Summary: Signia Active Pro IX, now available in the United States, combines advanced hearing-in-noise technology with a sleek earbud design to tackle stigma and improve hearing aid adoption among Americans with hearing loss. Jens Moeller shares more details.
Key Takeaways:
- Breakthrough Design: Signia Active Pro IX offers a familiar earbud form factor to address stigma and design-related barriers that prevent hearing aid adoption.
- Enhanced Hearing Technology: Powered by the Integrated Xperience (IX) platform, these hearing aids provide superior hearing-in-noise performance, improving speech clarity in challenging environments.
- Consumer Appeal: With features like Bluetooth streaming, all-day battery life, and water resistance, the Active Pro IX bridges the gap between hearing aids and consumer earbuds for greater acceptance.
Signia announced that the Signia Active Pro IX—consumer earbuds that also function as prescription hearing aids—is now available in the United States. Combining advanced hearing technology, including a robust hearing-in-noise platform, and a familiar earbud design, Signia Active Pro IX aims to deliver the power of conversation to even more people with hearing loss.
“Signia Active Pro IX is designed to help our hearing care professional (HCP) partners support even more patients by combining the ease of use and familiar design of earbuds with the industry’s best hearing-in-noise technology,” says Kerrie Coughlin, VP of brand marketing at WSAudiology. “For many Americans that have historically hesitated to wear hearing aids due to design-alone, this solution can be life-changing. It’s a familiar and widely accepted form factor that breaks stigma and allows patients to engage confidently in every conversation.”
A Deeper Dive with Jens Moeller, Head of Brand at Signia
Who do you see as the target demographic for the new Active Pro IX earbuds?
The target audience of Signia Active Pro IX is any first-time wearer of any age, with a particular emphasis on those who may normally reject the thought of wearing a hearing aid.
People may refuse wearing prescription hearing aids for a number of reasons – from the fear that they won’t be able to perform in their active lifestyles, worries that conversations will not sound how they’re meant to, and concerns with the societal stigma associated with wearing hearing aids. Signia has adapted to this potential group of wearers’ lifestyles and needs, as they do wear earbuds as part of their everyday, digital lives.
This is where Signia Active Pro IX comes in – presenting a prescription hearing aid in a stylish yet discreet form factor with a design inspired by modern consumer technology, perfectly suited for active lifestyles. This innovative device incorporates Signia’s signature state-of-the-art Integrated Xperience platform and RealTime Conversation Enhancement technology, enabling users to stay connected and engaged in conversations regardless of their environment. This innovative technology also allows wearers to track multiple moving speakers at once, and can even detect subtle movements such as when a speaker moves their head.
Additionally, Signia Active Pro IX offers other features such as audio streaming and convenient on-the-go rechargeability, delivering up to 29 hours of listening time including five hours of streaming. Its portable charging case also provides three extra charges. These capabilities ensure users have access to the most up-to-date technology on the hearing aid market today, and guarantee they feel completely engaged in every dynamic setting.
Are there any details about distribution that you think audiologists would like to know about?
Signia Active Pro IX is a suitable option for a wide variety of hearing clinics and offices. It offers a transformative yet universal form factor that caters to various consumer needs and lifestyles – making it adaptable across a diverse range of scenarios.
By offering Active Pro IX, HCPs are able to present their clients with a unique prescription-grade hearing aid option that is unlike any other form factor currently available, with a design that is both practical and inviting. Active Pro IX might be exactly what’s needed to encourage new patients to begin their hearing care journey, making high-quality hearing solutions more accessible and appealing to first-time users.
What made it possible now to provide this functionality that serves as both an earbud and a prescription hearing aid? What technological innovations were key?
Signia Active Pro IX is a prescription device built specifically to resemble an earbud with its low-profile design, while still providing users with Signia’s leading audiological technology to boost their hearing capabilities. Our Integrated Xperience platform features a multi-stream architecture that can accurately track multiple moving conversations in real time.
Active Pro IX’s form factor holds the ability to process up to four focus streams through Signia’s RealTime Conversation Enhancement solution, which ensures uninterrupted engagement in louder settings by analyzing, augmenting, and adapting to the dynamic nature of Group Conversations.
Active Pro IX also integrates Bluetooth connectivity for hands-free streaming and communication through smartphones, and additionally integrates CallControl for ease of functionality in accepting and declining incoming calls.
With the device being IP68-certified as well, Signia ensures that Active Pro IX is resistant to dust, water, and sweat, making this the perfect hearing aid for individuals with active lifestyles looking to stay connected in the conversation during workouts and exercises.
What colors are currently available? And do you expect to offer more colors or other customizations down the line? Possibly Auracast compatibility?
Signia Active Pro IX is currently available in six different colors: Snow White, Black, Rose Gold, Beige, Brown, and Mocha – uniquely combining the personalization aspect of prescription hearing aids and the benefits offered by HCPs while implementing the discreet design of a consumer earbud.
Signia is committed to remaining competitive in the connectivity space, and our research and development teams are continuously working to bring the newest innovations to our portfolio of products. Though Auracast broadcasting technology hasn’t yet been widely adopted in public spaces globally and is not implemented in Active Pro IX, Signia is committed to ensuring our customers have access to all widely available hearing innovations, and will keep our customers updated with any Auracast application developments.
Is there is anything else you can share about what makes this launch stand out?
At Signia, addressing the long-standing stigmas linked to hearing aids head-on through innovative design has always been a top priority. While continuously enhancing traditional hearing aid styles, we have explored entirely new forms and technologies, challenging and dismantling the conventional perceptions surrounding hearing aids, and enabling HCPs to present hearing aids as modern solutions that seamlessly fit into users’ lives.
Signia’s Integrated Xperience Platform
Signia Active Pro IX is powered by Integrated Xperience (IX), a hearing aid platform that features RealTime Conversation Enhancement technology to independently enhance multiple conversation partners while separately reducing background sounds to keep them immersive but not distracting.
Integrated Xperience outperforms the competition with a 3.2 dB higher signal-to noise ratio compared to other competing hearing aids, the company says. This means that Signia IX delivers more than twice the speech enhancement benefit in a noisy group conversation than the closest competitors, including AI co-processor-driven platforms.(1)
The importance of hearing-in-noise for patients was also underscored in the recent YouGov survey, which indicated that 79% of surveyed consumers have difficulty hearing other people, especially in noisy environments.
Further Reading
An Earbud Design for Hearing Aid Rejectors
For millions of Americans with hearing loss, traditional hearing aid designs remain a significant barrier to adoption, says Signia. The same survey from YouGov found that 72% of people aged 50 and older experiencing hearing loss symptoms do not own hearing aids. Additionally, nearly half (48%) of those who do own hearing aids choose not to wear them due to form factor, design, and the associated stigma.
Signia Active Pro IX aims to change this. The same survey indicated that, among those that have visited an HCP but failed to purchase hearing aids, 37% would have been more likely to purchase a hearing aid before leaving the HCP’s office if they had been introduced to the Active Pro IX. 51% of respondents that don’t own hearing aids would consider hearing aids in the future after being introduced to Active Pro IX.
“With Signia Active Pro IX, we’re giving HCPs a powerful tool to address one of the biggest barriers to hearing aid adoption: stigma. It’s an opportunity to bridge the gap between need, acceptance, and adoption – allowing more people to embrace the benefits of better hearing,” says Coughlin.
Available in multiple color options, Signia Active Pro IX includes a rechargeable battery for all-day power,
and wearers can charge on the go with the convenient charging case.
Like consumer earbuds, they support Bluetooth connectivity for streaming audio and communicating via smartphone hands-free. Plus, with CallControl functionality, wearers can tap their Signia Active Pro IX earbuds to accept or decline calls. In addition, they are IP68-rated to resist dust, water, and sweat—essential for patients with active lifestyles.
The YouGov survey was conducted independently of Signia. It surveyed over 1,000 Americans, aged 50 years and older, who are currently experiencing hearing loss symptoms.
References:
- Jensen NS, Wilson C, Kamkar Parsi H, Samra B, Hain J, Best S & Taylor B. 2024. Signia IX delivers more than twice the speech enhancement benefit in a noisy group conversation than the closest competitors. Signia White Paper. Retrieved from www.signia-library.com.
