Starkey’s Genesis AI hearing aids have made a big splash on the Australian market. Audiologists have been especially impressed with the device’s Neuro Processor which incorporates the industry’s first on-chip deep neural network (DNN) accelerator.
If there’s one piece of feedback Starkey’s regional director of education and audiology for APAC, Dr Judy Grobstein consistently hears from patients and practitioners about Genesis AI hearing aids, it’s the ‘wow’ effect of its sound quality.
Since its launch in Australia and the Asia Pacific in 2024, the company’s latest hearing aid has been doing “incredibly well”, she adds, helping hearing healthcare providers differentiate through innovations like its deep neural network (DNN) technology.
“We’re hearing a ton of positive feedback from both clinicians and wearers. Patients are giving great testimonials and they’re loving the sound quality,” she says.
“The best description I’ve heard from many people is that Genesis AI sounds and feels kind of transparent, easy on the ears because they feel comfortable, but they also sound very comfortable and natural.”
Dr Grobstein says Starkey’s purpose is to build products that connect people through better hearing. “I’ve listened to many hearing aids over the years and firmly believe that Genesis AI features the best sound quality yet,” she says. With Genesis AI, Starkey reinvented the hearing aid from scratch, she adds.
“The hearing technology has been completely redesigned from the inside out, with Genesis AI featuring an all-new processor, all-new sound, all-new design, all-new fitting software and an all-new patient experience with the My Starkey app,” Dr Grobstein says.
“We really believe Starkey’s new Neuro Processor is by far the industry’s most advanced and strongest as well as being significantly smaller than our previous processor.
“It operates up to four times faster than its predecessors with six times more transistors, all while being more power efficient and delivering significantly higher processing capabilities.”
The processor does this through its incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) via machine learning deep neural network (DNN) technology. DNN is a machine learning (ML) algorithm that uses multiple layers of neural networks to solve complex problems.
Clearer speech by classifying sounds faster
The DNN accelerator is physically located in the chip of the hearing aid and makes speech clearer by classifying sounds faster and more accurately, a strength that is leveraged in an industry exclusive Edge Mode+ feature.
Dr Grobstein explains: “It allows speech and other sounds in the environment to sound incredibly natural, and what takes it to the next level is our core feature, Edge Mode+.
“One of our most popular features, Edge Mode+ uses AI to take a snapshot of the environment the patient is in, then instantly optimises sound quality to that place and time for either clearer speech or improved listening comfort.”
She says innovations like Edge Mode+ are unique to Starkey.
“The great sound quality is what sets us apart. When we do direct comparisons and have people listen, they tell us that the sound quality is absolutely incredible. We are hearing through direct testimonials from both clinicians and patients that the sound quality is significantly better than anything they have worn before,” she adds.
Lowering the noise floor also enhances sound quality, she notes, saying they are among the quietest hearing aids, especially if people have normal hearing in their low frequencies.
Better comfort and clarity on demand
“Wearers can easily engage the Edge Mode+ feature via a button in the My Starkey app, with the remote control or through a double tap of the hearing aids in the premium level,” Dr Grobstein explains.
Once activated, Edge Mode+ instantly conducts an acoustic analysis of the listener’s environment and makes automatic adjustments to enhance speech or reduce noise.
Unlike other hearing aid technology that assumes the wearer’s listening intent, Edge Mode+ places the wearer in control of their listening situation and lets them decide on their listening intent.
Edge Mode+ will then automatically adjust the hearing aid settings in the background to accommodate what the wearer wants to hear.
“In addition, in the Genesis AI premium 24 technology tier Edge Mode+, the hearing aid settings will automatically adapt to the wearer’s environment while maintaining their listening intent,” Dr Grobstein says.
“For instance, imagine a situation where the hearing aid wearer has coffee with a friend on a busy street. They select Edge Mode+ with clearer speech.
“As the environment around the wearer changes (e.g. becomes busier and noisier), Edge Mode+ will continually make adjustments in the background to help prioritise speech clarity for the wearer.”
Dr Grobstein was so impressed she even fitted her mother in America with a pair of Genesis AI devices.
“She was wearing older Starkey technology, and I fitted her with Genesis AI a few months back.
“She loves it and could tell the difference right away and I could tell the difference when I FaceTime with her that she’s hearing me incredibly well,” she says.
“Genesis AI has ticked all the boxes a patient is looking for when it comes to sound quality but also comfort, battery life, durability, connectivity and discrete options.”
Dr Grobstein says Starkey is leading the industry on quality and durability. “We do extensive testing, going beyond what industry standards require when it comes to protecting devices from moisture and debris,” she adds.
“In fact, all of our wireless rechargeable hearing aids are waterproof so if the patient accidentally jumps in the pool or shower, they won’t have any issues.”
Fifty-one hours’ battery life
With new power-saving algorithms that build on the more efficient Starkey Neuro Processor, Genesis AI uses up to 25% less battery power while delivering significantly higher computational processing.
“We have the industry’s longest lasting rechargeable battery in a RIC with our RIC RT which offers up to 51 hours of battery life on a single charge and an impressive 41 hours for our micro RIC,” she says.
“We even have improvements with our custom rechargeables with 42 hours on a single charge.
“Three years down the road when the lithium-ion battery starts to deteriorate, we’re still going to be providing battery life throughout the waking day to far exceed other available technology.”
Apart from the sound quality, Starkey says the hearing aid also leads the way in innovation through connectivity and its patient-friendly mobile app My Starkey.
Starkey was the first manufacturer to use sensors on hearing aids and is still the only one that uses sensors to detect falls and alert patient contacts, she adds.
“Most patients who wear hearing aids are seniors and research show’s there is a direct link between degree of hearing loss and risk of having a fall,” Dr Grobstein explains.
“The My Starkey app allows Genesis AI wearers to enter details for up to three contacts and should the user have an unfortunate fall, it will alert the contacts via a text message.”
Once the contact receives the alert, they click the link and can see the location where the fall happened.
“My mother has this feature activated and it gives her as well as my brother and I peace of mind knowing should she have a fall, we will be alerted,” she adds.
Starkey spent five years developing Genesis AI. That’s not only years of development but putting hundreds of hours of hearing-impaired people through its rigorous clinical trials wearing, evaluating and providing personal input on the devices to help Starkey deliver “the most studied and validated product”, Dr Grobstein says.
“When we brought it to market, we knew it was going to do everything we intended it,” she says.
Dr Grobstein has worked for Starkey for nearly 15 years, half in the US and half in Australia. She started as a regional trainer in the US and before that worked for several ENT surgeons.
From a practitioner fitting Starkey to an educator
“This included being head of audiology for one of Washington DC’s largest ENT offices for about eight years,” she recalls.
“For many of those years we were primarily fitting Starkey hearing aids on our patients, so I’ve had the nice opportunity of experiencing both sides – a practitioner fitting the product then a trainer and educator – during nearly 20 years of working with Starkey products.”
She was also fortunate to have the opportunity to test the products before launch by wearing them, testing programming software and the app, and looking for any issues so they could be fixed before client use.
“I don’t have hearing loss, but I run a lot and travel, so I was testing the streaming and sound quality,” she adds. “I knew right away the sound was incredible.”
The technology evolved for many reasons including patient demand, she explains.
“We also have an incredible research team,” Dr Grobstein says. “Our chief technology officer and executive vice president of engineering Dr Achin Bhowmik came from an AI background and adds a lot of innovation expertise.
“Our chief hearing health officer, Dr Dave Fabry, also brings a wealth of expertise as a PhD audiologist.
“He and Dr Bhowmik work together closely, along with our huge research and development team, not only in the US but satellite offices worldwide, to bring this great technology to wearers.”
First and smallest rechargable custom CIC
Long known as the industry leader in building custom technology, Starkey was excited to launch the Starkey Signature Series in Australia on 15 October 2024. The Signature Series is its smallest line of custom products yet.
Dr Grobstein says: “We are poised to lap the competition again with the new Signature Series that features three new non-wireless custom hearing aids.
“This includes the industry’s first and smallest rechargeable custom CIC (completely in canal), the Starkey Signature CIC R NW as well as a CIC NW and very discrete IIC (invisible in canal) NW.
“When you see a really great small custom product, you know it has Starkey’s signature on it. Nothing is smaller, and with the Neuro Sound technology, nothing sounds better.”