When you think about hearing loss, you might typically envision your grandparents blaring the television or having to semi-shout when talking to them. But the reality is more than 1.57 billion people of all ages worldwide experience hearing loss, which is the third-most common chronic physical condition in the U.S. alone, twice as prevalent as diabetes and cancer.
And it’s only expected to get worse: The Hearing Loss Association of America predicts in the next 25 years, more than 2.5 billion people worldwide will experience hearing loss. That’s nearly one-third of the world’s entire population.
Starkey, a billion-dollar hearing tech company, is one company addressing not only hearing loss today, but preparing for what is becoming only a more prominent health concern. On Thursday, the company announced its latest hearing aid model: Omega AI.
Omega AI is the first hearing aid in the world to use deep neural network-powered directionality and spatial awareness features. Deep neural networks are a type of machine learning system inspired by how the human brain works, consisting of multiple layers of nodes that process data step-by-step. Each neuron takes in information, processes it, and passes it to the next layer until the network produces a final output. The hearing aids make more than 80 million automatic adjustments per hour to ensure maximum sound quality and speech clarity, Dave Fabry, Starkey’s chief hearing health officer, told Fortune.
In other words, the Omega AI model makes it easier for users to differentiate sounds in their environment, say, if a user was taking a walk on a windy day and wanted to be able to tune into their walking partner’s voice and tune out the background noise.
“We have [many patients] who really just want this to occur at a subconscious level,” Fabry said. “They want to have all of the power of AI and computational power, the ability to improve speech understanding, in quiet and noise and all of those situations. But they don’t have to engage with the devices any more than necessary in order to get the benefit.” That makes it much easier for older-generation patients who may be apprehensive to use AI out of the fear of the unknown or not understanding the technology.
But more than that, the Omega AI model builds on Starkey’s mission to make their hearing aids more of a lifestyle device. The new model includes health-focused tools accessible through the My Starkey app that offer users at-home exercises to improve stability and coordination, as well as an industry-first automatic respiratory rate monitor.
“Our engineers and scientists and audiologists are looking at what we can do for sound quality, improve patients’ lives,” Brandon Sawalich, president and CEO of Starkey, told Fortune. “We’ve ushered in a new era of intelligent hearing. We keep pushing the boundaries of what hearing aids can be.”
How Starkey fits in the wearable health tech industry
If you’re an Apple fanatic, you likely were intrigued by the company’s latest AirPods launch. The AirPods Pro 3 offer active noise cancellation, heart-rate sensing, fitness tracking, and even live translation. Apple has also claimed in the past AirPods can act as a clinical-grade hearing aid for mild-to-moderate hearing loss.
And while at face-value that might feel like competition for a company like Starkey, Sawalich explained it’s a step in the right direction that large tech companies are recognizing and embracing the trend of increased hearing loss.
“I love that Apple is bringing attention to hearing loss and what they’re doing with AirPods,” Sawalich said. “People need to understand that there is no more stigma around hearing aids and hearing technology.”
But what sets Starkey apart is developing a product that can be worn for more hours of the day and something that’s more discreet.
“The most effective technologies are those that just seamlessly integrate into a person’s life, that become a part of their day-to-day existence,” Fabry said.
While AirPods, of course, don’t include dangling cords, they’re still more cumbersome than Starkey hearing aids. Plus, the battery life isn’t as long, which makes it difficult for people with more significant hearing loss to wear them throughout the day.
“We have to design, engineer, manufacture, and provide a product that is nearly invisible and is also designed for 14 hours a day,” Sawalich said. “We have to design a product that people are comfortable wearing. It’s a lifestyle product, it’s a productivity product, it’s a connectivity product.” The new product also includes a telehealth feature in which professionals can remotely make adjustments to the hearing-aid settings. The hearing aids will also indicate battery life (an industry-leading 51 hours) through LED lights, signal if there’s wax buildup, alert loved ones if it detects a fall, and is waterproof.
Sawalich also shared that Shark Tank star Daymond John, 56, wears the product, and his co-star Kevin O’Leary, 71, tried the Starkey products because “they live in the future” and understand what differentiates their products from others.
“We saw his eyes light up,” Sawalich said of O’Leary. “He was talking about how he uses Starkey products for his productivity during the day. If he’s sitting on a set or waiting for filming, he’s here listening to his text messages through the Starkey devices.”
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