Innovation leader Phonak released their new family of hearing instruments, Lumity, in mid-September. We know that many of you have been holding off the decision to get or replace your hearing aids until this new generation of products became available. Now that we have learnt about the new performance features in Lumity and how they will benefit you, we are sure you will also want to know about Phonak Lumity!
Every generation of hearing instrument takes tens of thousands of hours of development time, with inputs from engineers, hearing scientists, audiologists, and hearing instrument wearers. This intellectual effort doesn’t start from scratch but instead builds on the knowledge and understanding of the previous generation with the goal of producing a hearing instrument that delivers better hearing performance than the generation before it.
For us it means that since we already had a great product with Phonak Paradise, Phonak Lumity is a further step toward the ultimate goal of producing a hearing instrument that allows someone with hearing loss to hear as well as someone with normal hearing. In some situations, those with mild hearing loss could well hear better than their normal hearing friends – we think that’s quite some achievement!
As audiologists we talk to people using or thinking about getting hearing instruments every day. And the two main things that people tell us they want are:
- Easy hearing – to generally hear better with great quality sound and no hassle
- Performance in noise – to be able to communicate well in noisy situations
And that is exactly what Phonak has delivered, along with some extras.
Easy hearing
Phonak Lumity has a focus on improved speech understanding with its unique SmartSpeech technology, a collection of many features designed to work together for better hearing.
The good news is that the features included in SmartSpeech technology are precisely and automatically controlled by AutoSense OS™ 5.0. You’ve probably never heard us use the term AutoSense OS™ 5.0. (previous iterations are working in older generations of hearing aids), we normally explain it as having your own personal sound conductor.
Founded on artificial intelligence and machine learning, AutoSense OS 5.0 controls all of the hearing aid features to deliver you a personalised experience in many sound environments. And we all like things to be as automatic as possible!
Some of the features that can make hearing easy again with Phonak Lumity include:
 | Speech Enhancer – understanding speech in quiet is the biggest predictor of hearing aid benefit and reducing listening effort may free up cognitive resources for purposes other than listening. Speech Enhancer makes it easier to hear someone who speaks softly e.g., from a toddler, or from a distance, in quiet surroundings. |
 | Dynamic Noise Cancellation – a combination of directional microphones and noise cancellation technologies that can reduce the listening effort required when having a conversation in noise. |
 | SpeechSensor – this automatic feature detects the main speech source and adjusts its microphone modes in the direction of that speech. The result? Better clarity (15% better understanding when speech is from the side/rear) and reduced listening effort (11% reduction). |
 | Motion Sensor Hearing – it’s not always easy to walk and face your conversation partner at the same time. Motion Sensor Hearing detects if you are walking and how noisy the environment is to steer the microphone mode for the right level of speech understanding and environmental awareness. |
 | ActiveVent – Lumity is compatible with the ActiveVent Receiver – the world’s first intelligent hearing aid receiver – a hearing aid speaker that combines a comfortable and natural listening experience in quiet with improved hearing performance in noise (an average 10% better speech understanding). |
Performance in noise
When it comes to hearing in noise with hearing instruments, you’re going to hear best if you use binaural beamforming microphone technology. When a hearing instrument employs 2 microphones it is possible to form a forward-facing microphone beam, meaning the sounds in front of you are picked up with good sensitivity while the sounds to the sides and the rear are not picked up with as much sensitivity.
When it comes to hearing in noise with hearing instruments, you’re going to hear best if you use binaural beamforming microphone technology. When a hearing instrument employs 2 microphones it is possible to form a forward-facing microphone beam, meaning the sounds in front of you are picked up with good sensitivity while the sounds to the sides and the rear are not picked up with as much sensitivity.
Binaural beamforming works where each hearing instrument shares and compares information from its 2 microphones with the other hearing instrument. This comparison of information across all 4 microphones occurs in (essentially) real time and makes it possible to focus even more strongly on the sounds to the front of you.
 | StereoZoom 2.0 – StereoZoom is Phonak’s binaural beamforming technology, and with Lumity it has improved its binaural beamforming technology to be: |
- Smoother – the transition from a wide microphone beam (less noise is present) to a narrow beam (more noise is present) is now smoother and less abrupt.
- Smarter – the strength of the focus intelligently adapts to the level of background noise. StereoZoom 2.0 also works with SpeechSensor for situations where you may have people talking to you from multiple directions.
- Stronger – the strength of focus is now narrower than ever before.
Phonak tested these features on hearing aid wearers to see whether it amounted to hearing speech better when you are in noise. They found that the Signal to Noise Ratio (how loud speech is compared to noise) improved by 3dB and resulted in Lumity wearers hearing 15% more speech. When your Lumity hearing instruments are paired with the myPhonak app, you can control how much focus to the front you have in challenging environments.
New Chargers
To top off all of these changes, for those who prefer rechargeable hearing instruments, THREE new chargers have been developed.
 |  |  |
| Ease A compact charger | Go Has a built-in lithium ion battery so that you can charge your hearing instruments up to three times on the go | Life For the waterproof (Life) hearing instruments |
A few other things…
Lumity is available in only one style – a behind the ear hearing aid with a tiny wire that feeds to a small loud speaker that sits in your ear canal. We expect the power devices, and the in the ear products to be released in the future.
It’s worth noting that the features described for addressing listening to speech in noise are only available for the 70 and 90 level technology.
Try for Yourself
We have a very limited number of trial Lumity hearing instrument available for loan. We would love you to try these hearing aids for yourself, and are offering you the opportunity of a two week trial. As you’ll know, we don’t charge for this service, so if you are thinking this product might be for you, what do you have to lose?
Please call Helen on 09 309 1018 to make an appointment. Alternatively, book online here and choose “Trial of Lumity Hearing Aids”. Please note that, if you book online, we may need to reschedule you if we don’t have trial stock available for your appointment.