Lithium-ion rechargeable hearing aid, first titanium-made custom device

Staefa, Switzerland – Phonak is extending its Belong platform to the Bolero family of behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids, including the highly-anticipated lithium-ion rechargeable Bolero B-PR and the new Virto B –Titanium, a discreet custom aid whose construction from titanium makes it the tiniest and most discreet custom instrument the company has ever produced. This announcement comes only six months after the global launch of the rechargeable Audéo B-R, broadening the Phonak industry-leading portfolio of rechargeable and super-discreet hearing solutions.

• With Bolero B-PR, Phonak extends its groundbreaking built-in lithium-ion rechargeable technology to a BTE, delivering 24 hours* of hearing with one simple charge
• Virto B-Titanium is the smallest custom instrument Phonak has ever produced
• Innovative Virto B-Titanium is super-discreet when worn, perfect for first-time hearing aid wearers
• A titanium shell is half as thin as traditional acrylic shells, reducing size significantly

“The release of our lithium-ion rechargeable Audéo B-R was one of the most successful product launches in Phonak history,” says Thomas Lang, senior vice president of Phonak Marketing. “That’s why we are so excited to announce the extension of this pioneering rechargeable technology to the Bolero B-PR only six months later while simultaneously introducing Virto B-Titanium – the tiniest custom instrument Phonak has ever produced. More than ever, these new products reinforce Phonak’s commitment to fast-paced innovation, ease of use, and improved quality of life.”

Bolero B-PR: Rechargeable solutions, now in a BTE
Phonak Bolero B-PR continues to build upon the proven benefits of the Audéo B-R rechargeable solution. A recent study¹ investigated both hearing aid wearer and hearing care professional satisfaction with Phonak rechargeable technology.

Results show that more than 9 out of 10 hearing aid wearers were “very satisfied” with battery life of their Phonak rechargeable hearing aids, with ease of use being identified as the number one advantage across both hearing care professionals (HCPs) and hearing aid wearers. Furthermore, the study found that 88% of hearing care professionals would recommend Phonak rechargeable technology to their fellow colleagues.

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Virto B-Titanium: Super-discreet hearing aid is titanium strong
Titanium is super strong, durable, highly-versatile and light-weight. It is used in everything from premium medical products and high-performance vehicles to the finest quality sporting goods products. With Virto B-Titanium, Phonak combines the benefits of titanium with the latest 3D printing technology. This results in the smallest custom device it has ever produced.

The custom-made Virto B-Titanium is super-discreet when worn, making it the perfect solution for first-time hearing aid wearers. Because the titanium shell is half as thin as traditional shells, the overall size is reduced significantly, thus increasing invisible-in-the-canal (IIC) fit rate by 64%. This enables the tiny device to potentially fit patients with smaller ear canals who were not good candidates for IIC devices in the past. Virto B-Titanium is also very robust, having achieved an IP68 rating for resistance to both water and dust.

Bolero B-PR and Virto B-Titanium run on new AutoSense OS
Virto B-Titanium and all Bolero B models including B-M, B-P, B-SP, and the rechargeable B-PR run on AutoSense OS, the operating system from Phonak. The updated version of the AutoSense OS analyzes sounds every 0.4 seconds and draws upon multiple features, blending them to create over 200 distinct settings to precisely match sound environments. All this is done automatically, without any manual adjustments being made to the hearing aids. Recent studies^{2, 3} at the Phonak Audiology Research Center confirmed that AutoSense OS delivered better speech understanding over patients’ manual selection and unmatched hearing performance in everyday listening situations over two leading competitors.

Source: Phonak

^{* Expected results when fully charged, and up to 80 minutes wireless streaming time.}

^{1 Nilsson M, Omisore D (2017). The Phonak rechargeable hearing solution: Part 2. Phonak Field Study News. http://bit.ly/fsn_rechargeable_hearingsolution}

^{2 Rakita L, Jones C (2015). Performance and Preference of an Automatic Hearing Aid System in Real-World Listening Environments. Hearing Review. 22(12):28.}

^{3 Rakita L, Jones C. Comparing objective and subjective outcomes of automatic classification systems across manufacturers. Field Study News. July, 2016.}