The Oticon More hearing aid uses a deep neural network to pick up more sounds.

CES 2021 Sounds Exciting with Hearing Aid Tech among New AI Winners

Yet another important tech event that went virtual because of Covid-19 is the CES 2021 gathering in Las Vegas. 

It still was held between Jan.11-14 2021, however, it was people-free and online only. The products were amazing as always, but the one that stood out in reporting by cnet.com was a new hearing product using AI to help round out the hearing experience of users.

At CES 2021 on Tuesday, hearing aid manufacturer Oticon, Inc. launched its Oticon More hearing aid—the first built with an onboard deep neural network that gives people with hearing loss a better experience, the company claims. It joins a growing number of other hearing assistance devices that use technology to augment hearing.

The deep neural network inside the hearing aid is trained on 12 million real-life sounds, meaning it can process speech in noise more like the human brain does, and gives the brain more information needed to hear sonic details. It’s built for people with mild to severe hearing loss. Oticon says the new hearing aid improves wearers’ speech understanding, reduces the effort needed to listen, and helps them remember more of what is being said, even when there’s a lot of background noise.

Oticon More scans and analyzes the sound scene 500 times per second, and captures and processes all of the details of sound with more clarity and balance than others on the market, according to a release.

The hearing aid has a rechargeable battery. It can connect to an iPhone or Android device for streaming or making phone calls. And the Oticon ON app lets users control the device from their smartphones, adjusting the volume, checking the battery level, and tracking the aid if it’s lost.

Oticon More was named a CES 2021 Innovation Awards Honoree in the Health & Wellness and Wearable Technologies categories. It’s available with a price determined by individual hearing care professionals.

For more, check out CES 2021’s coolest new gadgets: Rollable phones, giant TVs and coronavirus killers.

read more at cnet.com