Time to Read: 12 minutes
Unitron released their latest hearing device platform, Discover Next, in Australia in July 2020.
The aim of this product is to take hearing devices to the next level by moving beyond mere words, to assist hearing aid wearers in not only hearing sounds and words, but to obtain the meaning behind the words.
Discover Next follows on from the footsteps of Discover, which was released in 2019.
Discover delivered hands-free direct connectivity for all Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones (iPhone and Android) as well as Lithium-ion rechargeability (Discover Jump R). Discover Next introduces two new hearing aid features, a smaller Lithium-ion rechargeable option, compatibility with new accessories, as well as an improved Smartphone app.
It’s not what you say, but how you say it
Hearing is more than just sounds and words, it is understanding who is speaking, where they’re speaking from, and being able to use the intonation and emotion behind the words to understand their meaning.
To get to the meaning of the sounds and words people say, Discover Next introduces 2 new features to give wearers more access to the meaning behind the words – Soft Speech Lift for hearing soft speech in quiet situations, and Spectral Speech for hearing speech in challenging environments.
These 2 new features are part of SoundCore, the signal processing engine inside Discover Next.
SoundCore comprises a group of 4 features (SoundNav 3.0, SoundConductor, SpeechPro and Spatial Awareness) that work together to analyse the listening environment and automatically make adjustments for the wearer. Soft Speech Lift and Spectral Speech works as part of SoundCore to capture the subtle nuances of speech – in other words, these new features work automatically as part of the hearing aid processing so there is less fiddling around with on-board controls or a Smartphone app.
How does SoundCore work?
The first step in signal processing in a hearing device is accurate classification of the listening environment using SoundNav 3.0.
This is achieved through artificial intelligence and machine learning, which has been available in Unitron hearing aids in its various guises for over 10 years. SoundNav 3.0 has a seven-environment architecture to select from.
This is important as listening needs can differ depending on the situation, and no two situations are exactly alike, which means that listening needs vary.
However, listening situations may not necessarily fit clearly into a distinct environment classification, and this is where SoundNav 3.0 is unique – it is capable of selecting the appropriate environment or a blend of environments, allowing for 3712 possible unique blended environments. Accurate classification can enable the best hearing aid features to optimise that particular environment.
Once SoundNav 3.0 identifies the environment, the other 3 SoundCore features are applied as necessary:
- Sound Conductor looks at the levels of speech enhancement and noise reduction required. It uses the information from SoundNav 3.0 to work on making speech clear, reducing noise and improving the overall sound quality and comfort. Speech enhancement is applied to increase the volume of voices. Noise reduction makes listening more comfortable by decreasing the volume of distracting sounds in noise. Sound Conductor now includes Soft Speech Lift, which adds a boost to people speaking softly in quiet environments. Soft Speech Lift focuses on improving the subtle nuances of speech by working on soft sounds (less than 55 dB), which can include women’s or children’s softer voices and whispers. Most importantly, as quiet environments are completely devoid of all noise, Soft Speech Lift focuses on increasing the speech signal only, without elevating the additional soft environment sounds such as the fridge humming, the click of keys on a keyboard etc.
- Spatial Awareness preserves the natural localisation cues that are typically lost when hearing aids are placed behind the ears and assists with accurate perception of where sounds are in space (crucial for identifying the who and where behind the meaning).
- SpeechPro is the final element of SoundCore. With the help of Spatial Awareness, Speech Pro helps the wearer understand speech and know where it is coming from in challenging environments. It incorporates Speech Focus, Spatial Speech and, now, Spectral Speech, to help wearers hear in noisier environments. Spectral Speech boosts speech sounds to provide extra contrast between speech and noise in all directions. SpeechPro is available only for binaurally fitted hearing aids in Discover Next Pro only.
SoundCore is a highly intelligent signal processing system that is available in the Discover Next platform. Its 4 features work together to help people hear conversations more clearly, comfortably and more naturally in all environments.
Introducing Discover Next Moxi Move R
Unitron introduced Lithium-ion rechargeability in their previous Discover platform in the guise of Discover Jump R. However, this is quite a large hearing aid, compared to its competitors on the market.
Discover Next introduces Moxi Move R, a more cosmetically appealing rechargeable hearing aid that is more similar in size to what other manufacturers have available for rechargeable hearing aids. Similar to other Lithium-Ion rechargeable hearing aids, Moxi Move R takes 3 hours to fully charge (from a completely drained state) and offers up to 24 hours continual use (depending on amount of streaming).
What models are available in Discover Next?
Discover Next is available in 3 receiver-in-canal styles – Moxi Fit, which uses 312 batteries, and Moxi Move R and Moxi Jump R T (both Lithium-Ion rechargeable), and a Lithium-Ion rechargeable behind-the-ear option, Stride P R.
While there are no custom hearing aid styles currently available, these are coming soon, likely by the end of 2020.
Wireless connectivity and Discover Next
All current products in the Discover Next range use the SWORD 3.0 chip, which supports direct connectivity to Smartphones and Unitron accessories.
Discover Next offers hands-free streaming of phone calls via your Smartphone. The hearing aid microphones are used to pick up your voice on a phone call, and on-board controls can be used to answer, reject and hang up a phone call. When streaming audio, the hearing aid will also classify whether you’re listening music or speech when streaming and adjust automatically to optimise your listening experience.
There is also a range of compatible accessories:
- TVConnector – for streaming audio from the television direct to your hearing aids;
- PartnerMic – a remote microphone that offers a 25 metre transmission range;
- Remote Control – a new simpler remote control for those who don’t use the Smartphone app or onboard controls on the hearing aids but still want control over adjustments; and
- Roger – an FM system for extra assistance in hearing in all challenging situations.
Remote Plus app
In addition to accessories, there is also a freely available Smartphone app, Remote Plus, which was released with the previous Discover platform. It allows you to adjust your hearing aid volume and change programs using your Smartphone instead of the onboard controls on the hearing aids.
It also includes:
- how-to videos for troubleshooting
- lets you adjust the balance between audio streaming and environment
- adjust the tinnitus masker (if applicable), and
- submit ratings on your hearing aid experience for your hearing care professional to see.
The Remote Plus app has been updated with the release of Discover Next to now include a 3-band equalizer, allowing you to adjust bass, mid and treble sounds for more personalisation than before. The equalizer can be used for automatic and manual programs. Any changes made will remain stored in the hearing aids, even after restarting the hearing aids. The hearing care professional will be able to see your adjustments in the software when connecting to the hearing aids at an appointment.
Summary of Discover Next
Discover Next follows the footsteps of Discover, which introduced Lithium-Ion rechargeability and made of all phones direct connectivity.
With its latest release, Unitron have brought their rechargeable devices in line with other manufacturers in terms of size, introducing the more cosmetically-appealing Moxi Move R.
New features Soft Speech Lift and Spectral Speech help the wearer understand more nuances in words in both quiet and noisy environments to access more meaning behind the words – best of all, these new features work automatically, so there is nothing new for the user to have to learn.
A new range of wireless accessories and new feature in the Remote Plus Smartphone app are now available to give the hearing aid wearer more control than before. For those interested in custom hearing aid options from Unitron, your wait will be over soon, so watch this space…
