Siemens Hearing is the quiet giant in the hearing-aid industry. While Phonak makes noise with its splashy Audeo ads, while Oticon promotes its stylish candy-colored open-fit hearing aids, while Widex keeps itself busy being the "blingi-est" hearing-aid company, and while GN ReSound makes headlines not getting itself acquired, Siemens Hearing just goes about its business developing new products based on cutting-edge technologies. Siemens has recently introduced an open-fit, behind-the-ear hearing aid for "active" users. The Cielo 2 Active family has a nanotech-based coating that is water resistant as well as a special ear tip that guards against wax and moisture. It also has a rechargeable battery. At the same time, Siemens has bucked the open-fit, behind-the-ear trend with another new product that some users (myself included) will see as a revolutionary advance: the first completely-in-the-canal (CIC) hearing aid for people with severe hearing loss. The new Nitro CIC is the first I've seen that solves the feedback problems usually associated with high-amplification in-the-canal products. That is not an easy trick, so it must incorporate some pretty slick technology.
Nitro CIC packs up to 70 decibels of gain into a tiny package, significantly more than other CIC products. It also includes feedback cancellation, data logging, stationary noise reduction, microphone noise reduction, a wax protection system and optional push-button program control. Before my sudden severe hearing loss, I wore CIC's to help with my mild high-frequency loss. I really liked them. Though I'm happy with my Widex BTE's, I'd be a candidate for the new Siemens Nitro product. I'm really amazed and impressed they've achieved that level of amplification in an in-the-canal product.
Cielo 2 Active includes leading-edge features along with the water-proofing and rugged design, including 6-channel digital signal processing, speech and noise management, automatic and adaptive directional microphones, data logging, feedback cancellation, wind noise reduction, and a remote contoller. I like the ruggedized concept because when I run without my hearing aids I really hate not knowing what's going on around me. It's classified as a Siemens "value-digital" product, priced between their entry-level basic and high-end ultimate digital products. Middle-aged customers with moderate hearing loss who are looking for unobtrusive hearing assistance that they can use while playing tennis, running or other activities should take a look.
Posted by David at 12:28 PM on Aug 31, 2007 in HEARING AIDS, NEW PRODUCTS
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Starkey's been doing CIC's in 50-60 gains for years. With the recent release of their nFusion Technology along with their AFI feedback canceler. They've been doing 70-80 gain CIC's for over a year now. I've seen it first hand at their classes and in talking to people at the classes. Siemens is just trying a marketing ploy with unproven results.
I'd be skeptical of a power CIC providing much gain in the high-frequencies. The feedback cancellation might be reliant on gain reduction. We shall see...
