WidexLink

WidexLink is our proprietary digital radio frequency transmission technology designed to provide the highest audio quality in a hearing aid.

STREAM SOUND FROM EXTERNAL DEVICES

WidexLink is used for the transmission of sound from external devices to the hearing aids when the user watches TV, talks on their mobile phone, or listens to music, for hearing aids without a direct streaming feature.

The technology is also used for the transmission of data between the remote control (RC-DEX) and hearing aid, and in the exchange of synchronization data between hearing aids (InterEar communication).

We are convinced that wireless technology is the future in the hearing aid industry. However, the success of any given wireless transmission technology will depend on at least three key issues when applied to hearing aids: Sound quality, transmission robustness, and power consumption.

It is no simple matter to design a system that is able to maintain high audio quality, low battery drain, and robustness against transmission errors at the same time.

In order to achieve these goals, several key components of the wireless system have been carefully designed.

SOUND QUALITY

First, a fast and efficient audio codec (short for encoding/decoding) and a new accurate and sensitive digital radio receiver system have been developed to ensure fast, stable, and trouble-free transmission of sound and data. It was a requirement that the digital audio codec should be based on a coding principle that would ensure that the signal is perceived as close to the original sound as possible.

Another factor in maintaining a high sound quality is a low audio delay over the wireless transmission system. The digital coding system has been designed in such a way that no data need to be re-transmitted and slow down the transfer of the audio signal as a result.

In fact, WidexLink is able to offer an unparalleled low delay of <10 ms when transmitting sound. This ensures minimum distortion and echo-free sound quality when direct sound in the room is mixed with transmitted sound.

BATTERY EFFICIENCY

Ensuring battery efficiency has also been a major concern in the design of WidexLink. This has been achieved by means of efficient data compression methods, and the invention of the new patent pending, highly sensitive radio receiver that permits low transmission power.

TRANSMISSION ROBUSTNESS

Robustness has been achieved in multiple ways. In addition to the robustness of the audio codec and the radio receiver mentioned above, robustness has also been achieved by means of the channel coding technology that detects and handles errors quickly and securely.

THE CONSEQUENCES OF DELAY

The Psycho-acoustic artefacts due to latency (delay) between direct sound and transmitted sound:

150 ms delay: Severe echo effect. Audio and TV picture are not in sync

30-40 ms delay: Clear echo effects start to occur

10-30 ms delay: Sharp metallic sound due to comb filter effect

0-10 ms delay: Transparent sound

The unparalleled low delay of <10 ms offered by the WidexLink technology ensures minimum distortion and echo-free sound quality.

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