ReSound Sensia

Some AI hearing aids can lock onto the loudest voice in the room instead of the one you want, and ReSound Sensia was designed to solve that problem for patients at Hearing + Balance Clinics in Watkinsville, Loganville, and Lavonia.

Intelligent All-Around Processing

Many AI hearing aids focus on the loudest or most prominent voice in a room, even when that is not the person you are trying to hear. Sensia addresses this with a new automatic sound-processing system called Intelligent All-Around, which combines three technologies into one coordinated approach. ReSound's goal is to lift the conversation you are following rather than amplifying whatever stands out.

A Deep Neural Network, or DNN, is a form of AI trained on large amounts of real-world sound so it can recognize patterns, much as experience teaches your brain to. In Sensia, the DNN works alongside directional microphones and environmental analysis instead of operating on its own. The three technologies each play a specific role:

• AcoustIQ classifies your sound environment and decides which features to engage
• A binaural four-microphone beamformer uses microphones on both hearing aids to favor speech from the direction you are facing
• DNN denoising reduces competing voices and other distractions around the person you want to hear

Hearing the Person in Front of You

Sensia relies on a natural cue: people generally look toward the person they want to hear. By pairing its DNN with the beamformer, Sensia makes speech in front of you the primary focus, while still preserving lower-frequency sound from other directions so you keep a sense of what is happening around you. This matters most in restaurants, family gatherings, and social events where several people talk at once.

In an internal ReSound study of 20 hearing aid users, Sensia made the talker in front most audible for 80% of participants when an equally loud talker spoke from the side, and independent testing at Hörzentrum Oldenburg found a similar pattern. These studies measured which voice was most audible rather than how many additional words were understood, so we view them as encouraging evidence to weigh alongside your own real-world experience.

Choosing the Right Noise Reduction

Sensia uses two different types of noise reduction and switches between them automatically based on your surroundings. When there is speech to preserve, such as in a busy restaurant, it applies DNN denoising, but in places dominated by steady non-speech noise like a fan or vacuum cleaner, it uses ReSound's established Noise Tracker II system instead. This avoids the unwanted sound artifacts a speech-trained DNN can create when there is no speech for it to work with.

Auracast and Connectivity

Sensia supports Bluetooth Low Energy Audio and Auracast broadcast audio, and its Auracast capability works at launch rather than depending on a future firmware update. Through the ReSound Smart 3D app, you can select available broadcasts in venues such as theaters, which may offer features like enhanced dialogue or a separate audio-description channel. At least one receiver-in-ear model also includes a telecoil for use with existing hearing loop systems.

For patients with a Cochlear Nucleus cochlear implant in one ear, ReSound Sensia Bimodal is designed to work with the implant's sound processor. A super-power option, ReSound Enzo IA Bimodal, is also available for those who need more amplification in the non-implanted ear.

Is ReSound Sensia Right for You?

Sensia is worth considering if you struggle to follow the person in front of you in busy places and want a hearing aid that adjusts automatically without constant manual changes. The rechargeable models are rated for at least 24 hours of use, and Sensia is available in both receiver-in-ear and custom styles. Keep in mind that the full Intelligent All-Around system is available in the Sensia 9 microRIE, while lower technology levels and custom styles offer different combinations of these features. Your hearing test results, ear anatomy, and listening goals all play a part in choosing the right style and level.

At our clinic, our audiologists verify hearing aid performance to confirm how much sound is actually reaching your eardrum rather than relying on software estimates alone, and we follow up to make sure your hearing aids are helping where it matters most.

To find out whether ReSound Sensia is right for you, call Watkinsville at 706-549-3111, Loganville at 678-580-3313, or Lavonia at 706-356-0377.