Sonova launches two AI-controlled hearing aids on the market

Hearing aid manufacturer Sonova announces the launch of two new platforms under the Group's main brand, Phonak: Audéo Infinio and Audéo Sphere Infinio. According to a company statement, this represents the company's largest market launch to date in its 77-year history.

Audéo Infinio uses a new, single microchip, the Phonak ERA chip. According to the press release, it uses AI to set "new standards for sound quality, performance management and connectivity". At the same time, the range of the Bluetooth connection is significantly increased. The different variants of this platform on offer include Phonak Audéo R Infinio for mild to severe hearing loss, Phonak CROS R Infinio for untreatable hearing loss in one ear and Phonak Virto R Infinio, the first rechargeable personalized hearing aid from Phonak.

The other newly launched platform, Phonak Audéo Sphere Infinio is the first to use dual-chip AI technology. This means that in addition to the ERA chip, it also includes Deepsonic, a real-time AI/deep neural network chip from Sonova's own research and development. This has led to a breakthrough in speech understanding with background noise. Deepsonic has 53 times the computing power of existing hearing aid AI.

According to Andi Vonlanthen, Global Head of Research and Development Hearing Instruments, Sonova has set up a specific training and testing environment to optimize the chip's performance. "The entire process has taken many years and required significant investment in technological development. We are delighted that this innovation is now coming to market." ce/mm