ReSound Sensia Hearing Aids
ReSound Sensia: New AI Technology Designed to Make Conversations Easier
ReSound has introduced its latest generation of hearing aids, ReSound Sensia, with a particular focus on one of the biggest challenges people with hearing loss face: understanding speech in background noise.
If you have ever struggled to follow a conversation in a busy restaurant, at a family gathering, or when several people are talking at once, you will know that simply making everything louder isn't always the answer.
ReSound Sensia uses new AI technology designed to help identify the listening environment, focus on the person you want to hear and reduce distracting background noise.
The aim is simple: to help you hear the conversation that matters, rather than simply making everything around you louder.
What is different about ReSound Sensia?
At the heart of Sensia is a new system called Intelligent All-Around, which brings together several technologies to automatically adapt the hearing aids as your surroundings change.
AcoustIQ™ continuously analyses your environment, helping the hearing aids recognise different listening situations.
The hearing aids then combine this with four-microphone directional technology and a new Deep Neural Network (DNN) noise reduction system to help focus on speech while reducing unwanted background noise.
So, instead of having to think about which setting you need, Sensia makes these adjustments automatically.
Helping you focus on the conversation
Imagine sitting in a busy café.
There might be conversations at nearby tables, cups and plates being moved around, background music and traffic outside. Somewhere in the middle of all that noise is the person you are trying to listen to.
Turning everything up doesn't necessarily make that conversation easier.
Sensia takes a different approach, using its microphones and AI processing to help you focus on the person you want to hear.
It can also respond to the direction you are facing. When you naturally turn towards someone speaking, the directional microphones can help the hearing aids focus on that direction.
It is a simple idea that works with the way we already listen.
Automatically adapting as your day changes
Your listening environment can change dramatically throughout the day.
A quiet conversation at home can be followed by a trip into town, coffee with a friend and dinner in a busy restaurant.
ReSound Sensia continuously monitors these changing environments and automatically adjusts its processing.
The idea is that your hearing aids can adapt quietly in the background, so you can focus on what you're doing and who you're talking to, rather than thinking about your hearing aids.
Small, discreet and rechargeable
Sensia is available in a range of styles, including Receiver-in-Ear (RIE) and custom hearing aids.
The rechargeable microRIE is particularly compact, with ReSound describing it as the world's smallest AI hearing aid.
Rechargeable models provide up to 24 hours of battery life, depending on the model and use.
Sensia also includes modern connectivity, including Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) Audio and Auracast™, which lets compatible hearing aids receive broadcast audio from compatible public venues and devices.
You can also use the ReSound Smart 3D™ app to control and personalise your hearing aids from your smartphone.
What does the AI actually do?
AI is becoming increasingly common in hearing aids, but the important question isn't whether a hearing aid uses AI.
It's what that AI actually does for you.
With Sensia, ReSound has focused its latest technology on recognising different listening environments and helping to separate speech from competing background sounds.
ReSound reports that its new environmental classification system can identify listening environments more accurately than its previous technology. At the same time, its DNN noise reduction is designed to process background noise more efficiently.
These are manufacturer-reported results, so individual experiences will naturally vary.
Is ReSound Sensia right for you?
The newest hearing aid isn't automatically the right hearing aid for everyone.
Your hearing loss, lifestyle and the situations where you most want to hear better all need to be considered.
For some people, understanding conversations in restaurants may be the biggest priority. For others, it could be hearing family at home, enjoying music, watching television, or simply having a hearing aid that is comfortable enough to wear all day.
That's why we believe choosing hearing aids should start with you, rather than the technology.
At Blackdown Hearing, we take the time to understand where you are finding hearing difficult and what you would most like your hearing aids to help you with. We can then explain the different options available and help you choose technology that fits your hearing needs and your lifestyle.
The latest technology, with advice you can trust
ReSound Sensia is an interesting development in hearing technology, particularly for people who find background noise makes conversations difficult.
Its combination of AI, environmental analysis, directional microphones and noise reduction is designed to make listening feel more natural and automatic.
But technology is only part of the picture.
A hearing aid needs to be carefully selected, professionally fitted and properly supported afterwards. That's where having an independent audiologist can make a real difference.
If you'd like to find out whether ReSound Sensia could suit your hearing, we'd be happy to talk you through it.
