Campaign Touts CENTRA's SoundSmoothing Technology, Shown in Laboratory Tests to Reduce Non-Speech Transient Sounds
Piscataway, N.J., February 25, 2008 - Siemens Hearing Instruments, Inc. a leading manufacturer of hearing instruments in the United States, today announced the launch of a new national advertising campaign for its CENTRA™ line. The campaign, which is targeted toward Siemens audiological customers, will focus on both trade and consumer outlets, including Hearing Journal, Hearing Review, Audiology Today, Journal of the American Academy of Audiology, Advance for Audiologists and a special "boomer" edition of Reader's Digest. The campaign will run throughout the spring.
Central to the campaign is the promotion of CENTRA's SoundSmoothing™, the world's first transient noise suppression technology, which is available on every CENTRA instrument. In a recent study conducted at the National Acoustic Laboratories, the noise-reduction algorithm used in SoundSmoothing to reduce non-speech transient sounds was shown to offer benefits to the hearing aid wearer in terms of comfort, with no noticeable effect on localization or intelligibility.
"Siemens CENTRA line with SoundSmoothing is one of the most comprehensive product portfolios on the market - addressing wearers' audiological and lifestyle needs - and this national campaign allows us to show off those attributes," said Dr. Thomas Powers, Vice President of Audiology and Professional Relations at Siemens Hearing Instruments, Inc.. "With nearly 30 million people living with hearing loss - a patient population that is likely to increase due to the aging baby boomer population - we want to hold up CENTRA as the premier solution on the market."
About CENTRA & SoundSmoothing
The CENTRA line includes over 10 different types of hearing instruments, including BTE (Behind the Ear) and ITE (In the Ear). Each instrument includes SoundSmoothing, which responds to unexpected impulsive noises, such as breaking glass and rustling paper, almost 400 times faster than competitive systems. Using envelope slope adjustment to specifically address abrupt noises, SoundSmoothing is able to isolate and soften these sounds without interfering with the quality of speech, providing users with a more comfortable hearing environment.
"Wearers of hearing instruments find transient sounds, like rustling paper and clanging utensils, extremely annoying, and noise reduction systems typically do not classify these sounds," explained Dr. Powers. "Siemens CENTRA with SoundSmoothing technology combats this issue, specifically reducing annoying transient noise signals enabling patients to enjoy a natural sound quality."
In addition to SoundSmoothing, every CENTRA instrument includes Siemens DataLearning™ technology, which learns the wearer's loudness preferences and adjusts automatically in real-world listening situations. Additionally, the e2e wireless™ (ear-to-ear) feature synchronizes the signal processing of both hearing instruments in binaural fittings so that they function as one holistic system and Advanced Feedback Cancellation searches for feedback patterns and quickly identifies and reduces or eliminates them.
CENTRA is offered in a variety of models from the waterproof and rechargeable CENTRA Active to the high power CENTRA HP, to the full line of custom models.
About Siemens Hearing Instruments
Siemens Hearing Instruments, part of Siemens Medical Solutions, is one of the leading manufacturers of hearing instruments in the United States. Headquartered in Piscataway, New Jersey, the Company offers a range of innovative products, solutions and services to Hearing Care Professionals across the United States. Among its innovative products, the Company designs and manufactures a variety of digital hearing aids in all styles to improve the quality of life for individuals with hearing loss.
Visit www.usa.siemens.com/hearing for more information or the Siemens Web Channel on Audiology Online at www.audiologyonline.com/channels/siemens.asp
