GN and Cochlear have expanded their 10-year research and development partnership within the Smart Hearing Alliance to enhance bimodal solutions, where people wear a cochlear implant on one ear and a hearing aid on the other.
The Smart Hearing Alliance which formed in 2015 delivers bimodal solutions connecting Cochlear Nucleus cochlear implants, wireless accessories, and GN’s ReSound hearing aids.
GN and Cochlear said the enhanced collaboration aimed to further strengthen research and development across their companies to deliver cutting-edge integrated hearing solutions for users of cochlear implants and hearing aids.
The expanded agreement focuses on joint research and development efforts, technology sharing, and strengthening collaboration to bring products to customers. It will also enhance both companies’ presence in global clinical hearing care markets, they said.
“The strengthened collaboration will improve future bimodal offerings from the two companies directly benefitting users to achieve even better connectivity not only between hearing devices but also to consumer technology, such as hand-held devices, phones, personal computers and more,” a joint statement said.
AI and DNNs
Cochlear and GN said they would work together to create innovative technologies, leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and Deep Neural Networks (DNN) to help support seamless integration between devices.
“This is built on GN’s human approach to AI, which models the brain’s natural sound processing capability to create voice clarity in complex listening environments,” the statement said, “The partnership will also help empower clinicians to deliver an exceptional hearing experience to their patients.”
Mr Christoph Schmid, GN’s chief R&D officer, said: “We have a proven track-record of collaborating successfully with Cochlear.
“Expanding this partnership allows us to innovate more than we otherwise could individually. This will benefit millions with hearing loss globally, making advanced technology more accessible through integrated solutions.”
Mr Jan Janssen, Cochlear chief technology officer, said: “By expanding our collaboration with GN, we can accelerate the delivery of the latest in AI and Deep Neural Networks, as well as connectivity and wireless technology to our implant recipients, providing superior performance for bimodal users.”
The Smart Hearing Alliance collaboration has introduced bimodal control in the Nucleus Smart App to help patients quickly and easily manage their compatible ReSound hearing aid and compatible Cochlear Sound Processor in the same app.
The World Health Organization estimates about 72 million people globally could potentially benefit from the use of a hearing device, such as a cochlear implant, a hearing aid, or a bimodal solution.
In a recent study, 95% of people who were no longer benefitting from hearing aids were ‘significantly more satisfied’ with their hearing performance when they switched to a GN-Cochlear smart bimodal hearing solution.
