Study Shows 98% of Walter Reed Patients Prefer New Hearing Aid's Approach to Other Hearing SystemsMinneapolis, MN (May 2007) - For years, hearing loss sufferers expressed dissatisfaction with the unnatural sound produced by hearing aids. Traditionally, hearing aids offered users little control over what they heard, only amplifying sounds directly in front of the wearer and obstructing sounds coming from elsewhere. The result was a tunnel effect that caused the wearer to miss most of the world around them. Additionally, the devices were notorious for enhancing some noises too much and others too little. Until now. ReSound, the company that invented open fittings, introduces Azure.
Azure is the first hearing aid that uses listeners' personal preferences, not what the hearing aid thinks is important, to produce unrivaled, natural sound quality. It is the only hearing aid with Natural Directionality™, a system that amplifies the sounds directly in front of users while still allowing them to hear and distinguish everything else around them; a breakthrough previous hearing instruments could not deliver. In research conducted at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 98 percent of 1600 tested patients preferred the natural directionality of Azure for easy use in noisy environments.
"As a medical student, I need to follow the conversations of several speakers in every direction and, unlike other hearing aids, Azure lets me do that," says Deidre Downs, 2005's Miss America. "With Azure, I am experiencing a natural sound quality unlike anything I have encountered before. This is a really smart hearing aid that adapts to my needs. I'm hearing sounds the way people with normal hearing hear. Azure is truly changing my life."
The system also boasts Warp™, the only sound-processing technology preferred by 7 out of 10 users over FFT, the technology used in almost every other brand of hearing aids. Plus, the device uses a special "GPS-like" tracking system to constantly monitor and adjust its settings to meet wearers' personal listening preferences.
Azure's Natural Directionality uses the brain's ability to receive and instantly prioritize incoming signals to allow one ear to focus on noises in front of the wearer, while the other ear comfortably focuses on peripheral and rear noises. This is how we all naturally hear. Previous generations of hearing instruments tried to restrict this natural brain process in order to enhance sound, which created an unnatural and artificial sound quality for the patient.
Azure also comes with a host of other highlights including minimal occlusion and virtually no frustration with feedback. With 15 fashionable colors, Azure's sleek shell even offers a unique option for bold trendsetters.
"Azure is a testament of our company's commitment to delivering hearing instruments based on the most advanced thinking and research available," says Richard Jackson, President of ReSound, North America. "We are confident Azure will deliver immeasurable enhancement and fulfillment to people's lives."
About ReSound
Based in Bloomington, MN, ReSound is the hearing instrument innovation leader. The hearing solutions provider regularly tops the industry with user-friendly technologies that improve quality of life through hearing assistance. The company developed and launched open-fit technology solutions and the world's first rechargeable hearing aid-- Pulse. Other ReSound products include Metrix, AiR, Pixel and Plus5. For more information on the complete family of ReSound hearing instruments, visit www.gnresound.com, or visit the ReSound webchannel on Audiology Online.
