The BeHear ACCESS looks like a standard Bluetooth headset - quickly starting to look like an "old headset" design given the rising popularity of true wireless products - but the device is powered by Alango Technologies proprietary audio enhancement and customization software giving users hearing aid quality technology at a fraction of the cost. Alango's DSP voice and audio enhancement technologies are widely licensed and implemented in the communications, mobile and consumer electronics industries and the creation of the BeHear-branded solution was basically an honorable effort from the company to prove how these could enable advanced and much more affordable hearing assist solutions.
ACCESS belongs to the BeHear line of smart hearing amplifiers designed to help those with mild-to-moderately-severe hearing loss hear better during face-to-face conversations, mobile and video calls, and when listening to music and sounds in nature. The solution was launched in 2018 and has been evolving since then. Now, this already sophisticated product received an upgrade that added three features that are normally found only in top-of-the-line hearing aids.
Withe the update enabled by the SoundFocus algorithm, users can define the direction from which to amplify and clarify important sounds, as well as the extent to which they hear their own voice. Additionally, people with unilateral or "single-sided" hearing will benefit from new CROS/BiCROS functionality, which transfers sounds from the non-hearing side to the hearing ear.
The SoundFocus process tries to solve the widespread problem of understanding conversation in noisy environments. While standard hearing amplifiers increase the volume of all sounds, SoundFocus adds a new level of customization on top of the existing ACCESS background noise reduction feature. Users can now define which sounds will be amplified by choosing amongst three degrees of directionality:
- "Narrow" focuses on sound directly in front of the user. This setting is best for one-on-one conversations, especially in noisy environments.
- "Wide" amplifies sound in a 180-degree half-circle in front of the wearer. It is useful when larger groups are conversing.
- "Omni" collects important sounds from all directions, suitable for example, when outdoors or at a concert.
Another improvement helps alleviate the "My Voice Echoes" perception. A typical downside of wearing any pair of earbuds is the "occlusion effect", worsened by a perceived echo of our own voice when our ear canal is sealed. BeHear ACCESS improves the user comfort with a new feature available in the W&H BeHear app that allows users to control how much of their own voice they hear.
Finally, the third improvement helps correct unilateral hearing loss, typically found only in high-end hearing aids. Implementing the new Unilateral Hearing (CROS/BiCROS) process in BeHear ACCESS provides an affordable option for users with single-sided hearing, rather than being limited to hearing aids as a solution.
When activated, the function takes effect for all ACCESS hearing modes: Personal Hearing, Mobile Calls, and Audio Play. Sound from the non-hearing side is transferred to the speaker in the earbud of the hearing ear. Streamed stereo audio is mixed automatically down to mono and reproduced in the functional ear, thus allowing people with unilateral hearing to enjoy the full sound spectrum without missing out on sounds that would have fallen on the damaged ear.
"Hearing well in noisy environments is always a challenge, but especially so for those with hearing loss," says Dr. Alexander Goldin, Founder and CEO of Alango Technologies. "We are democratizing hearing, making even advanced features like CROS/BiCROS available in a hearable that is affordable and easy to use. This is deeply satisfying."
www.alango.com
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