Inventor of the bionic ear and hearing solutions company Cochlear has developed a “world first” made for iPhone implant sound processor which it claims will significantly improve hearing for users in Australia.
Dubbed the “smallest and lightest” behind-the-ear cochlear implant sound processor available on the market, Cochlear says for the first time people living in Australia with severe to profound hearing loss can now reach the highest level of hearing performance with the Nucleus 7 Sound Processor, streaming sound directly from a compatible iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch to their sound processor.
The Nucleus 7 sound processor is 25 percent smaller and 24 percent lighter than the previous generation Nucleus 6 Sound Processor.
The Nucleus 7 Sound Processor features the SmartSound iQ with SCAN, and dual microphone technology, helping people to hear more clearly in any environment. From a busy restaurant to outdoors in blustering wind, the technology prioritises voices over background sounds in a noisy environment.
{loadposition peter}The Processor offers a range of features with the Nucleus Smart App, exclusively available for iPhone and iPod touch on the App Store. And, the new Hearing Tracker records coil-offs time (each time the sound processor coil does not detect the implant coil, such as if it has fallen off a child’s head) and time in speech (which measures the amount of time spent in speech environments in hours, including FM and streaming).
Cochlear also says the Find My Processor feature of the Nucleus Smart App helps locate a lost processor by using Location Services to determine the last place the processor was connected to the paired iPhone or iPod touch, “whether it has been lost on the playground, in the house or in the car”.
And Cochlear users now have an easier way to control, monitor and customise their hearing from their iPhone or iPod touch through the free Nucleus Smart App.
“For people with hearing loss we know the ability to talk and hear on their iPhone is incredibly important. For the first time, the direct streaming provided in the Nucleus 7 sound processor allows for phone calls, listening to music in high-quality stereo sound, watching videos and having FaceTime calls to be seamlessly streamed straight to their cochlear implant,” says Janet Menzies, General Manager, Cochlear Australia and New Zealand.
Menzies says study of cochlear implant recipients participating in a trial of the Nucleus 7 Sound Processor found participants reported the new sound processor was easier to control/monitor with the Nucleus Smart App than with a remote control – and the majority of participants enjoyed listening to music (85 per cent enjoyable or very enjoyable) with the Nucleus 7 Sound Processor.
Menzies welcomed the availability of the Nucleus 7 Sound Processor, explaining it provided Australians with hearing loss with new opportunities to better manage and customise their hearing.
“With the availability of the Nucleus 7 sound processor we are able to address important needs for people with hearing loss and make a real difference to how Australians with a Cochlear implant manage their hearing.
“The connectivity, monitoring and accessibility not only helps people with the day to day management of their hearing, but it also enables them to interact with friends, family and technology to live their life to the fullest.”
Cochlear is also offering what it says is the first Made for iPhone Smart Bimodal Solution - the combination of a hearing aid in one ear and a cochlear implant in the other - enabling both hearing solutions to stream from a compatible iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.
The Smart Nucleus 7 Bimodal Solution is delivered with a compatible ReSound hearing aid and a paired iPhone or iPod touch to control functionality for both hearing devices.
According to Cochlear increasingly, evidence is showing cochlear implants for adults as an effective intervention for a much wider group of candidates than had previously been thought.
“Today more than 450,000 people around the world can hear thanks to Cochlear’s technology. The company’s cochlear implants are the most reliable in the industry, which is one of many reasons why more people choose a Cochlear hearing solution than any other brand.”