1/29/2016
Agenda
FM: It’s Not Just For Kids
Dan Stover, Au.D., F-AAA
Territory Manager – Government Services and National Accounts
• Introduction
• Why FM and What Is It?
• Solution Approach
• Research
• Current Products
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Hearing Aids Aren’t the Only Devices Able to Help the Hearing
Impaired…
Where Do Hearing Instruments Work Best?
• Directional microphones work best in the near field, like face to face
discussions, up to a distance of 1.5 meters (~5 feet).
1.5 m
1.5 m
1.5 m
1.5 m
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How Do We Overcome Noise and Distance Limitations?
1. Bring the microphone to the source, cutting the distance
2. Optimize signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at the source with beam former
3. Adaptively adjust wireless transmitter signal and/or increase the gain of the
receiver when the ambient noise level becomes higher
Noisy environment
Quiet environment
Noise Noise Noise
Noise
4. Reduce the receiver gain if no voice is present
?

Distance
What technology can deliver all of this?
Distance
Face to face discussions
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FM Basics
• Frequency Modulation
• Transmits on various frequencies, depending on company and technology
• Improves SNR by bringing voice from transmitter to receiver
Noisy environment
Quiet environment
Noise Noise Noise
Noise
»FM
Distance
Face to face discussions
Distance
Hearing in noise and over distance
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FM Components
Bluetooth vs. FM
• Transmitter
• Bluetooth can only connect to one receiver at once
–
Directional vs. omni
• Usually omnidirectional
–
One speaker vs. many
• Doesn’t have noise reduction to improve SNR
–
Various levels of control
• More inexpensive*
• Receiver
–
T-Coil
–
Integrated into hearing aid
–
Bluetooth
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Solution Approach
Hearing Aids Aren’t Always Enough
• The solution approach in hearing health care is a holistic approach.
• The solution will often include more than just hearing aids, as there are
limitations based on physics in the capabilities of hearing aids to address all
the needs.
• It is the practice that based on a hearing and listening needs assessment, which
includes
–
the assessment of the hearing and listening situations, and
–
a full audiological assessment
• A single product approach will in most cases not meet all listening and
• It is important to look at how hearing loss impacts the individual’s whole life
and that of his or her significant others, as the partner or friends.
• Customers need support which encompasses more than just hearing aids
and involves more than just the person with hearing loss.
communication needs
• A complete solution is more likely to address all needs and leads to happier
patients
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Benefits Of the Solution Approach
Timing Is Everything
For your client:
• Though many fitters like to wait to introduce accessories, the complete solution
works best when recommended at the first visit
• Achievement of higher satisfaction by covering effectively more hearing situations.
This will lead to:
–
improved quality of life of the client
–
improved quality of life of the partner
–
better performance on the job
• Fitting of the different components can be spread out over time, starting with the
hearing aids
• This early introduction of the complete solution will automatically adjust the
expectation level of the hearing aids only, as these are no longer the full solution
For you, the hearing care professional:
• Improve your business by offering more customer satisfaction
• Do not wait until hearing aids don’t meet expectations before introducing full
• Increased referrals
solution, because it is less likely to be successful.
• Position your clinic as a provider of overall solutions
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Sergei Kochkin – Multiple Environmental Listening Utility
From This Research:
• Research has effectively shown that customer satisfaction increases if more
Customer satisfaction with hearing aids is strongly associated with what we call
“multiple environmental listening utility” or MELU.
listening situations are addressed by the hearing solution(s)
• Sergei Kochkin: Increasing hearing aid adoption through multiple environmental
listening utility. The Hearing Journal 2007; 60(11): 28-31.
When consumers are satisfied with their ability to function in many listening
situations, their overall satisfaction is very high.
When they are satisfied in few situations, their overall satisfaction is very low.
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Situational Satisfaction = Overall Satisfaction
More From This Research
A wireless approach to increasing MELU
100
% Recommended hearing aids
90
Clearly, hearing aid performance must be improved if we are to achieve wider-scale
acceptance of hearing aids as a solution to hearing loss.
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70
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In an earlier paper,* a wireless solution was proposed for hearing aid wearers.
50
40
30
This paper recommended:
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• Miniaturized internal wireless receivers in every hearing aid
10
• Simplicity of operation for end-user
0
Listening Situations Satisfied
* Boothroyd A, Fitz K, Kindred J, et al: Hearing aids and wireless technology. Hear Rev 2007;14(6):44-47.
Probability of recommending hearing aids as a function of multiple environmental listening utility (MELU) (n=2066)
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Current FM Products
Comfort Audio
• Widest range of options
• Options for near and far field
• Transmitter and receiver adjustment, in some cases
• Digital signal
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Close Range, Low Noise (omni)
Close Range
Microphone DM10
Microphone DM10
Receiver DH10
Micro Receiver DT20
Microphone DM10
Microphone DM30
Micro Receiver DT20
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Reduce Background Noise (directional)
Avoid Distance AND Background Noise
Conference Microphone DC10 Micro Receiver DT20
• PSE – Perceptual Speech enhancement:
Emphasises speech, removes noise
• 4 different microphone modes:
music, omni-wide, omni-narrow, zoom
• FFC – Free Frequency Check:
Indicates suitable frequencies
• External microphone/Line-in
• Connection to mobile via Bluetooth
• Operating time: up to 8 hours
• SST receiver
• Mini receiver with digital sound processing
and digital sound transfer
• Weighs approx. 1.5 g
• Connected to the hearing instrument’s audio
boot (Europlug)
• Powered by the hearing instrument’s battery
• Programmed wirelessly with Programmer
DT20
• Charging time: approx. 5 hours
Main Differences
• 5->10
–
Line in
–
Volume control
–
Searches for clean channel
• 10->20
–
Integrated receiver
• 20->30
–
Headphone socket
–
Induction loop
• 30->90
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–
Zoom mic
–
Bluetooth
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Comfort Duett
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Comfort Duett
Comfort Duett user situations
• Easy to use
•
“Self clarifying” design
•
Simple and intuitive
•
Large sized buttons with contrast colored symbols
Flexible
•
TV & Telephone-accessory
•
Rechargeable batteries
Small and discreet
Comfort Contego
Easy to use
•
Clear display
• Long operating time (up to 20 hours)
Flexibel
•
Directional mode– for conversations
•
Omnidirectional mode – for large meetings
•
TV-kit
•
In the car, guided tours etc.
Excellent sound quality
•
Comfort Contego – at home
without time lag
Comfort Contego – in everyday situations
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FM Compromise
Why Dynamic?
• 10 dB Advantage is a compromise between different listening objectives
• Provides best possible SNR by adjusting based on input and environment
• More appropriate for a wider range of SNRs
–
remote talker
– own voice
–
nearby environment
• For remote talker, a higher advantage is desirable, especially in higher
ambient noise levels
• For own voice and nearby signals, no advantage is required
• For speech in quiet conditions, 10 dB advantage is still a good starting
position
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SNR At Ear Level
HINT Results
No FM
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(HINT) Words % correct (10 subjects)
Traditional FM
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100
Dynamic FM
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80
25
60
%
SNR (dB)
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15
40
10
5
20
0
0
-5
54
-10
63
68
73
80
dB (A)
-15
-20
Dynamic FM
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60
65
70
75
80
85
Traditional FM
Surrounding Noise (dB SPL)
Thibodeau, 2007
The Evidence: Speech Understanding In Noise and Over
Distance
What Is Roger?
Dr. Linda Thibodeau
Operates on
2.4 GHz band
(ISM), with
intelligent adaptive
protocols
Allows for
ultralow acoustic
delay and
reliable longrange broadcast
Designintegrated
receivers for
Phonak
hearing aids
• University of Texas, Dallas
• Speech-in-noise testing
11 listeners using their own BTE hearing instruments
• Ages 16 to 78
• Randomized, blinded
• Different noise levels
15 normal hearing listeners (no hearing aids, no Roger)
Comparison of speech recognition scores between HI users with
a Roger system and normal hearing listeners
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The Test Set-Up
Speech Understanding In Noise - Roger vs. Normal Hearing
With Roger,
62%
better
1
0.9
0.8
0.7
Normal hearing listeners
(N=15)
Percent correct
0.6
0.5
Hearing aid users with
Roger (N=10)
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Quiet
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55
60
65
70
75
80
Noise level (dB (A))
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Subjective Evidence
Roger vs. Companion Microphones
What the study participants actually said about Roger:
• While both Roger and companion mics can overcome the negative effects of
distance on speech understanding, Roger provides some additional benefits:
Clear,
I understood
really good
Very clear and
crisp,
comfortable
noise
Even with background
noise I could
understand the
speaker easily
–
Optimizes SNR at the source with beamforming directional microphones
–
Adaptively mixes the wireless microphone signal with the microphone of the
hearing instrument by increasing the gain of the Roger receiver in noisy
environments
–
Reduces the gain when no speech is present
Loved this! Easy to
understand
and background noise
was significantly reduced
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Difference In Speech Understanding
Roger Clip-On Mic vs. Phonak RemoteMic
Create a Dynamic SoundField With Existing Speakers
• Digimaster X
Speech recognition
score (in %)
Roger Clip-On Mic
100
Phonak
RemoteMic
90
–
Connect to receiver
–
Reduce equipment needed
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
Noise level
in dB(A)
0
Quiet
55
65
75
80
Jace Wolfe, 2014, Wireless Microphone Comparison
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Soundfield Amplification With Intelligence
SNR Without a Wireless Microphone
• Simplicity of use
Talker
Listener
• Dynamic adjustment for a comfortable listening experience
• No feedback or echo
• Reduced speaker vocal strain
• Additional microphones through the MultiTalker Network
• Compatible with personal FM
S
DigiMaster
DynaMic
inspiro
N
N
S
• Noise is often equally distributed throughout a room
• Speech level drops over distance
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SNR With Traditional FM
Directional Microphones
• The closer to the source, the more effective a
directional microphone
• Wireless microphones, especially lapel style,
S
S
N
= ?S
+
Compression
N
FM signal
S
N
N
N
which are not directional, miss out on an
opportunity for increased performance,
especially in noisy conditions
• When in doubt: listen to such systems in noisy
conditions and compare with an
omnidirectional wireless microphone system
S
HI mic
signal
FM + M
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Roger Pen and Roger EasyPen
Automatic Microphone Modes For Roger Pen and Roger
EasyPen
Conference
Interview
Lanyard
Orientation
Horizontal
In-between
Vertical
Noise level
Quiet
(<70 dB(A))
Noise
(>70 dB(A))
All levels
Quiet
Noisy
Pickup
distance
Up to 3 m
all around
Up to 1 m
frontal
20 cm
4m
m
Signal
Omni
processing
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Fixed
Beamformer
1
NEW adaptive Beamformer
Adaptive
Beamformer
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Roger Clip-On Mic
Feature Overview
Roger Pen
Roger EasyPen
Roger Clip-On Mic
Microphone modes
Conference mode
Interview mode
Lanyard mode
Conference mode
Interview mode
Lanyard mode
Lapel mode
Switching between
microphone modes
Automatic or Manual
Automatic
N.A.
(02) unlimited
(03) unlimited
(02) unlimited
(03) unlimited
(02) unlimited
Two ear level (03) or
one Roger MyLink (03)
Adaptive behavior
Noise cancellation
Mute
Audio input
Bluetooth to cell
phones
MultiTalker
Network
Receiver
compatibility
Docking station
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Design-integrated Roger Receivers
Why Roger?
• Roger offers all the following SNR enhancement factors in high noise
conditions:
1.
Bringing the microphone to the source, cutting out the distance
2.
Optimizing SNR at the source with beam former
Adaptively mixing transmitter signal gain and receiver gain
Reducing the gain when no voice is present
3.
4.
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Online Resources
Listening Room
• https://www.phonakpro.com/com/b2b/en/support/fm_supportcenter/fm_configurator
.html
• https://www.phonakpro.com/com/b2b/en/support/roger-support-center/roger-
configurator.html
• http://www.oticon.com/products/wireless-accessories/connectline/fm.aspx
• http://www.widex.com/en/hearing-aids/hearing-aid-accessories/dex-hearing-aid-
remote-controls/fm-dex
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Hearing Like Me- Online community
www.bringsoundtolife.com
Use technology to succeed in different situations
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