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by Robin Miller
From high definition to laser-fit, new hearing aids suit today’s active lifestyles
Dynamic mature adults and even
some baby boomers across the
country are proving that they can
think, act, look and feel younger than the
stereotypical “senior citizens” of the past. But
what about those whose hearing is on the
decline? Part of staying active and healthy is
keeping your senses in tune with your lifestyle.
The good news is that technology is
keeping pace with our fast-paced, healthier
lifestyles. We want to live life to the fullest.
And for those who need some high-tech
hearing help, the chances are excellent that
you can benefit from today’s advanced digital
technology.
New and radically different hearing aid
engineering is creating more advancements
and options than previous generations could
ever imagine. Gone are the frustrating days
of poorly-fitting hearing aids that only
amplified sounds. Those in the market for
hearing aids today can find tiny instruments
that fit comfortably into their ear canal and
provide astonishingly natural sound quality.
Since hearing instruments are an investment
that will be used daily for many years,
you should carefully consider your options to
ensure that you are buying the most appropriate
technology for your hearing loss.
Hearing Helps Improve Quality of Life
If you’re not hearing well, you could be
missing out on precious moments that may
never be recaptured with family and friends.
And you do not need to miss them. Just as
contact lenses are discreet ways of helping
your eyesight, comfortable and nearlyinvisible
digital hearing aids are discreet,
automatic computers that help your hearing.
There is now a premier digital hearing
instrument technology available that can
help you hear better in restaurants and parties
where there is background noise, or in
hectic and loud work situations, in simply
using a telephone without dealing with
annoying feedback whistling or in many
other of the greatest challenging environments
a hearing aid wearer faces. The technology
is known as Senso Diva™ because it
“senses” the sounds all around you. It offers
the unique Diva Locator—one of the most
important features that a hearing aid has ever
contained.
The Diva Locator with adaptive beamforming
combines the most advanced dual
microphone technology with the most
sophisticated digital signal processing techniques.
It has directional intelligence—which means it “hears” those sounds and
automatically adjusts itself to match the
demands of the environments. It does all this
automatically, without buttons to push or
dials to turn or settings to remember. The
unique Senso Diva is recognized as the most
advanced hearing instrument ever developed.
And it has come to our attention that
the results of a new study from a leading U.S.
university show that Senso Diva, which
includes the world’s smallest dual microphone
hearing instrument, is now clinically
proven to automatically improve speech
understanding in noise.* This is significant
since understanding speech in noisy environments,
such as restaurants, is one of the
greatest challenges a hearing aid wearer faces
today. (As an example of the study results,
please see the corresponding bar chart.) In
easy, noisy and difficult listening situations,
this graph shows the average subject received
significantly more benefit (shown as higher
bars) with Diva instruments than they did
with their own hearing aids. On the
“Uncomfortable Sounds” set of bars, the
lower the bar, the better the result.
But in addition to what a premier digital
hearing instrument can do, we have now
become aware of a second and equally impressive
technological breakthrough that enables
them to fit so well that you frequently forget
you are wearing a hearing aid. This groundbreaking
technology harnesses the power of
laser beam technology to help your hearing.
Advancements in Size, Sound Quality
and Precision Fit
Comfort is definitely a concern for any
hearing aid wearer. You don’t want to invest
in an instrument that is uncomfortable to wear. Thankfully, there is now a sophisticated
new method for manufacturing digital
hearing aid shells that incorporates a computer
and a laser. Its official name is
Camisha® (Computer Aided Manufacturing
of Individual Shells For Hearing Aids)** but
it is more commonly known as Laser-Fit™
Technology. This groundbreaking digital
process uses 3-D imaging to produce a virtual
image of your ear, thus ensuring a precision
fit that was previously unattainable. In addition
to feeling good, a better fit also maximizes
the hearing aid’s benefits. This helps
consumers get what they pay for.
Unique and patented Laser-Fit Technology
is a significant leap forward in the digital
manufacturing of hearing aid shells. Instead
of using wax impressions to fashion custom
molds, this process brings exciting new possibilities
into the hearing aid industry.
Camisha involves the use of Laser-Fit and
advanced imaging technology to collect and
transfer an impression of the patient’s ear
canal into a three-dimensional computer
model. Data for shell thickness, venting and
electronic component positioning are then
factored into the model. Finally, the computer
transmits the data into a stereo lithography
machine which—through the use of
laser technology—builds the plastic shell
that precisely fits the individual patient’s ear.
The resulting hearing aid shells fit more
accurately and comfortably. Wearers can
more fully use the amplification available
from the hearing aid for a clearer and more
complete sound picture.
Nearly Invisible Size and High Definition Hearing
The most famous example of a premier
hearing aid that has models that benefit from
this Laser-Fit Technology is the Senso Diva.
Just as there are “high definition television
sets,” this is a superior hearing instrument
that “thinks” for the wearer and offers an
unmatched level of sound clarity to those
who have a hearing loss.
The smallest Senso Diva model, known as
the Diva CIC (Completely-in-the-Canal) is
actually a microcomputer that makes millions
of calculations per second. For those suffering
from hearing loss, the best thing about Diva
models is that they sound great—even in challenging
environments.
This new hearing device is like having a
computer in your ear. The Senso Diva CIC is
small (about the size of a dime) and smart.
This digital sound processing offers many
advantages to the hearing aid wearer. For
example, hearing-impaired people have a
decreased tolerance for sounds. The Senso
Diva brings sounds into a range that is more
comfortable to the wearer. Also, to help the
wearer deal with “feedback” or “whistling”
when using the telephone, Diva instruments
come equipped with a special circuit to cancel
feedback before a wearer can hear it. That can
mean a greater use of the telephone in your life.
While older conventional analog hearing
aids amplify all sounds, the digitized computer
chip inside the Senso Diva is more specific. It
filters sounds into bands—or pitches—to
enhance speech, boost soft sounds and reduce
what it perceives as harsh sounds (such as a
siren). And while digital hearing aids help suppress
unwanted sounds, the devices, just like
the human ear, cannot completely eliminate
them. The directionally intelligent technology
in the Senso Diva does, however, allow people
to hear significantly better in both quiet and
loud settings.
Just as music evolved from vinyl records to
superior CD technology, the introduction of
fully digital hearing devices that “think” marks
the first time that people with hearing impairments
have access to clear, automatic and precise
100 percent digital signal processing.
The new Senso Diva is derived from the
first-of-its-kind Senso (which has been displayed
in the Smithsonian Institution). It
maximizes listening comfort and speech intelligibility
by making use of proprietary features
like an enhanced speech intensification
system, an enhanced sound stabilizer for
natural sound reproduction and a revolutionary
noise reduction system.
Your Hearing Is Important
No matter how young or old you are, you need
to hear every day. We all live in an increasingly
noisy world and there are now intelligent hightech
devices that can help you in ways that
were previously unimagined. Hearing loss can
be subtle to you. You may not even notice it
but your family and friends usually know.
If you find that you have been raising the
volume on your television set to a level that is
uncomfortable for others or are told that you
are frequently speaking too loudly, or you
often ask others to repeat themselves, (or—even worse—if you find that you frequently
miss important words or sentences and are
reluctant to respond), you might have a
hearing loss. If you are suffering from hearing
loss, take a few moments to help your hearing.
Look for local, independent audiologists in
your area. Or you can also ask your doctor for a
referral to an audiologist or review local newspaper
or yellow pages ads. As an educated consumer,
you want one with the experience and
capability to fit the latest and most advanced
technologies like Senso Diva—and you do not
want the unnecessary restrictions of them
being simply “locked in” to their own possibly
lower-quality private label franchise brand.
Robin Miller is a freelance writer from Montgomery, Texas.
*Details of the clinical studies available from your audiologist upon request.
** Camisha and Senso Diva technology are proprietary to the Widex Hearing Aid Company.
Computer Aided Manufacturing of Individual Shells for Hearing Aids (CAMISHA)
Virtual reality is not just an integral part of Hollywood’s special effects. It is now, in a sense, revolutionizing the health care industry. For the first time ever, it is available in hearing aid technology. Ever wonder how it is achieved?
- The ear impression is scanned, using a three dimensional scanner. With digital photography, a laser as the light source and computer-aided design, a 3-D virtual image of the ear impression is generated.
- The virtual images can be modeled into the hearing aid through the use of state-ofthe-art software utilizing high definition color monitors and powerful computers.
- The modeling technicians can make changes to the virtual image that has been generated. For example, the length of the canal portion of the shell can be optimally adjusted to prepare for the electronics.
- The technician further examines the virtual shell and determines if material should be added or deleted. The colorcoding shows exactly how much is added or removed.
- The highly advanced software not only designs the shell but also designs the entire hearing instrument. Here the technician evaluates the battery/microphone assembly to ensure that it fits correctly into the shell.
- With this system, the venting is precisely and consistently designed into the shell while providing maximum space for the electronics.
- One of the final steps is to check that all of the hearing aid components fit precisely into the shell. The Camisha process produces a hearing aid that will fit very well and is cosmetically appealing.
- The state-of-the-art equipment utilizes laser technology to accurately build the shells. Each shell produced contains its own identification number during the manufacturing process.
- The excess support material is carefully removed from each shell.
- The last step prior to having the electronics added is to cure the shells in an ultra violet (UV) oven. This ensures a resilient plastic shell that will precisely fit the shape of the user’s ear.
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