Siemens launches digital hearing instrument in India
EHM Team - Bangalore

Siemens Hearing Instruments has introduced a device to actively address the issue of acoustic contrast. “The new hearing instrument, Signia makes communicating in loud environments easier and less tiring for the hearing impaired,’’ says S K Sharma, managing director, Siemens Hearing Instruments Pvt Ltd.

Signia is a second generation fully digital hearing instrument with a Multi Microphone System and Automatic Gain control. The BTE (behind the ear) model offers both ergonomics and functional improvements. Priced between Rs 1,200 to Rs 70,000, Signia is available in a complete product family- from the powerful BTE for the severely hearing impaired to the instruments that fit completely in the auditory canal (CIC).‘ConTrast’, a patented technology, has made Signia possible thus differentiating between speech and background signals in a much better way. Through the enormous advances in the Siemens semiconductor technology it is now possible to address distortion components. The ConTrast technology requires more than a million transistors. Despite increased processing, Signia is extremely energy efficient and the chip measures only 3mm/4mm. It can therefore fit inside a CIC instrument, which is worn virtually invisibly in the auditory canal.

The new BTE design, a special version for children is planned as well, which provides increased comfort in wearing and also improves the functionality. A new positioning of the microphone system significantly improves the directional hearing, which is important in conversations in noisy surroundings. Although Signia is completely automatic, the wearer can also make adjustments that help in different hearing situations.

Two areas that need to be considered when addressing hearing impairments in the inner ear, are the attenuation components and the distortion components. The attenuation components result in quiet sound being perceived as too loud. The distortion components on the other hand impair the ability to discriminate between sounds.

The combination of highly advanced algorithms in Signia, makes it possible for the first time to address both the attenuation components and the discrimination components.

The fully digital signal processing (DSP) with eight frequency ranges and the sophisticated compression algorithms can be programmed to match the characteristics of each individual hearing impairment, by the hearing health care professional.

Says Taranbir Singh Kochar, manager Audiology & Product Marketing, ‘‘The imported instrument is customised in India to suit the local market. But Indian market is not yet fully developed for digital hearing instruments.”