Phonak applies formal clinical procedures to safeguard the quality of new products. The Field Study News provide summarized information on recent field study results:

Audéo Field Study News: Breaking the rules of Amplification (September 2007, PDF, 248 kB)
The present Field Study News focuses on the userbenefits provided by Audéo, the new Personal Communication Assistant by Phonak. Audéo includes the new feature CrystalSound, especially designed to improve speech intelligibility and sound quality for users with mild-to-moderate hearing loss. 27 volunteers took part in a field trial and were fitted with Audéo for several lab tests as well as a real-life testing period. Results indicate that participants could communicate easier and more efficiently in noisy environments. Apart from communication in noisy environments, Audéo also helped in other listening situations, in particular when listening to music.

MyLink: Outstanding FM benefits now for ITE users too (February 2007, PDF, 443 kB)
The new Phonak MyLink FM receiver brings, for the very first time, all FM advantages to the ears of BTE (behind-the-ear) and ITE (in-the-ear i.e. custom products) hearing instrument users; provided it incorporates an activated T-coil. This field study was performed in order to evaluate customer satisfaction and benefit with this new Phonak ‘world’s first FM receiver with neck loop and MicroLink technology inside’. The tests were conducted on 14 ITE users, mainly first time users of FM systems. Results show outstanding efficacy of the induction loop strategy to provide high quality FM support to custom products users.

BassBoost: benefits for speech-in-noise comprehension. Providing low-frequency amplification to patients with severe-to-profound hearing loss. (January 2007, PDF, 572 kB)
Additional low frequency amplification provided by the Phonak BassBoost feature was surveyed in Savia Art devices regarding effects on speech intelligibility in noise. The Oldenburger Satztest (OLSA), an adaptive speech in noise test, was used to detect changes in speech reception thresholds (SRT) when BassBoost was activated. Results were benchmarked to competitive product selected for its overall technical similarity to Savia Art. The results show that when provided with additional low frequency gain and output, there was a significant improvement in speech reception in noisy environments.

microPower: The new heights of Power instrumentation (June 2006, PDF, 200kB)
First results from microPower Field Tests.
Speech intelligibility in noise performances and directional power of the digital AudioZoom of microPower were assessed and compared to results obtained on the same tests by a benchmark external receiver device as well as a highly performing 311 BTE hearing instrument in a series of field trials. Results showed that microPower produced as good outcomes as a standard 311 BTE device but did better than the benchmark external receiver hearing instrument. MicroPower thus successfully broke the size barrier while keeping outstanding gain and sound quality characteristics

Supero: Pointing in the right direction. Directional benefits for severe-to-profound hearing loss demonstrated. (May 2006, PDF, 197 kB)
A recently published Phonak field study demonstrates the benefits of Supero’s unique directional microphone technology, the Power AudioZoom, for subjects with severe-to-profound hearing loss. Improvements in speech-in-noise intelligibility were found at several Signal-to-Noise Ratios (SNRs), both in auditory only and in audiovisual test conditions.

Field study trial demonstrate Eleva's taking off to new heights. (April 2006, PDF, 183 kB)
Eleva’s functional gain, spontaneous acceptance, speech intelligibility benefits and automatic program selection were assessed in a series of field trials. Performance of Eleva in different situations was measured and compared to those of a competitive product selected for its overall technical and market positioning, comparable to Eleva. Results showed clear benefits from Eleva‘s outstanding features, resulting in high spontaneous acceptance and overall satisfaction.

Ear-level FM receiver stimulates auditory neural plasticity in children with APD (March 2006, PDF, 97 kB)
Studies have demonstrated the benefits of ear-level FM receiver use for children with Auditory Processing Disorders (APD). Evidence from a recent experiment¹ now shows long term benefits to central auditory processing and neural plasticity after one year of use of a special ear-level FM receiver. This highlights the role of improving the Signal-to-Noise Ratio for children with APD in possibly accelerating the neural maturation process and increasing speech recognition in noisy environments.

Digital SurroundZoom - Significantly improves discrimination in noise with open fittings (Decemer 2005, pdf, 77 kB)
The use of directional microphones for open fittings is sometimes disputed because of insufficient evidence of benefit. In our study, 17 of 20 subjects fit with microSavia digital SurroundZoom, demonstrated a significant improvement in Signal to Noise Ratio threshold (SNR improvement of -1.5dB) as compared to the unaided condition. There was no improvement in cases where an omnidirectional system was used.

Real Ear Sound - A simulation of the pinna effect optimizes sound localization also with open fittings (November 2005, pdf, 81 kB)
Behind-The-Ear hearing instrument wearers find it very difficult to localize sounds. The reason for this problem is the fact that the microphones are located outside of the pinna. This is the case with open fittings, too. Therefore, BTE wearers inevitably suffer from a loss of orientation as far as the front/back discrimination is concerned. In Savia, the unique functionality Real Ear Sound solves this problem. Real Ear Sound significantly improves the sound localization ability in comparison with omnidirectional microphones even with open hearing systems. This has been proven with clinical tests.

SoundNavigation – Accurate program selection for ultimate convenience (May 2005, pdf, 160 kB)
Savia with SoundNavigation offers four base programs to cover individual listening needs in the most significant listening situations. Study results confirm that the speed and frequency of the automatic program selection are appropriate. Thus, SoundNavigation reacts correctly to various situations. It chooses the suitable base program just as wanted by the user and contributes to a high level of user convenience.

EchoBlock: Proven to be highly effective in reverberant situations (March 2005, pdf, 91 kB)
Reverberation is present in many real-life situations. It reduces speech intelligibility and listening comfort. The EchoBlock feature in Savia effectively detects and suppresses reverberation. This has been evaluated in a clinical trial. The results show that EchoBlock significantly improves the perceived hearing comfort, and is clearly preferred when there is reverberation. At the same time, the subjects report that speech understanding is improved.

The Savia multi-national field trial (February 2005, pdf, 115 kB)
Beginning in early December 2004, extensive Savia fittings have been conducted to evaluate the performance of iPFG and Savia under real-life conditions. Questionnaires were used to collect systematic feedback on sound quality, speech intelligibility, feedback, handling and other topics. All available Savia models were used in the trial. Spontaneous acceptance, perceived sound quality and speech understanding were consistently rated positive. The overall impression of the hearing care professionals in terms of initial acceptance and fine tuning effort was also very positive.

FM use by adults: Selection ciriteria and self-reported benefit (February 2005, pdf, 99 kB)
The application of well-defined candidacy criteria and a systematic approach to counseling, coaching and instruction in FM system use are key factors for successful FM fittings in adults and improving the patient’s quality of life.

EduLink and its effect on understanding speech in classroom situations (January 2005, pdf, 170kB)
Children with Auditory Processing Disorders (APD) often have distinct problems in understanding their teacher. This is partly because the classmates are talking simultaneously to the teacher. This so-called informational masking further degrades understanding of the teacher. EduLink allows for substantial improvement of the SNR and thus of speech understanding even in such difficult environments.

SmartLink: better access to mobile phones for the hearing impaired (October 2004, PDF 70 kB)

Severe losses: Free signal processing choice is essential (June 2004, PDF 72 kB)

EduLink provides outstanding benefit in noisy classroom situations (May 2004, PDF 86 kB)

MicroLink: Maximum support in demanding environments. (April 2004, PDF 150 kB)

Supero 413 AZ: outstanding directional benefit to those who need it most (March 2004, PDF, 118 kB)

Perseo: 1000+ clients confirm precise first fit (February 2004, PDF, 286 kB)

Perseo: PersonalLogic meets clients' needs (January 2004, PDF, 101 kB)

RECDdirect: easy and accurate (December 2003, PDF, 81 kB)

Aero Study: Precision of Fitting to DSL Target (November 2003, PDF, 60 kB).

Study: Superior Performance of Supero (October 2003, PDF, 86 kB).