The First Hearing Aid that Doesn't Sound Like a Hearing Aid - Just Better Hearing

09-03-2020

Danish hearing aid pioneer Widex has ushered in a new generation of hearing aids that offers the industry’s most natural hearing experience that combines the latest in AI and machine learning with two ultra-fast signal pathways to create the ‘un-hearing aid, hearing aid.’ 

HAUPPAUGE, NEW YORK, March 9, 2020 — WIDEX MOMENT™ has broken new ground by addressing one of the great unsolved challenges – no matter how good the sound, it still sounds like a hearing aid.

The ‘tinny’ and ‘artificial’ sound of hearing aids – which often prevents their adoption by those with hearing loss – is produced when sound processed in the hearing aid reaches the eardrum a split second later than the sound that travels directly through or around the hearing aid’s ear-tip.

Widex is the first to eliminate that ‘out of sync’ sound for wearers with mild to moderate hearing loss, without sacrificing the trademark Widex natural sound – which already has the lowest time delay compared to competitors. 

According to Lise Henningsen, Global Head of Audiology at Widex, this launch marks a fundamental shift for a general consumer public plagued by hearing loss at increasingly young ages.

“To lose your sense of hearing is to lose a fundamental part of yourself, often resulting in increased social isolation, subsequent depression, and cognitive decline,” stated Henningsen. “Though the traditional hearing aid has made tremendous strides in areas such as speech intelligibility, active noise cancellation, and more, a key frontier has been left uncharted – until today. WIDEX MOMENT doesn’t just allow you to hear better, it restores one’s sense of perfectly natural hearing, as you remember it before any loss occurred.”

The WIDEX MOMENT platform achieves this perfected hearing experience by leveraging two distinct signal pathways. The ‘classic’ Widex signal pathway is paired with a second ultra-fast signal pathway that adds extra gearing to the platform. 

This Widex ZeroDelay™ Accelerator reduces the processing delay between microphone and receiver to below 0.5 milliseconds, enabling the two sound signals to meet at virtually the same time in the eardrum – thereby eliminating the artificial sound quality and creating a more natural sound experience. This new sound experience is called Widex PureSound™. 

However, though WIDEX MOMENT breaks new ground in the area of sound purity, it doesn’t do so at the expense of other cutting-edge features – such as rechargeability and smart streaming – which offers robust connectivity to the devices one uses every day.
WIDEX MOMENT boasts the smallest lithium-ion rechargeable RIC on the market, ensuring that no matter one’s lifestyle wearers will never miss a moment. 

WIDEX MOMENT also comes compatible with the SoundSense Learn smartphone app, which leverages breakthroughs in AI and machine learning to personalize one’s hearing experience and create hearing programs based on a wearer’s typical environments – a daily commute, an open-office floor plan, a favorite restaurant, and more.

The app allows you to take an on-the-go, hyper-accurate test that measures data like how often you adjust the volume, which sound presets you use in various environments, and adjusts accordingly. It also shares this data directly and securely back to a hearing care professional to improve customization and tailor service. 

“The future of hearing aids will be unlocked through the combination of perfectly natural sound with the latest in streaming, rechargeability, and customization – and that’s exactly what we’ve created with WIDEX MOMENT,” concluded Henningsen. “We’re breaking down the hearing aid stigma, across all generations, by equipping wearers with a way to experience one’s natural hearing, customized for any environment, while enabling connectivity with all of your favorite apps and devices. It’s a seminal moment for not just our hearing aid industry but for the technology industry, in general.”

WIDEX MOMENT is available in thirteen colors and six different styles and is available for purchase. For more information on WIDEX, click here.

About Widex
At Widex we believe in a world where there are no barriers to communication; a world where people interact freely, effortlessly and confidently. With sixty years’ experience developing state-of-the-art technology, we provide hearing solutions that are easy to use, seamlessly integrated in daily life and enable people to hear naturally. As one of the world’s leading hearing aid producers, our products are sold in more than one hundred countries, and we employ 4,000 people worldwide.