Summary:
NewSound has launched an over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid powered by Femtosense’s Clara AI, offering advanced speech enhancement and noise reduction through efficient, all-day AI processing.

Key Takeaways:

  1. AI Integration: NewSound’s hearing aid is the first OTC device to feature true AI-driven speech enhancement using Femtosense’s Clara AI technology.
  2. Performance & Efficiency: Clara AI suppresses background noise by 7–13 dB while preserving speech from any direction, running efficiently on Femtosense’s ultra-low-power SPU-001 chip.
  3. Accessibility Focus: The partnership aims to make advanced hearing technology both affordable and accessible, bridging the gap between innovation and everyday usability for those with hearing loss.

NewSound has launched its first truly AI-driven over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid, powered by Femtosense’s AI Acceleration.

“NewSound has consistently focused on the application of AI technology in OTC hearing aids for years,” says David Yu, founder of NewSound. “While some players in the industry prioritize cutting-edge performance, NewSound takes a balanced approach by not only advancing technology but also ensuring product affordability and consumer accessibility. By partnering with Femtosense, we can now bring these affordable and accessible hearing aids to market, offering a valuable option for those struggling with hearing loss.”

Through its collaboration with the U.S.-based AI pioneer Femtosense, NewSound successfully integrated Femtosense’s Clara AI Speech Enhancement onboard its new AI-driven OTC RIC Hearing Aid. Clara AI is a deep neural network that separates speech from background noise to deliver improved speech quality and comprehension. According to the company, Clara AI runs all day on Femtosense’s SPU-001 AI inference accelerator with sub-mW power consumption, achieved through 27x quantization and pruning compression while preserving performance. With Clara AI, speech from any direction is maintained, while background noise is suppressed by 7-13 dB in a broad range of different environments.

“People with hearing loss experience significant challenges understanding speech in noisy environments,” says Scott Reid, co-founder and head of Machine Learning, Femtosense. “NewSound’s OTC hearing aids will be the first in their category to deploy AI speech denoising to tackle this critical issue all day on a single charge. These products showcase our thesis that compressing neural networks enables customers to deliver real AI into products that improve people’s lives. We are excited to make this technology accessible and affordable to all.”

“As an audiologist and industry expert with over 30 years of experience, I am thrilled to see the introduction of true AI noise-cancelling technology in OTC hearing aids,” says Dan Thomas, vice president of Operations, Nano Hearing Aids. “By leveraging artificial intelligence, these hearing aids can now differentiate between background noise and speech, providing users with unprecedented ease of listening in noise. This is a significant advancement in making OTC hearing aids more effective and accessible to those with hearing loss.”

According to the company, this feedback reinforces NewSound’s belief that AI technology will unlock new potential for OTC hearing aids. With decades of R&D expertise and manufacturing know-how, those who run the company believe it is uniquely positioned to drive this change. 

Photo: NewSound/Femosense