Sonova Introduces New AI-Powered Hearing Aid

Sonova has announced yesterday a new hearing aid that employs real-time AI to enhance speech clarity in noisy environments. According to Reuters, this device is first product of this kind in the global market.

The new device, named Phonak Audéo Sphere Infinio, uses real-time AI to tackle the significant challenge of understanding speech in noisy environments.

The Sonova announcement reveals that its AI chip boasts 53 times the processing power of current hearing aid industry chips. This technology enables it to instantly distinguish clear speech from background noise.

As a result, they claim that users experience a marked improvement in speech comprehension, enabling them to easily understand conversations from any direction. This allows them to participate in dynamic group discussions without the need to constantly turn their heads.

The same announcement reports that clinical studies show users experienced over double the speech understanding in noisy environments with this new hearing aid compared to existing models.

Arnd Kaldowski, Sonova’s Group CEO, emphasized the importance of this development, stating in the announcement, “While every user would state we have come a long way in the last 10 years, they will say they still can’t understand conversations as well as they would like to, when background noise is present, like in many crowded places, such as public transport or restaurants. We are convinced that with our new technology, we can make a significant difference for people in need.”

According to Reuters, the hearing aid industry has encountered softening market conditions in Europe and the U.S., coupled with intensified competition. Despite these challenges, Sonova CEO Arnd Kaldowski stated, “We will need to see how the market evolves and the customer reaction to the products. But we are good with our full year guidance even with the currently somewhat slower market,”