Our patient, who is a vastly experienced IIC wearer with a complex and challenging life-long hearing loss, was quite pleased on his first trial appointment. We took very deep ear canal impressions using velvet-soft impression material and created these Oticon Opn 1 IICs for him, with no agreement, no payment, no commitment. He is trialling these over Christmas. Let’s see how they perform!
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Our initial supplies of this pivotal hearing aid are depleting quickly. If you would like to TRY this amazing hearing aid, simply book an appointment with one of our audiologists. In most cases, you will walk away on that day with a pair of Phonak Marvel.
Paddy McAloon, the front man of ’80s band Prefab Sprout, plays an exclusive taste of his next album which is still a work-in-progress.
He spoke to Today reporter Nicola Stanbridge about making music despite hearing problems (Meniere’s disorder) and sight loss. Link
We now offer trials of 6 brands in-store. That means you’ll be fitted on day 1 (in most cases). Try our very popular class-leading Oticon Opn 1 or the exciting Phonak Marvel 90, arriving today.
THE LONG-AWAITED MARVEL IS NOW AVAILABLE.
You can try this first with us.
– streaming of calls and audio from Android and iPhone
– rechargeable
– remote programming
– speech to text
But remember, as hearing aid outcomes are SO VARIABLE, get your trial first. Only from The Nottingham Hearing Practice.
Kitty O’Neal passed away last week. A truly inspirational figure, left deaf from a childhood illness, she was thwarted in her dream to become a champion diver, and instead became a renowned stunt-woman, and then famously the world land speed record holder. She proved that deafness was no barrier.
In 1976 in Oregon, O’Neil set the world land-speed record for female drivers. A hydrogen peroxide powered three-wheeled rocket car called the “SMI Motivator” reached an average speed of 512.7mph, with a peak speed of 621mph.
When she retired, Kitty had set 22 speed records on land and water.
Her land speed record still stands.
Well done Jo. Out on Sunday helping to look after our wonderful country. It’s SO important that we are all seen to have pride in our communities. The more of us that care, and are seen to care, the better we will all be.
Phonak has launched its new Audéo Marvel receiver-in-the-canal (RIC) hearing aid which brings binaural sound to virtually any form of Bluetooth streaming—IOS, Android, or otherwise—with a unique sound classification technology yielding audio quality that impressed a group of industry experts and hearing aid users last week during a special media event and sneak-peek of the device at the company’s US headquarters in Warrenville, Ill, near Chicago. Based on the third version of Phonak’s Sonova Wireless One Radio Digital (SWORD) chip, the Audéo M is also designed to place the user at the centre of the audiological process with an array of new Smartphone apps, remote fine-tuning, and sound processing capabilities, says Phonak US President Jan Metzdorff.
PARC Research Audiologist Lori Rakita, AuD, explains how the AutoSense OS 3.0 technology classifies streamed media in real-time for optimized listening.
New levels of binaural sound quality and universality. One key feature that immediately jumps out in Audéo M is its sound quality. For real audiophiles and others accustomed to hi-fi systems, the sound quality in today’s hearing aids is very good, but can still prompt them to ask why the devices can’t sound like stereo headphones. Of course, the problem—which has been around even before made-for-iPhone (MFi) systems became available—stems primarily from the venting of the aid for real-life environmental speech and sounds. This provides the important natural sound benefits associated with open-fit aids, but has required a trade-off in streamed sound quality. With the Audéo M, Phonak has reinserted a clear richer sound into streamed music, TV, or other devices via hearing aids—and demonstrated fairly dramatic differences in a paired comparison test. The system features AutoSense OS 3.0 which reportedly classifies streamed media for optimized listening.
Phonak staff members Barb VanSomeren; Lori Rakita, AuD; Kailen Berry, AuD; Jan Metzdorff, Abby Poyser, AuD; Christine Jones, AuD, Nicole Klutz, AuD, and John Urbaniak at Phonak US headquarters near Chicago.
“We have the first classifier that also operates on the streamed signal,” said Christine Jones, AuD, Phonak US vice-president of Audiology and director of the Phonak Audiology Research Center (PARC) in Warrenville during a presentation at the media event. “Some of the early work we did highlighted that there was an opportunity with streaming—as with the unique listening environments that can also be encountered by patients—where someone’s preferences may be very different than when listening to streamed speech, or dialog in media, movies, etc. Listening goals can be different, and sound quality preferences can be different. So, now we are not only classifying the environmental sounds, but we can also classify those streamed sounds to deliver the best possible experience under all listening conditions.”
Although the advanced design of the previous Audéo B-Direct model is award-winning, it does not feature binaural streaming. With the new Audéo M, wearers can now binaurally stream audio content, including smartphone calls, music, eBooks, and more, to both ears from any Bluetooth device.
Phonak points out that iPhones account for only 13% of smartphone use worldwide compared to 86% for the Android OS, and wearers’ choices have been limited primarily to hearing aids that utilize the MFi protocol. Additionally, even with IOS-compatible devices, some forms of MFi hearing aid streaming (eg, streaming from MacBooks and iMacs) were unavailable until now. SWORD 3.0 is capable of running Bluetooth Classic, Bluetooth LE, AirStream Technology (for TV), and Binaural VoiceStream Technology for high-speed data transmission between the two hearing aids in a binaural fitting. The new system even works with Siri and LiveListen. (Phonak’s proprietary Roger 2.4 GHz signal will also have direct streaming capabilities to the hearing aid next fall.)
“This means we now have universal binaural wireless connectivity,” said Dr Jones. “In order to have the best access to speech on the phone, it’s best to hear well with both ears. And, beyond that, we are the only product that now connects to not just Apple and Android, but any Bluetooth device. This opens up a new world of connectivity for people because of its universal nature…What this means is, that in those cases where something is not accessible through the Apple iPhone or device, it should be accessible through the hearing aid.”
Jones explained that Phonak has also created a sophisticated system called “Environmental Balance” that controls how users hear the streaming in addition to how they hear the surrounding environment, both of which can still be adjusted via the basic volume control. All of this has the potential to open up even more of the popular streaming applications.
Audéo Marvel wearers also benefit from hands-free Smartphone operation. Previously, hearing aid wearers using the MFi (and future ASHA) protocol needed to hold the smartphone up to their mouths and talk into the phone’s microphone to converse. The new hearing aids feature microphone inlets built directly into the housing, allowing wearers to have phone conversations by literally talking through their hearing aids.
Better processing and noise reduction, reducing cognitive load. Additionally, the enhanced SWORD OS incorporates Binaural VoiceStream Technology™ into Marvel hearing aids, a technology most recently employed in Advanced Bionics’ Naida CI sound processor. This four-microphone technology is reportedly capable of improving speech understanding by up to 60% in noisy places like restaurants, while simultaneously reducing the amount of effort by 19% required to listen and understand.1,2
“Audiology is at the heart of everything we do at Phonak,” said Sonova Group VP Martin Grieder in a press statement. “That’s why Marvel is such a game-changer for our industry. Marvel technology empowers people and provides a true ‘love at first sound’ experience. We believe the sound quality is second to none, and it begins the moment the person puts the hearing aids on.”
Phonak Audéo Marvel mini-charger.
Lithium-ion rechargeable technology for “a full day of streaming.” While no reliable statistics exist on the market penetration of rechargeable hearing aids, most experts estimate that about 17-20% of all hearing aids now feature rechargeability. Phonak has been a pioneer in rechargeable hearing aid technology, creating in 2016 the first lithium-ion hearing aids—a technology that appears to be gaining ground with hearing aid manufacturers.
According to Phonak, Marvel hearing aid wearers can enjoy a full day of hearing aid use—including streaming— on a single charge. The Audéo M rechargeable hearing aid also offers new features, automatically turning on or off when taken out or being placed into the charger. The system includes new LED lights and a new mini charger.
Remote fine-tuning and live voice-to-text transcription apps. With Marvel hearing aids comes the introduction of a suite of convenient smart apps. The myPhonak app allows wearers to have their hearing aids adjusted in real-time, in any situation, anywhere via videocall by the hearing care professional. It also gives consumers the ability to rate their hearing aid satisfaction in various environments and directly send this feedback to their hearing care professional.
The myCall-to-Text app reportedly provides live transcription of phone calls from the other party in more than 80 languages. This provides an extremely useful option for hearing aid users in noisy environments, or for people who prefer additional visual captions when using the phone.
New marketing campaign and rollout. A suite of marketing materials has been developed to promote the Marvel launch. Phonak US Vice-president of Marketing Barb Van Someren explained that the marketing surrounding Marvel emphasizes its multifunctionality, providing consumers with access to the world of sound that we all want via enhanced sound quality, a constellation of devices and streaming options, and phone calls. The new marketing assets highlight Phonak technology, audiology leadership, and Marvel’s diverse capabilities, and includes a video series that features two women exploring all the different ways Marvel can be used in a contemporary format (eg, the women’s dialog resembles the TV show Grace and Frankie) .
The rechargeable Audéo M-R will be available in November along with the zinc air Audéo M-312, and Phonak will add the Audéo M-312T and Audéo M-13T in February 2019. A rechargeable version of Marvel with T-Coil (Audéo M-RT) and RogerDirect functionality will be available as a firmware upgrade in Fall 2019.
It’s a card which translates your disability/impairment into symbols which highlights the barriers you face and the reasonable adjustments required. The card can be used to gain access to concessionary ticket prices for example; the theatre or to watch a gig.
I mostly use mine for gigs. As I have a severe to profound hearing loss in both ears, I pay for a ticket for myself and my companion is allowed the ‘free’ ticket. Usually it’s a friend or my partner, who knows / uses BSL (British Sign Language) as I still struggle to understand what is being said in busy environments, even with my implant / hearing aids in. Also, in the event of a fire / emergency, my companion can help communicate this to me so I can get out safely. Even with a mild hearing loss, you may still struggle and need communication help, so you will still be accepted for the Access Card.
You apply for the Access Card online at https://validator.accesscard.org.uk/apply#your-details. You will be asked to provide your medical evidence (mine was a copy of my Audiogram) and answer some questions as to how your disability affects you in your everyday life. It costs £15.00 to buy and expires in 3 years. My card came in 3 working days and I have already used it at lots of music venues, on the train when purchasing tickets as well as when out in restaurants I can show them I need communication help or just for them to be patient with me.
Nuala, Senior contributor
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© 2019 The Nottingham Hearing Practice.
