Signia Introduces Primax, The Most Advanced Generation Of Smart Hearing Aids To Date

• primax™ is the first hearing technology proven to reduce listening effort and brain strain
• New features analyze environment and automatically “zoom in” on target speaker, reducing unwanted surrounding noise
• HD Music feature enhances listening experience for music lovers

PISCATAWAY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Signia, the new brand name for Siemens hearing aids, is introducing primax smart hearing aids, the company’s latest in hearing technology. Signia’s primax is the world’s first technology clinically proven by independent studies to reduce listening effort throughout the day while providing better than normal hearing in challenging listening environments, like busy restaurants and cocktail party settings.* Signia’s primax provides enhanced features that redefine the ease of listening by analyzing the wearer’s listening environment and elevating the speaker of interest above all other voices and surrounding noise.

“The impact of hand-held and hands-free cell phone use on driving performance and safety-critical event risk.”

“Even mild hearing loss can cause increased effort to hear and brain strain, which is similar to ‘squinting with your ears,’” said Scott Davis, CEO, Signia. “This can have a significant impact on energy levels and engagement during conversations. Signia primax hearing technology is clinically proven to reduce listening fatigue.”

New primax technology includes the following unique features:

• SpeechMaster – Automatically enhances speech in every listening situation.
  The SpeechMaster function analyzes the acoustic environment and employs the first technology that is clinically proven to “zoom in” on the target speaker reducing unwanted surrounding noise and extraneous speech. SpeechMaster acts as a conductor orchestrating noise reduction, directionality, and amplification to reduce listening effort for the wearer.

• HD Music – maximizes enjoyment for music lovers and musicians.
  HD Music delivers outstanding music fidelity and richness with three dedicated music programs uniquely designed to enrich the sound quality of music and maximize its enjoyment, whether the wearer is listening to recorded music, attending a live concert, or performing.

• EchoShield – softens echoes for reduced listening effort.
  With EchoShield, the effects of reverberation in atriums, hallways, lecture halls, and places of worship are lessened, thus improving the ease of listening.

• TwinPhone – less effort during phone conversations
  Sixty percent of mobile phone users hold their phones to their ear, even if there is a hands-free option.** TwinPhone is automatically activated by a magnetic signal from the phone, so the wearer can hear the call in both ears for improved speech understanding with reduced effort.

Hearing aid wearers can personalize their primax hearing experience with apps and accessories like the touchControl™ App which turns any smartphone into a hearing aid remote control center. The wearer is able to adjust volume, bass/treble, program selection– even control the direction of the hearing aids’ microphones with one-touch on their smartphone screen —directing the microphones to the front, left, right, or behind—simultaneously enhancing speech and suppressing background noise. This is especially useful in restaurants, parties, and any situation where there is a lot of noise or competing extraneous speech. When paired with the easyTek™ streaming device and easyTek™ App a wearer can connect their primax hearing aids to many different Bluetooth®-enabled devices wirelessly. Audio from TVs, MP3 players, and other sources is streamed directly into their ears. This is especially useful to take hands-free phone calls.

“There is virtually no limit. These Signia hearing aids are tiny and become advanced wireless headsets that pair with smart devices for everything from work-related tasks, to streaming entertainment content, to communicating with family and friends,” added Davis.

Signia primax technology is available through the Signia network of licensed hearing care professionals. To learn more about Signia, primax smart hearing aids, and to locate a hearing care professional near you, visit www.signiausa.com.

*An independent clinical study in the US has shown that primax provided a significant improvement in ease of listening in demanding listening environments. A methodology using objective brain behavior measures with electroencephalographic data, showed a significant reduction in listening effort for mild to moderate hearing impaired subjects using primax hearing instruments, when applying advanced features SpeechMaster and EchoShield. **Two clinical studies have shown that binax provides better than normal hearing in certain demanding environments (University of Northern Colorado, 2014; Oldenburg Horzentrum, 2013). Speech Reception Thresholds (SRT) in cocktail-party situations improved up to 2.9 dB for wearers with mild to moderate hearing loss using Carat binax or Pure binax hearing aids with narrow directionality, compared to people with normal hearing.

** US Department of Transportation NHTSA, “The impact of hand-held and hands-free cell phone use on driving performance and safety-critical event risk.” April 2013

The Bluetooth® word mark and logos are owned by the Bluetooth SIG, Inc., and any use of such marks by Sivantos is under license. Other trademarks and trade names are those of their respective owners.

About the Sivantos Group

The business operations of the former Siemens AG hearing aid division have been incorporated into the Sivantos Group since early 2015. Sivantos can look back proudly on more than 130 years of German engineering and countless global innovations. Today Sivantos is one of the leading hearing aid manufacturers worldwide. Thus the former Siemens hearing aid division, with more than 5,000 employees, achieved revenues of 835 million euros in the fiscal year 2014/15 and a reported EBITA (with normalization) of 206 million euros. Sivantos' global distribution supplies hearing aid specialists and sales partners in more than 120 countries. Particularly high value is placed on product development. To this end, Sivantos aims to develop into the world's leading company in the coming years with its brands Signia, Siemens, Audio Service, Rexton, A&M, HearUSA and audibene. The owners of Sivantos are the anchor investors EQT along with the Strüngmann family as a co-investor. Sivantos GmbH is a brand license holder of Siemens AG.

More information can be found at www.sivantos.com.