Phonak, a provider of hearing aid solutions, announced its Marvel technology availability in additional styles and form factors spanning “nearly ever degree of hearing loss.” This includes an expanded portfolio of custom in-the-ear (ITE), super-power, and pediatric hearing aids across multiple performance levels, according to Phonak. Marvel connectivity is said to allow “hand-free calls as well as audio streaming to virtually any Bluetooth enabled devices like smartphones, tablets, computers, or TVs.”

At January’s 2020 International CES, Phonak unveiled Virto™ M Black, described as “a fully-connected hearing aid shaped like a hearable.” Virto M Black is said to be Phonak’s first custom-made hearing aid equipped with Marvel technology, including universal Bluetooth^®streaming, hands-free phone calls, and a personalized hearing experience via the myPhonak app. Virto M Black was named a “Best of CES Winner in Accessibility” from Engadget, the “Best Medical Device” by Slashgear, and was included among Newsweek’s “Best of CES 2020: The Top Tech Products You Can Actually Buy This Year.”

Continuing this momentum is the release of Virto M NW and Virto M-Titanium, which Phonak says offers Marvel’s “signature exceptional sound quality in a smaller device, down to an invisible-in-canal (IIC).” Thanks to the Titanium FitGuide, over 50% of people are said to get an “even more discreet Virto M-Titanium fitting by an average of 2.5 mm.¹” All Virto M hearing aids include Biometric Calibration, which is said to analyze “over 1,600 biometric data points to precisely calibrate the device to a patient’s individual ear anatomy,” according to Phonak.

The Phonak Sky™ portfolio now includes the new Sky M-SP in all four performance levels. Sky Mis powered by AutoSense Sky OS 3.0, the next generation of Phonak’s operating system designed specifically for children. All Sky M hearing aids can stream audio from virtually any Bluetooth device and directly connect to Roger microphones, helping give children “easier access to words and conversation at school and home.”

Also available today is Naída™ M-SP, offering “powerful, rich sound, universal Bluetooth streaming from iOS^®and Android™ devices, and RogerDirect™ connectivity for unparalleled hearing in noise and over distance.²” Naída M is suitable for people with severe-to-profound hearing loss and provides 24% less listening effort in noise and with StereoZoom.*³ For words which are difficult to predict, StereoZoom improves recall in noise by 10%.*³

Phonak’s expanded Marvel portfolio will be available in various countries around the globe over the coming weeks and pre-orders in the US began on February 19.

For more information, please visit: www.phonak.com.

1. Bishop R, Stewart E, Loyola N. Titanium FitGuide—helping more than 50% of people get an even more discreet Virto B-Titanium. www.phonakpro.com/evidence. Accessed February 19, 2020.
2. Thibodeau, L. (2014). Comparison of speech recognition with adaptive digital and FM remote microphone hearing assistance technology by listeners who use hearing aids. American Journal of Audiology. 23(2): 201-210.
3. Winneke A, Schulte M, Latzel M. The effect of spatial noise processing in hearing aids on neural correlates of listening and memory effort: an EEG study. 2019. Manuscript submitted for publication.
4. At the time of publication, datasheet analysis on 2cc coupler full-on-gain, Compared to Oticon Xceed SP, Widex EVOKE FP, and Starkey Livio.

*compared to Real Ear Sound

Bluetooth® word mark is a registered trademark owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such mark by Sonova AG is under license.

iOS is a trademark of Cisco Technology, Inc

Android is a trademark of Google LLC

Source: Phonak

Images: Phonak