Bernafon has introduced Frequency Composition™, a new frequency shifting technology for the Acriva 9 and 7 hearing instrument lines.
Frequency Composition is designed to ensure the audibility of high-frequency sounds for people with severe high-frequency hearing losses. The system takes the high-frequency cues and shifts them to lower frequencies where the hearing capacity of such clients is better. The shifted signal is overlaid onto the original signal, keeping the bandwidth in the output signal unchanged, and therefore the sound is more natural. This approach is now part of the new Audio Efficiency™ 2.0 technology found in Acriva.
“Frequency Composition is a step forwards for frequency-lowering hearing instruments,” says Bernhard Baeriswyl, director of development at Bernafon. “The entire bandwidth is preserved to maintain natural speech cues for hearing-impaired people with a high-frequency hearing loss. The hearing care professional can decide whether or not he or she wants to reduce the high frequencies prescribed by the fitting rationale. This is truly a flexible system.”
Bernafon’s internal tests have reportedly shown an improvement in consonant discrimination with Frequency Composition, resulting in better speech clarity as well as better sound quality for the end user.
SOURCE: Bernafon
