Siemens’ latest generation of hearing devices uses newly developed Micon chip technology to provide a new spatial acoustic experience that creates a particularly natural sound.

The new technology not only offers better speech intelligibility and directional hearing, but also has additional automatic functions, which makes using hearing devices even simpler, Siemens said. The company recently presented  the hearing instrument product lines Pure, Siemens Life, Aquaris and the new Ace, which all run on the Micon platform.

Ace is the new RiC (Receiver in Canal) hearing device. Thanks to the minute components, the housing is so tiny that it disappears discreetly behind the ear. Although it is so small, it is big in covering a wide range of hearing losses - from mild to moderately severe.

With these devices the receivers (amplifiers) are placed directly in the ear canal and inconspicuous wires are used to connect to the actual hearing aid, which sits behind the ear. By making the receiver a separate unit, the devices can be made smaller than the classic BtE hearing aids. Ace is the smallest BtE instrument made by Siemens.

Hearing aids that were available previously already had pretty impressive computing powers. However, in order to do everything that the hearing device wearers want to – hearing and adapting to an individual’s hearing loss within milliseconds – meant that especially high-performing computer chips were necessary.

“Micon raises the performance capability bar to a previously unknown level. Siemens Healthcare once again produces evidence of its innovative power within the scope of Agenda 2013,” the company said. Agenda 2013 is Siemens’ two-year global initiative to further strengthen the Healthcare Sector’s innovative power and competitiveness. There are 18.4 million transistors on the computer chip in the hearing device. They process 250 million “commands” per second. This high level of computing power allows for numerous new algorithms, which means that the signals from the microphone can now be processed with even more precision. The processing takes place in 48 frequency channels. That is three times more channels than ever before, thereby setting a world record.

The Ace hearing device

More frequency channels translate to a much larger number of possibilities for fine-tuning the hearing aids’ behavior and making their sound even more natural. Because of the high resolution in 48 frequency bands, enduring and stationary as well as intermittently recurring or fluctuating background noise can be differentiated from speech signals considerably more effectively. High resolution directional microphone technology and directional speech amplification optimise directional hearing and speech intelligibility, even in a very noisy environment. In addition, the bandwidth of the processable frequencies can be expanded markedly. The new Pure hearing aid, for example, now covers 10.5 kHz in comparison to the 8.5 kHz capability of its predecessor. That makes the hearing devices sound fuller, which the wearer perceives as more natural acoustics.

Günther Pausch, head of research and development at Siemens’ Hearing Instruments unit, summarises the improvements: “It’s not only important to us that a person who wears our hearing aids hears everything well again, but that it all sounds pleasant.”

More specifically, Micon introduces three innovations for better speech intelligibility and a high level of sound comfort at the same time:

• MiSound: Thanks to flexible adjustment formulae and the expanded bandwidth, a particularly pleasing sound is made possible. This is individually tailored to the preferences of first-time as well as experienced hearing aid wearers.

• MiFocus can process incoming signals distinctly better because of the 48 channels that are newly available. The new high-resolution filter technology, which reduces different noise types in a targeted way, also plays an important role. The user can therefore focus on his/her conversation partner and listen without straining.

• MiGuide helps the hearing aid acoustician find the settings most suitable for the individual wearer. It also helps the wearers recogniSe acoustic situations themselves and adjust the settings to their own sound and volume preferences. The device also “remembers” changes to settings and can automatically adapt them to the corresponding hearing situation.

The introduction of the new hearing devices goes hand-in-hand with new fitting software for the acoustician: Connexx 7. In addition to the proven and popular operating elements of the preceding version, it provides innovative modules for adjusting the hearing instruments to the varying needs of their wearers and enables direct testing of whether or not the fitting was successful.