Download Press Release

Background
information
Erlangen, October 19, 2016
EUHA Convention October 19 - 21, 2016 in Hannover
Signia hearing aid platform primax:
Hearing at a higher level
 Speech understanding made easy
 Innovative functions for special listening demands
 Clinically proven hearing benefits and reduced listening effort1,2
The hearing aid platform primax, introduced at the beginning of the year, is one of the
most successful product launches in the industry. It forms the basis for the Signia
model families of Ace, Pure, Motion and Insio, which have since appeared, as well as
the hearing aid families Cellion and Silk, presented at the 61st International Congress of
Hearing Aid Acousticians EUHA in Hannover. The main factor behind the success of
hearing aids with primax technology is the outstanding speech intelligibility this
technology affords. With speech highlighted from competing surrounding noises, the
hearing effort is greatly reduced and speech understanding is even better in certain
situations than for those with normal hearing. This effect has indeed been proven
clinically.1,2 The primax technology not only optimizes hearing in many everyday
situations, but also offers special features for enjoying music in HD quality and for
making phone calls and listening in rooms with echoing acoustics.
The primax technology has been developed seamlessly from the equally successful
predecessor platforms micon and binax. It includes all of their advantages for clear and
balanced hearing and a natural sound impression. With the new primax technology,
listening in very complex acoustic environments – where even people with normal
hearing feel challenged – is actually more comfortable. Amidst various background
noises, even competing voice signals, such situations require the utmost concentration
1
Sivantos Group
Corporate Media & Public Relations
Erika Weigmann
Reference number: 12/2016/tp
for people with hearing loss. Primax not only significantly1 reduces the listening effort,
the new platform also brings the joy of music back to hearing impaired music lovers
and gives people with unilateral hearing loss the ability to understand everything and
everyone.
SpeechMaster: Understand speech better
Understanding speech is easier with primax hearing aids thanks to "SpeechMaster".
This feature continuously evaluates the incoming acoustic signals of the left and right
hearing aid and orchestrates the binaural signal processing, the algorithms for noise
reduction, the different parameters for amplifying speech as well as the directional
microphone technology in the hearing aids. The result: Those who wear primax hearing
aids can not only better understand speech in certain situations than those with normal
hearing2, but they can also listen more comfortably in nearly all everyday situations –
as has been clinically proven1.
Enjoying complex hearing situations without straining
Every day is full of stressful hearing situations. Take for instance the family breakfast.
Children’s voices are a babbling chaos, the radio is playing in the background, while
your partner reads out a news report from the newspaper. "SpeechMaster"
automatically activates the speech and background noise manager and
SoundSmoothing in order to suppress the clattering cutlery, the radio and the crackling
newspaper. At the same time, it clearly highlights your partner's speech. The hearing
aid wearer can hear their partner just as easily as they can hear their colleague in a
noisy open-plan office, the conversation partner in a street cafe with traffic noise or a
companion when jogging, even when the wind is blowing around their ears.
“SpeechMaster” always automatically chooses the necessary technologies and
highlights the speaker, while preserving the impression of natural sound.
Listening to music in HD quality
In addition to their benefits in understanding speech, hearing aids with primax
technology also offer decisive advantages when listening to music. This is ensured by
three special high-definition music programs, which consider individual musical
preferences to provide a consistently full and rich sound. One program is geared at
attending concerts, while another focuses on listening to recorded music. Another
supports hearing impaired singers or musicians during live performances.
2
Easier phone calls and countering reverberation
Numerous additional features of the primax platform simplify hearing with hearing aids
in other challenging hearing situations: “EchoShield” minimizes disruptive reverberation
in large rooms or spaces. TwinPhone automatically transfers the sound from the
handset or smartphone to both hearing aids as soon as the telephone is held up to the
ear. In addition, all hearing aids can be remotely controlled with the accessory
easyTek, the new mini-pocket remote control, as well as with the TouchControl app (for
iOS and Android smartphones). easyTek connects the hearing aids wirelessly to
modern communication and consumer electronic devices and transfers the sound
directly from these devices to the hearing aids.
Innovative solution for CROS and BiCROS supply
Another innovation of the primax technology supports people who have hearing loss in
one ear, which cannot otherwise be aided with a hearing aid. If the affected person can
hear normally in the other ear, the acoustic signals are wirelessly transferred from a
CROS Pure transmitter in the unaidable ear to a hearing aid with primax technology at
the other ear. If this ear is also hearing impaired, the hearing aid processes the
acoustic signals of both sides with an adjustment called BiCROS. Even people with
one-sided deafness can therefore hear much better and understand their conversation
partner effortlessly.
With Signia hearing aids from the primax platform, Sivantos has once again proven its
ability to innovate and solidified its reputation as technology leader in the industry.
More information is available at www.signia-pro.com/primax
1
Study conducted at the University of Northern Colorado, 2015, examined the effectiveness of the new features of
primax by collecting and analyzing ongoing EEG data while subjects performed speech testing. For both primax features SpeechMaster and EchoShield, the objective brain behavior measures revealed a significant reduction in listening
effort when the feature was activated.
2
Two clinical studies have shown that binax provides better than normal hearing in certain demanding environments
(University of Northern Colorado, 2014; Oldenburg Hörzentrum, 2013): Speech Reception Thresholds (SRT) in cocktailparty situations improved up to 2.9 dB for wearers with mild moderate hearing loss using Carat binax or Pure binax
hearing aids with narrow directionality, compared to people with normal hearing.
Contact for journalists:
Erika Weigmann
Phone: +49 9131 308 3449; E-mail: [email protected]
3
Press image:
Signia hearing aids with primax technology enable the hearing impaired to listen at a high level.
Copyright: Sivantos
The photo can be downloaded at: https://www.sivantos.com/en/press/
About the Sivantos Group
The business operations of the former Siemens AG hearing aid division have been combined into the Sivantos Group
since early 2015. Sivantos can look back on more than 130 years of German engineering and countless global innovations. Today Sivantos is one of the leading hearing aid manufacturers worldwide. With its more than 5,000 employees,
the group recorded revenues of 835 million euros in the fiscal year 2014/2015 and an operating profit (EBITDA with
normalizations) of 206 million euros. Sivantos' international sales organization supplies hearing care specialists and
sales partners in more than 120 countries. Particularly high value is placed on product development. Sivantos aims to
become the market leader in the coming years with its brands Signia, Siemens, Audio Service, Rexton, A&M, HearUSA
and audibene. The owners of Sivantos are the anchor investors EQT along with the Strüngmann family as a co-investor.
Sivantos GmbH is a trademark licensee of Siemens AG.
More information can be found at www.sivantos.com
4