Starkey Livio and Livio AI – leading the way in Healthable hearing aid technology

Bournemouth-based audiologists, Key to Hearing, are delighted to introduce the Starkey Livio and Livio AI hearing aids. The Livio and Livio AI offer some of the most advanced technology and features on the market today and include rechargeable devices.

Crystal clear hearing, wherever you are and whatever you’re doing

Whether you’re at home or out and about, talking on the phone, watching TV or streaming music, Starkey’s HearingReality TM system offers a fantastic hearing experience and excellent feedback cancellation. In fact, Livio AI was recently given the top rating for reducing background noise in an independent study of premium hearing aids 1.

The devices also offer high quality Bluetooth connectivity and wireless streaming and are compatible with a wide range of Apple and Android devices.

What’s more, Livio and Livio AI both feature clever geotagging technology that senses when you’re in a certain place, like at home or work, and automatically adjusts your hearing aid settings to suit. Other shared features include easy adjustments with the Thrive Hearing Aid app, tinnitus relief and CROS technology for single-sided hearing loss.

Rechargeable technology you can trust

As sealed units, the rechargeable devices also offer great protection from dust, moisture and dirt. Both devices are amongst the smallest on the market and offer 24 hours of high quality hearing from just one charge. A portable charging pod is supplied with your hearing aids.

Livio AI – link your health with your hearing with Healthable

Whilst Livo is certainly advanced, Livio AI really takes things to the next level with its state of the art Healthable technology. This aims to give you a deeper understanding of the connection between your hearing and your overall health – for example, did you know that using hearing aids can improve or limit conditions such as dementia and cognitive decline 2?

Healthable technology works by using 3D motion sensors and the Thrive app to monitor how, when and where you use your hearing aids, and tracks your brain and body activity to give you a Wellness Score. The data collected by your Livio AI can then be integrated with other wellbeing apps such as Google Fit and Apple Health. This amazing device can even detect if you’ve had a fall and alert a relative or carer so they can help!

Livio AI’s other cutting-edge features include:

• Translating up to 27 languages in real time

• Asking your audiologist to make remote adjustments

• Integration with Siri

• ‘Find My Hearing Aids’ function

• Adaptive Car Mode for a better driving experience

• Automatic volume adjustment for maximum comfort

A range of wireless accessories are available with Livio AI. These include the Remote Microphone+ – the first ever audio streaming hearing aid accessory to connect with Amazon Alexa.

Like to know more?

Key to Hearing are on hand to help you make the right choice of hearing aid and accessories. Please contact us to find out more about the Livio and Livio AI or download the brochure to learn more.

References

1. 2 FORCE Technology, Senselab. (2018, November). Benchmark evaluation of spatial noise management in hearing aids. FORCE Technology Venlighedsvej 4 2970 Hørsholm, Denmark.

2. Bassuk, S. S., Glass, T. A., & Berkman, L. F. (1999, Aug. 3). Social disengagement and incident cognitive decline in community-dwelling elderly persons. Annals of Internal Medicine, 131(3), 165-173.

Béland, F., Zunzunegui, M. V., Alvarado, B., Otero, A., & Del Ser T. (2005, Nov.). Trajectories of cognitive decline and social relations. Journal of Gerontology Series B Psychological and Social Sciences, 60(6), P320-P330.

Marioni, R. E., Proust-Lima, C., Amieva, H., Brayne, C., Matthews, F. E., Dartigues, J. F., & Jacqmin-Gadda, H. (2015, Oct. 24). Social activity, cognitive decline and dementia risk: a 20-year prospective cohort study. BMC Public Health, 15, 1089.

Zunzunegui, M. V., Alvarado, B. E., Del Ser, T., & Otero, A. (2003, March). Social networks, social integration, and social engagement determine cognitive decline in community-dwelling Spanish older adults. Journal of Gerontology Series B Psychological and Social Sciences, 58(2), S93-S100.

Unitron Max - Getting new Super Power hearing aids just got easier

With technology perfected for severe-to-profound hearing loss, exceptional personalisation and a rechargeable* option, there has never been a better time to make the move to new Super Power hearing aids.

*Rechargeable option available early 2019

Hearing aids that sound better from the start

Max hearing aids give you the power and performance you’re looking for right from your first fitting. Thanks to advanced features optimising speech perception and environmental awareness, you can feel confident knowing that with Max you’ll have what you need to make your life easier.

Discover your best technology level

T Pro – Pinpoints speech from all directions in the most challenging situations and provides the most

realistic listening experience for all types of sounds, in addition to beautiful sounding music.

T 800 – Emphasises speech from multiple directions when background noise is high and provides

realistic listening in quieter situations, in addition to beautiful sounding music.

T 700 – Emphasises speech from the front when background noise is high and provides realistic sound in

quieter situations.

T 600 – Enhances speech and provides comfortable listening.

T 500 – Improves hearing in quieter situations.

Confident choices made easy

You’ll be sure you’re making the right choice by trying Max hearing aids at home before you buy with FLEX:TRIAL. Please see our Device Trial page for further details.

An upgradeable solution

If your hearing demands change in the future, no problem – you have the flexibility to upgrade your technology level at any time.

Phonak launch the Audéo Marvel – coming soon to Key to Hearing, Bournemouth

World’s first hearing instrument to fully support binaural direct streaming from Android™, iPhone® and other devices

Phonak have recently announced the release of their latest hearing devices. The Phonak Audéo Marvel is the first hearing aid to feature direct Bluetooth® connectivity to both Android™ and iPhone® devices to both ears and in stereo quality.

The Phonak Audéo Marvel will feature other great benefits including: -

• The new hearing aids are the first to feature Phonak’s new AutoSense 3.0 software platform. Phonak advise the new AutoSense 3.0 provides exceptional sound quality, better speech understanding in noise, reduced listening effort and a rich sound experience when streaming.

• A new rechargeable model will provide 24 hours of daily use on a single charge and a smaller charging case that turns the hearing aids on automatically as soon as they are removed from the charger.

• Directly connect to Bluetooth® devices in stereo including streaming from your Bluetooth TV. For those without a Bluetooth TV you can also use the Phonak TV connectivity box for a highly rated streaming solution.

• Hands free calling means you can answer your phone with a touch of a button on your Phonak Audéo Marvel devices whilst built-in microphones enable you to speak to the person without having your phone in your hands and with voice in both ears.

• Fine-tune streamed sounds via the Remote App so you can hear your favourite music and programs at desired levels.

• The myPhonak app allows your hearing care professional to provide real time remote video support and remote programming changes so you don’t need to schedule face-to-face appointments.

• The new myCall-to-Text app will transcribe your phone conversation to the screen of your mobile phone in real time in more than 80 languages.

• From Autumn 2019 the devices will directly connect to Phonak’s vast selection of Roger accessories such as the Roger Pen that help you hear in the most challenging situations.

What we say

There is great excitement from both consumers and hearing care professionals for the launch of the Phonak Audéo Marvel and Keeley is attending the UK launch in London on Friday 2nd November where she will find out more.

We have many customers across Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch and Purbeck who love their Phonak hearing instruments and we look forward to seeing how the new AutoSense 3.0 platform in the Audéo Marvel helps with improvement in hearing.

Have your Phonak Audéo Marvel fitted for Christmas

The Phonak Audéo Marvel will be available to order from the 5th November with orders being shipped from Wednesday 21st November. If you would like to register your interest, please let us know.

References

[Phonak]: Revolutionary Phonak Marvel hearing aids: the ultimate combination of exceptional sound quality and universal Bluetooth®® connectivity [https://www.phonak.com/com/en/press/revolutionary-phonak-marvel-hearing-aids.html] [Oct 16 2018]

Unitron Moxi All – The world’s only rechargeable hearing instrument that connects directly to any mobile phone

Recently released, the Unitron Moxi All range features the first rechargeable hearing aid that directly connects to any Bluetooth enabled phone without the need for a streamer.

Hands Free

With the Moxi All there is no need to touch the phone. You can clearly here what the caller is saying while your voice is transmitted via microphones in your hearing aid to your mobile phone. Acting like a Bluetooth headset the Moxi All can connect to mobile phones up to 10 metres away. You can experience amazing sound quality and more enjoyable conversations.

Stay in the conversation all day on a single overnight charge

The Moxi All features the same SWORD (Sonova Wireless One Radio Digital) chip processer used in the Phonak Audeo B-Direct but does not lose any of its advanced binaural performance features. The Moxi All R uses the ZPower rechargeable system for hearing aids. A full power up overnight (7 hours) means on average the rechargeable battery will last 16 hours, including two hours of mobile phone use and five hours of TV streaming. The beauty of the rechargeable system is that if you forget to charge you can always swap out the rechargeable battery with a traditional Zinc-Air battery, so you always have a backup in emergencies. 

TV Connector

The new TV Connector makes it easy to watch your favourite programs by wirelessly connecting your Moxi All hearing aids to your TV. It also works with your computer, stereo and digital devices as well.

My Ratings

If you would like to try a pair of the Unitron Moxi All hearing devices and have an Apple or Android smartphone you can use the My Ratings feature in the Remote Plus or uControl app to record your impressions of the hearing aid performance throughout your day. This information can be used at your follow-up appointment to help us further understand your listening lifestyle and choose the best solution for your needs. Contact us for further details.

Contact us for further details

We have a pair of the Unitron Moxi All hearing aids available for demonstration or trial, so you can experience better conversations for yourself. Contact us today to register your interest or take a look at our Unitron page to see more great hearing instruments.

References

[Unitron]: Unitron launches the world’s only rechargeable hearing instrument that connects directly to any mobile phone [http://unitron.com/content/unitron/us/en/about/news.html]: [Feb 22 2018]

Phonak Audéo™ B-Direct - Order now at Key to Hearing, Bournemouth

Phonak release a hearing aid that is Made For All mobile phones

Phonak have announced the launch of their new Made For All (MFA) hearing aid the Phonak Audéo™ B-Direct. The Audéo™ B-Direct directly connects to iPhones however unlike their competitors products it can also connect to Android and Windows phones without the need for a body worn streamer or microphone. Phonak Audéo™ B-Direct features Phonak's new propitiatory SWORD™ (Sonova Wireless One Radio Digital) chip and uses the innovative Belong platform on the AutoSense OS (Operating System).

Bluetooth Connectivity works with all mobile phones

The Phonak Audéo™ B-Direct works with all mobile phones that have Bluetooth® 4.2 wireless technology or newer and will work for phone calls with any mobile phone supporting at least Bluetooth 2.1. This should cover any Bluetooth mobile phone released in the last 10 years and may even work with phones older than this.

Remote Control App

The updated Phonak Remote is an app that primarily allows you to control the volume and change the program of your Audéo™ B-Direct hearing aids. The Phonak Remote app will work on smartphones that feature Android OS 6.0 or iPhone 5s and newer running iOS Version 10.2 or newer.

Truly Hands Free

The Phonak Audéo™ B-Direct is truly hands free. As long as your hearing aids are connected to your mobile phone you can accept calls by a short press of the button on the hearing aid. The most amazing part is that you do not need to hold the phone to your mouth to talk with the microphones on the back of your hearing aid picking up your voice. The iPhone and Android compatible hearing aids released to date have required you to have your mobile phone microphone within range of your mouth or required an intermediary device to allow the caller to hear your voice.

Easier TV listening with new TV Connector

Phonak are also releasing a new TV Connector which, using Phonak's new AirStream technology, connects the Phonak Audéo™ B-Direct hearing aids to your TV via a headphone jack or optical out connection. Unlike their previous TV Link which required an intermediary streamer to pass the sound to your Phonak hearing aids the new TV Connector will connect directly to your Phonak Audéo™ B-Direct hearing aids as soon as the TV is turned on. The TV Connector is also capable of connecting to multiple Phonak Audéo B-Direct hearing aids simultaneously, ideal for watching the TV with your partner or friends who may also wear Audéo B-Direct devices.

Don't miss a call whilst listening to the TV

If you are using the TV Connector and have an incoming call the TV audio will cease and an alert will be played in your Phonak Audéo™ B-Direct hearing aids. Once the call has finished the TV audio will automatically begin streaming into your hearing aids.   

Colours, Size and Fitting

The Phonak Audéo™ B-Direct will be available in nine colours and can be fitted with domes, SlimTips or cShells. It is powered by a size 13 zinc-air battery which makes the Audéo™ B-Direct larger than the current Audéo B-10 and Audéo B-312 models. 

Our thoughts

This looks to be a significant technological advancement by Phonak. Over 80% of smartphones purchased are Android and Phonak are the first major manufacturer to launch a phone that caters to the largest user base. 

The fact that the Phonak Audéo™ B-Direct hearing aids do not require you to hold your mobile phone to your mouth or alternatively use a neck worn microphone is really impressive. As a comparison the recently released Apple AirPods have forward facing Dual beam-forming microphones that point towards your mouth so it will be interesting seeing how the microphones on the back of the Audéo™ B-Direct hearing aids cope with picking up your voice when using the phone in noisy situations.

The Phonak Remote app does not currently appear to have as many features as those offered by Starkey and ReSound for use with their smartphone compatible hearing aids. Will Phonak develop the app to allow the user more individual adjustments or allow setting to automatically change based on GPS location tags?

How long will the batteries last? For those that use there Phonak Audéo™ B-Direct hearing aids to talk more on the phone or use the TV Connector for long periods of time the battery will drain more quickly. Will they last a minimum of 5 days?

The new SWORD™ chip will be used in future releases across the Sonova platform so expect to see this Bluetooth connectivity in future releases from Unitron next year.

We look forward to finding out more at the official UK launch on Friday 8th September in London.

Register your interest

The Phonak Audéo™ B-Direct is available to pre-order from today with delivery in the UK from Friday 1st September. Find out more by looking at the official Phonak Audéo™ B-Direct brochure and if you are interested by drop us a message on our contact page and we'll keep you updated.

References

[Phonak]: Phonak to release a game-changing Bluetooth hearing aid that connects directly to any cell phone* and TV, based on a revolutionary new chip technology [https://www.phonak.com/uk/en/press/bluetooth-hearing-aid.html]: [Aug 17 2017]