Signia’s Augmented Xperience (AX) HandsFree and CallControl for iOS  allow hearing aid wearers to take and end calls hands-free without relying on their phone’s microphone system. A new study shows that the call quality from this feature is not simply good for the hearing aid wearer  – it is also good  for the person they are talking to.

Preferred over other hearing aid brands

In the study, 20 participants with hearing loss were asked about their experience using the hands-free feature of Signia AX. Participants conducted tests in several listening environments simulated in the lab, including a quiet space, a calm restaurant, a loud restaurant, and traffic noise.

Overall, wearers reported that they were highly satisfied with call quality in both quiet settings and where there was background noise. They also found the feature easy to use. 

Similar results were found when 20 participants with normal hearing rated their experience as conversation partner. When the wearer made a call in a noisy environment with Signia AX HandsFree, call partners reported high ratings for speech clarity and ease of listening. Signia AX was even rated significantly higher than three other hearing aid brands that offer hands-free technology. 

Overall, that amounts to a great conversation for both the wearer and call partner alike when Signia AX HandsFree is in use.

What is Augmented XPerience (AX) HandsFree?

Noise reduction, directionality, and two-way audio streaming allow Signia hearing aid wearers to take and enjoy hands-free calls – even in noisy environments. In addition, Signia AX HandsFree gives the wearer more freedom to combine phone calls with other activities while hearing the other caller clearly through their hearing aids. 

With CallControl, most Signia wearers can:

• Accept calls with a short press
• End or reject calls  with a long press 

For Styletto AX hearing aids, calls can be accepted and ended by double-tapping the hearing aids. These motions are familiar for new wearers who are used to taking calls through earbuds.

Overcoming the challenges of hands-free calling  

One major challenge associated with the HandsFree feature is maintaining the sound quality of the wearer’s voice during the call – especially in background noise. 

To optimize the sound of the wearer’s voice, Signia implemented its state-of-the-art directionality and noise reduction technology into the HandsFree feature. That means one of the hearing aids is used to pick up the wearer’s voice. This is optimized by pointing the directional-microphone beam toward the wearer’s mouth and applying noise reduction to the signal before streaming it to the smartphone. 

The result is a clear, high-quality phone call for both parties, even with background noise.