Innovative hearing aid technology takes on social isolation

Millions of Australians suffering hearing loss will now be able to pinpoint speakers, follow multiple conversations and ease feelings of isolation and anxiety in complex group situations, following the launch of Integrated Xperience from Signia.

Integrated Xperience is a breakthrough technology from Signia that enables hearing aid wearers in Australia to hear all speakers in noisy group conversations clearly. Even when the speaker moves or the wearer turns their head, the hearing aids ensure improved speech understanding for the wearer.

Signia will roll out Integrated Xperience across dozens of sites nationwide, making Australia one of the first markets globally to have access to the platform.

WS Audiology Australia and New Zealand Managing Director James Benston said the Signia Integrated Xperience release will be a welcome innovation for Australians living with hearing difficulties. About 3.6 million Australians experience hearing loss, with that figure set to double to 7.8 million by 2060.

“Alarmingly, almost 8 million Aussies are going to suffer some form of hearing loss in the coming decades, as the population ages, making it among the most pressing health and wellbeing concerns today,” said Benston.

“Worryingly still, people with hearing loss are at higher risk of social isolation and loneliness, because of the anxiety and stress that group conversations present on a near daily basis. Once a word or phrase is missed, it can be very difficult to stay engaged.”

Signia’s Integrated Xperience features an all-new RealTime Conversation Enhancement technology that analyses, augments and adapts to the dynamic flow of conversations. It processes 192,000 data points per second to detect speakers and enhance conversation dynamics, updates 1,000 times per second and offers input to the Signia Assistant for personalised hearing adjustments.

A recent study of speech performance in a group scenario, using Integrated Xperience, showed significant improvement in speech understanding. Almost all, 95% of the participants showed better performance with RealTime Conversation Enhancement than without.

“Integrated Xperience is about more than just hearing better. It is about giving hearing aid wearers the confidence to engage, interact, and contribute, especially in noisy group conversations. They don’t have to observe from the sidelines anymore. No other hearing aid can track and enhance multiple speakers in real-time,” Benston added.

“I am incredibly excited to see this launched in Australia, where better, more inclusive and immersive audiology technology is greatly needed.”

Ritchelle Drilon

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Ritchelle is a Content Producer for Healthcare Channel, Australia’s premier resource of information for healthcare.

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