyond improving speech intelligibility, another indicator of the effectiveness of hearing aid fittings that has sometimes been overlooked is the cognitive demands, or listening effort required for speech understanding to take place. This is why it is important to not only improve speech understanding, but also make speech understanding easy. This is the underlying goal of the new Signia primax™ platform ― to improve speech intelligibility and reduce listening effort for the wearer.

AudiologyOnline, June 9, 2016

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