August 2005

YOU'VE COME A LONG WAY.

I'm sure you know at least one person who has hearing aids and keeps them in the drawer. Some of the familiar complaints have been "they whistle all the time", "I can't hear in a restaurant", "I don't want anyone to know I have hearing aids", etc. With the advanced technology we have today, there is absolutely no reason to keep your hearing aids in a drawer or to struggle in background noise. The hearing instruments of today are like wearing mini computers on your ears!

One particular manufacturer has introduced an innovative line of hearing instruments. Phonak Hearing Systems introduced its Savia line of digital hearing instruments this spring. The Savia features 10 technological breakthroughs.

David Fabry, Ph.D., Phonak's Director of Clinical Research has said "As the leader in digital innovations, Phonak's Savia line achieves the ultimate promise of digital technology, including effortless hearing in an infinite number of environments, understanding in the presence of multiple noise sources and natural localization abilities".

That may sound pretty complicated but remember the more advanced the technology, the LESS the hearing instrument wearer has to do. Also, this advanced technology allows the audiologist to adjust and customize the instruments for individual hearing losses and individual lifestyles.

The Savia's technology breakthroughs are grouped into the following systems:

AutoPilot: In general terms this means that the hearing instruments adapt and adjust automatically to various listening environments and react accordingly. For instance, if you went from your home to a noisy grocery store the instruments would analyze the incoming sounds (millions of time per second) and make the appropriate changes in amplification.

AutoFocus: This breakthrough provides improved speech understanding in the presence of various types of background noise, even restaurant noise.

SoundCleaning: This scanning technology helps eliminates disturbing components in each signal such as wind noise, feedback, reverberation, and noise.

DataLogging: This unique tool, monitors a patient's hearing instrument usage. This allows hearing professionals to fine tune the instruments based on the wearer's actual usage.

iPFG Successware: The software analyzes data from the instruments to propose optimal volume corrections. This eliminates the need to constantly adjust the volume - the instruments do it automatically.

What's wonderful is that these instruments sound even better in your ears than on paper! All these advancements make wearing hearing instruments better than ever.

For more information and a complimentary demonstration of Phonak's Savia instruments, please contact Dr. Jenny Head at ENT and Audiology Associates at 919 782-9003.