At GN Hearing, we believe that hearing should sound natural, feel natural and connect you naturally. All our hearing aids are packed with features that allow you to hear your best and provide you our best comfort.
In this section you can get a short overview of the features, with a short explanation and a whitepaper for all of them. So, if you need a brush-up, a deep dive, you can get it here.
Signal Processing feature
Our signal processing philosophy based on the natural cochlear frequency analysis. We were the first manufacturer to implement this analysis in our amplification strategy1, and it allows for natural sound and excellent fittings.
Maps the pitches into 17 smoothly overlapping frequency bands corresponding to the auditory Bark scale. The Bark scale incorporates the human auditory system’s critical bandwidth as the scale unit.
This allows for a smooth and fast-acting frequency response that enhances sound quality, minimises distortion and creates a natural and clear sound picture for the hearing aid user.
End user benefit
Near-zero distortion and remarkable purity of sound.
1) Groth & Nelson (2005)
Signal processing feature
The Environmental Classifier operates in real time, determining the environment around it, and then adjusts the hearing aids accordingly for a seamless transition. It classifies the sounds into different categories based on the amount of noise and the presence of speech to help your clients hear their best automatically, with the industry’s most accurate environmental classifier.
It is supported by the Environmental Gain Tuner, giving you as the hearing care professional the tools to adjust the gain in the hearing aids based on real life feedback from the hearing aid user.
End user benefit
Sets the foundation for a comfortable hearing experience.
Directionality feature
Automatic directionality that determines the best microphone configurations across two hearing aids based on the level and location of speech and noise around the user. Easily focus on the sound that interests you, while still being aware of any background noises.1
End user benefit
Better hearing with less effort.
1) Stender, Kirkwood & Jespersen
Directionality feature
Uses a binaural fitting strategy with one ear always in directional (the “focus” ear) and one ear always in omnidirectional (the “monitor” ear). This allows the user to gain directional advantage while maintaining situational awareness. It feels natural to hear conversations with ease while also keeping track of background noise.
The brain can create a unified binaural image based on which ear has the better representation of the signal of interest.
End user benefit
Better hearing with less effort.
Directionality feature
Uses Ear-to-Ear communication to automatically switch between omni-directional and directional modes depending on the sound environment, ensuring both instruments in a binaural fitting are in the same microphone mode, using slow and comfortable transitions.
End user benefit
Can provide directional benefit in noisy situations with the user needing to switch programs. Does not require a binaural fit so a user who wears only one hearing aid can benefit.
Directionality feature
An advanced form of Speech-Focused Directionality that allows the width of the directional beam to be set in the fitting software between narrow and medium focus. Provides maximum focus on the sound coming from the front, customized for each specific user.
End user benefit
Improves speech understanding in dynamic, noisy situations.
Directionality feature
Dynamically changes the directional pattern to best reduce unwanted noise around the hearing aid user. Perfect for cutting above the noise to focus on a sound in front.
It’s similar to Fixed Directionality, but Speech-Focused Directionality dynamically changes the directional pattern to reduce the loudest sounds from the rear. This is preferable for users often in environments with multiple, moving, or simultaneous noise sources.
End user benefit
Improves speech understanding in dynamic, noisy situations.
Directionality feature
Provides a non-varying hypercardioid pattern to reduce noise coming from behind and the sides of the user. Ideal for moments of concentration on a sound or a person in front.
Fixed Directionality is the simplest directional option. In this setting, signals coming from behind and the sides are reduced to enable the user to better concentrate on signal from the front. The directional characteristics are constant and static. If selected, this type of directionality is always ‘on’.
End user benefit
Improves speech understanding in dynamic, noisy situations.
Noise Management feature
Environmental Gain Tuner optimises gain settings for better listening experiences in five different environments. The hearing aids analyse the surrounding environment and automatically apply preset gain settings as the user moves from one acoustic environment to another.
The gain settings can be customised for each environment based on personal preference. The customizable gain settings automatically ensure the best/optimal sound settings for each person and their listening situation.
End user benefit
Users enjoy optimal audibility and listening comfort even when moving through rapidly changing sound environments, and without needing to make frequent manual adjustments.
Noise Management feature
Reduces noise by spectral subtraction. It analyses the incoming sound and recognizes when speech is present within the individual bands. A spectral analysis is continuously carried out whenever speech is not present. This allows the noise spectrum to effectively be “subtracted” from the total signal without affecting speech.
The amount of noise subtracted is dependent on the setting and is weighted according to a speech importance function.
End user benefit
Improves listening comfort without compromising speech understanding.
Noise management feature
Quickly detects and reduces amplification for sudden, brief loud noises. Cushions the discomfort of sudden, loud sounds without affecting sounds of interest/focus sounds. Improves listening comfort and sound quality for impulse sounds like clanking silverware or jangling keys.
Impulse noise reduction works in parallel with the WDRC bands compression system to ensure that transient sounds are not over amplified. Soft transient speech sounds are preserved.
User Benefit
Improves listening comfort and sound quality for impulse sounds like clanking silverware or jangling keys.
Noise management feature
Detects and reduces wind noise without reducing gain for other sounds. Gives comfort in the great outdoors, so wind does not disturb the hearing experience.
This algorithm varies with the environment and the level of the wind noise, making the reduction personalized to the situation without sacrificing audibility for other sounds.
End user benefit
A natural sounding experience, with soft wind awareness in the background and minimal impact on audibility of other sounds in the environment.
Noise management feature
Our modern world is filled with many soft sounds that people with unimpaired hearing naturally filter out. The humming of a refrigerator, the faint buzzing of a fluorescent lamp, or the light breeze of a computer fan. Microphone Noise Reduction reduces amplification of very soft sounds so that soft background noises and noises from the microphones are not distracting, providing the best backdrop for pleasurable listening and moving through rapidly changing sound environments without needing to make frequent manual adjustments.
The goal is for users, especially those with mild hearing loss, to be undisturbed by the noise of the hearing aid.
The exact value of the knee point varies by model, as it is dependent on the components used in the device. It varies also from one frequency band to another.
End user benefit
Users, especially those with mild hearing loss, will be undisturbed by the noise of the hearing aid. The hearing instrument itself sounds quiet.
Feedback management feature
Reduces unwanted feedback in nearly any situation without compromising gain via phase cancellation with static and dynamic filters. Whistling noises, known as feedback, will not disturb listening experiences or alter the volume.
When feedback is detected, a phase-inverted signal is applied, which cancels out the whistling. It applies two individual control systems that work together to provide maximum comfort with feedback-free hearing.
The system analyzes the calibration signal during fitting and neutralizes feedback with a static control signal. This accounts for the unchanging contributors to feedback such as venting, ear geometry, and hearing aid components.
The dynamic control system includes two parts. One is a dynamic filter that changes to eliminate feedback via phase cancellation when wearing the hearing aids. As part of the dynamic control system, Whistle Control is used only in extreme cases, when Feedback Manager Plus alone cannot cancel feedback completely. In such cases, it lowers the gain to the prescribed level of frequencies affected by feedback until feedback is eliminated.
End user benefit
User is not bothered by feedback or by sudden reduction of volume, which some other hearing aids do to prevent feedback.
Feedback management feature
Ensures that tonal sounds found in music are correctly identified while still allowing for reduction of true feedback.
Music is quite difficult to manage due to its complexity, especially when it comes to avoiding feedback. It is difficult to distinguish true feedback from other tonal input sounds, which means that the hearing aid may hear a flute and try to cancel it, resulting in an abrupt and uncomfortable sounding piece.
Music Mode slows down feedback cancellation to ensure that tonal sounds are not cut short or changed and allows users to be immersed in the tones of music in an experience that preserves the rich sound quality.
End user benefit
Feedback is prevented while rich sound quality for music is preserved.
Fitting & convenience feature
Help clients hear the higher tones of speech that would otherwise be missed due to the configuration of their hearing loss. Improves audibility of high-frequency sounds by compressing them to a lower frequency zone where they can be heard. As illustrated below, the output is compressed withing the compressed zone, so that the max output is withing the audible level.
The different sound shifter settings regulate the knee point frequency (where the compression begins) and the compression ratio, with a stronger setting increasing these values.
End user benefit
Improves audibility of speech cues that would otherwise be lost while maintaining best possible sound quality.
Fitting & convenience feature
Can be activated during your fitting for a good onboarding. It slowly adjusts gain from a set starting point to a target setting over a designated period. This helps the user gradually and comfortably adjust to their hearing aids in an optimal, personalized way.
This way you can make sure that your clients love their new hearing aids, while you can send them home with the knowledge that they will get the amplification they need to explore the world and sounds around them freely and naturally.
End user benefit
Provides a smooth onboarding with a rising device gain over time.
Fitting & convenience feature
Produces therapeutic sounds to provide relief from tinnitus. Should be used in conjunction with some form of tinnitus therapy. Help clients get relief from tinnitus discomfort with effective therapeutic sounds.
Create the tinnitus program in Smart fit, adjust the frequency, spectrum, and loudness for your clients' individual needs.
The sounds are customizable, so you can choose the sound that works best. The options include white noise, pink noise, and a variety of Nature Sounds, like waves.
End user benefit
Provides personalized therapeutic sounds to relief tinnitus.
Fitting & convenience feature
Optimizes loudness for users with severe and profound hearing losses. Boosts the listening experience with a louder, fuller sound quality when needed.
End-users with severe and profound hearing losses often prefer more low frequency gain than typically prescribed. This helps meet sound quality preferences without increasing risk of feedback.
Low Frequency Boost gives the fitter a quick and easy way to adjust the low frequency gains with three settings.
End user benefit
The hearing instrument provides the preferred sound quality.