ANNUAL REPORT 2008/09 - Sonova

prehensive portfolio of hearing systems with wireless
technology. A Phonak CORE-based hearing system is available
for any customer, irrespective of their degree of
hearing loss, lifestyle, personal preferences, age or budget.
Unitron also rounded off its product portfolio with the
launch of the Next hearing system series and 360, the new
hearing system catering for people with severe to profound
hearing loss.
SoundRecover
SoundRecover is one of Phonak’s most important and
successful hearing system features and is extremely popular
both with hearing specialists and end users. The
non-linear Phonak proprietary algorithm compresses highfrequency
signals, which were not audible up until now
for people with hearing loss, into a lower frequency range
which is still audible to them. Because these high-frequency
sig nals, e.g. consonants such as “s, f, th” can now
be better heard, recognized and diff erentiated again,
there is a marked improvement in the speech intelligibility.
In the fi nancial year 2008/09, SoundRecover was also
used for the fi rst time in a hearing system designed for
people with mild hearing loss, in the Audéo YES family.
SoundRecover is available in all Naída, Nios micro, Audéo
YES and Exélia Art models.
Wireless connectivity
One of Sonova’s priorities is to provide hearing system
users unlimited access to the ever-expanding world of communication.
All products based on Phonak’s CORE platform
therefore feature an iCom communications interface,
off ering a wireless link to modern communication and
entertainment devices such as mobile phones, televisions,
computers and MP3 players. Phonak is therefore the
only provider on the market off ering wireless connectivity
to all hearing system users, irrespective of their budget.
In-the-ear systems
In the fi nancial year 2008/09 Sonova signifi cantly
improved and expanded its range of in-the-ear (ITE) products.
Products were mainly improved through an optimized
feedback canceller which prevents the unpleasant
high-pitched whistling noise without compromising on
amplifi cation. Other advances include the AOV technology
(Acoustically Optimized Venting) patented by Phonak.
AOV guarantees a precise, customized ventilation hole
based on the client’s hearing loss profi le and size of the
ear canal, combined with natural sound quality free
from occlusion and feedback. In the fi nancial year 2008/09
Phonak’s ITE product range was expanded to include
Power CIC (Completely in the Canal) devices in all three
price performance classes. With the Power CIC, for the
fi rst time people with severe hearing loss can benefi t
from the advantages of a cosmetically attractive, virtually
invisible CIC hearing system.
Innovations in other business areas
FM systems
An FM system is the ideal solution for enhanced speech
intelligibility in noisy environments or over long distances.
Phonak’s Dynamic FM platform is the most technologically
advanced FM solution in the entire hearing industry.
In the fi nancial year 2008/09 the range of transmitters
and receivers based on Dynamic FM technology was further
expanded. Compared with conventional systems,
Dynamic FM provides much better speech intelligibility in
noisy environments. Research has shown that Dynamic
FM improves speech intelligibility for users of hearing systems
or those with cochlear implants by more than 50%.
INNOVATION
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