Hearing aid 'breakthrough hope'

28 January 2005

An "intelligent" hearing aid has the potential to help the many people who have hearing problems in both ears.

They currently have to use aids that work independently of each other, which means people with hearing problems have to alter the settings on each one when they change environments. The £1,850 Acuris, launched by Siemens, allows the user to synchronise any changes by remote control.

Siemens hearing therapist and audiologist Rob Ryman said: "Previously users had to operate each hearing aid independently to make adjustments when faced with different listening environments.

"With Acuris users can now make adjustments to volume or programme by touching just one of the hearing instruments or by using the remote control."

In a UK trial carried out by the company, nine out of 10 people reported significant benefits in challenging listening situations and, in particular, their ability to distinguish speech from noise in situations such as busy offices, restaurants or parties.

Acuris works by using interactive wireless technology to allow both aids to "talk" to each other.