Fully-digital sound processing revolutionizes the ability to address individual needs of hearing impaired.

CLEVELAND--(HealthWire)--September 30, 1996--

Digital hearing aid pioneers share results of first

U.S. patients at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation forum

Leading hearing care professionals reported key findings of the first U.S. patients using newly available digital hearing instruments at a forum on digital processing technology in hearing aids at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

Programming that enables custom fitting to an individual's hearing loss better than ever before and improved speech clarity were cited as prime benefits of DigiFocus, the first widely available "hearing computer." In reports and case studies, the audiologists and researchers underscored the flexibility of the individualized programming and the quality of the digital sound as potential benefits for a broad range of hearing impaired individuals.

"Every person has a unique hearing loss `fingerprint'," explained Craig Newman, Ph.D., Head, Section of Audiology at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation. "Until now, conventional analog-based hearing instruments allowed sound manipulation in only two to three hearing bands. Digital signal manipulation enables us to adjust sound in seven bands and more than 100 software-controlled parameters. As a result, we can more precisely adjust the computer to compensate for the individual's hearing loss."

At the forum, which was sponsored by a grant from Oticon Inc., a leading international hearing research organization and developer of DigiFocus, presenters reported that the flexibility of the instrument's programming enhanced the value of DigiFocus for users. "Over time, a person's hearing loss may change and this new technology gives us the flexibility to re-program the instrument to these changes," noted Melody Hartman, an audiologist at Brookside Medical in Illinois. "Before, a change in hearing loss may have necessitated a change to a new hearing instrument."

The instrument's ability to adjust automatically to changing sounds and surroundings was a decided benefit to many of the user cases presented at the forum. Case studies demonstrated users' enhanced ability to hear conversation in a wide range of listening situations.

The DigiFocus digital audio processor, smaller than the top joint of a finger, has computing power amounting to 14 million instructions per second. It automatically adjusts to changing sound environments, improving a user's ability to hear speech clearly in settings that are traditionally challenging for individuals with hearing loss, such as restaurants and automobiles.

"To a properly fitted individual, the introduction of the technology can be compared to the transition from a simple radio with only bass and treble controls to the sophistication of a fully digitized recording studio with its ability to adjust sound frequencies in a myriad of ways to achieve listening pleasure," noted Peter Mark, M.D. of Oticon Inc.

James Dean, an audiologist at the University of Arizona Department of Speech and Hearing Science pointed out the particular value of the automatic adjustment for children with hearing loss. "The fact that the hearing aid can automatically adjust to compensate for changing background noise levels is a definite advantage for adults. It is an even greater plus for children who often rely on their parents to adjust volume controls for them," he stated. "Now parents can feel confident that their children can hear comfortably throughout the day."

Audiologists also reported that more people, with more types of hearing loss than had previously been expected, experienced improved hearing with DigiFocus.

Researchers Johan Hellgren and Thomas Lunner of Linkoping University in Sweden, an internationally recognized leader in hearing research, shared results of a recently completed study of 33 satisfied users of conventional analog hearing aids who were fitted with the new DigiFocus. The study showed that 80 percent preferred the digital hearing aid over their own instruments.

"My patients tell me they are more comfortable with DigiFocus and that it gives them a clearer sound," says Dennis Hampton, Ph.D., an audiologist from White Plains, N.Y. "The word I hear most often from my patients is `natural' and of course, our goal as professionals is to help our patients achieve as close to `natural hearing' as possible. Digital processing technology is bringing us closer than we've ever come before."

CONTACT: Allison Stanley, 212/527-8851