228 - Exploring Phonak’s Revolutionary Infinio Hearing Aids with Those Who Made It Happen

Host Andrew Bellavia takes us on an in-depth exploration of Phonak's latest hearing aid platform, Infinio, which features a number of benefits both for the HCP at fitting and for the end-user in daily life. The most exciting innovation is in the model named Sphere which incorporates a powerful deep neural network chip to perform speech and noise separation in an ear-worn device for the very first time. Andrew speaks with three key Phonak team members to go beyond the headlines while providing a basic overview of AI in hearing devices, and why Sphere is a seminal moment in hearing device innovation. Christine Jones, currently Senior Director of Marketing and VP Audiology at the time Infinio was kicked off, takes us through everything new across the range of products. Henning Hasemann, Director of Deep Learning Engineering and the person who led the team that developed the AI model in Sphere, describes how they remove noise in real time while maintaining natural sound across different languages, speaking styles, and environments, naming the specific benefit to hearing impaired people v. classical acoustic methods employed in hearing devices today. Then Stefan Launer, VP of Audiology and Health Innovation, provides additional context on the broader implications of this innovation for the future of hearing care, offering a glimpse into how AI and sophisticated engineering are set to redefine the possibilities in hearing technology across a continuum of needs. Interested listeners can also check out the launch announcement for the Infinio hearing aid line up here Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest episodes each week, and follow This Week in Hearing on LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter): https://www.linkedin.com/company/this-week-in-hearing/ https://twitter.com/WeekinHearing