AMADEUS: Best performing RiC hearing aid for music
Hilversum, May 11, 2023
Netherlands based audio software pioneers Absolute Audio Labs (AAL) have demonstrated in a clinical study that its Amadeus Hearing Aids are the best performing hearing aids for music streaming. The study compared 2 top models of
The setup was a double-blinded study to compare RiC hearing aids on music perception for hearing-impaired subjects. Two of the leading RiC Hearing Aids on the market for streaming of music, the Resound One and the Oticon More 1 (with the award-winning MyMusic feature), were compared to the
Amadeus, running PYOUR Audio Hearing 2.0. Twelve subjects with binaural sensorineural hearing loss were included in this study. As many as 120 fragments of various genres of music were played to each subject while switching between devices. The subjects were blind to which device they were listening to and had to indicate their preferred device after each fragment. Results showed that the hearing aid prototype of AAL performed significantly better than the other two hearing aids. The biggest differences were observed in the genres jazz and popular music. A key difference between
the AAL hearing aid and the competitor devices is that AAL includes music quality as key feature in its total design. In addition to focussing on delivering high definition and full spectrum audio, AAL uses its revolutionary and patented compression technology: instantaneous wideband compression that keeps the dynamic range of the patient intact without distorting the audio as typically happens with conventional WDRC type compression.
The principal author of the study is Kars Tjepkema, BSc as part of completing his Master Technical Medicine at the Technical University of Delft. The study was supervised by Jan de Laat PhD on behalf TU Delft/Technical Medicine and Kauê Werner M.Eng and Johannes Lyzenga PhD, both part of the AAL R&D team.
receiver-in-canal (RiC) hearing aids on preference for music streaming against the AAL Amadeus.
The Amadeus is the successor to the CES Innovation Award winning PYOUR™ Eccellenza AI premium+ and is also built on the powerful PYOUR Audio Hearing 2.0 platform of AAL.
Music enjoyment is in the DNA of Absolute Audio Labs. Since its start in 2016, AAL have released a series of products and innovations based on the PYOUR Audio platform. All of them support the important topic of restoring the music enjoyment for hearing impaired, such as the Award-winning and dedicated Parrot Zik Headphones adaptation
AAL intends to conduct more clinical studies on music and speech related comparisons as part of the development of the third generation of the PYOUR Audio Hearing platform in close collaboration with leading institutions and innovation partners and as part of an R&D project co-funded by the European Union and the “Kansen voor West” regional program.
A full copy of the study and further information can be obtained by sending a message to info@absoluteaudiolabs.com.
“Music enjoyment has always been considered of minor importance by many large hearing industry players, but we believe that the introduction of the OTC hearing aid category and product launches by major audio brands like Sony and Jabra will trigger further awareness to the problem of the underwhelming performance of hearing aids for music in general” according to Aernout Arends, CEO and Founder of Absolute Audio Labs.
