- In this video, I'm talking
about hearing aid Bluetooth technology
and the computer chips that make it happen.
Coming up.
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Hi guys, Cliff Olson, Doctor of Audiology
and founder of Applied Hearing Solutions in Anthem, Arizona
and on this channel,
I cover a bunch of hearing related information
to help make you a better informed consumer.
So if you're into that,
make sure you hit that subscribe button.
And don't forget to click the bell to receive a notification
every time I post a new video.
In 1996, we saw the first generation
of digital hearing aids hit the market.
And since that time,
hearing aid technology has advanced so rapidly
that we wouldn't even recognize these devices today.
That being said, in 1996, I was still in high school.
And now in 2019,
we have hearing aids that are a fraction of the size
of what they used to be
with computer chips that are more advanced
than computer chips used to send humans to outer space.
Here's a visual comparison of a DSP chip from 1999
compared to a DSP chip from today.
The complexity of these chips from today are mind-boggling.
The total size of the chip from 1999 on the left
is the same size as the one from today
which is on the right.
But you can see how many more components are connections
are made in the newer chip.
It's like comparing the airplane
that the Wright brothers flew for the first time
to a Stealth Fighter jet.
This new chip technology allows us to do some crazy things
with hearing aids
but none of it is quite as cool as the wireless connectivity
Today's technology can wirelessly stream almost
any audio directly into your hearing aids.
This includes music, audiobooks, podcasts,
Netflix movies, YouTube videos,
but there are still limitations on this technology.
While it is amazing that these computer chips
allow us to do these things,
the problem with most hearing aids is that they're limited
on their wireless protocols.
Due to size and technology constraints,
most hearing aid manufacturers only utilize
two wireless protocols if they have any at all.
But this is where Phonak, today's video sponsor, excels.
With their new Sword 3.0 chip
inside of their Marvel Hearing aids,
they were able to incorporate five wireless protocols
inside of a chip that is only 6 square millimeters
which is about half the size of the chip
used inside of an Apple iPhone.
In fact here's a visual comparison of the Sword chip
to an Apple iPhone four.
I often chuckle to myself when I hear someone say
that an iPhone is so much more complex than a hearing hair.
Anyone who understands engineering would be blown away
by what hearing aid technology can do
with the extreme size constraints.
Remember, this chip needs to be small enough
to fit inside of a hearing aid that sits discretely
behind your ear.
Even more shocking is the complexity of this new Sword chip.
In order to fit 42 million transistors on a chip
that's about that big,
they had to make the components extremely tiny.
Here's a visual comparison that blows me away.
This image compares a single connector on a Sword chip
compared to a single strand of hair.
40 nanometers is so small that it's hardly even imagine
how a chip like this could even be developed.
Which brings me to my next point.
It took Phonak over five years to develop this chip.
They had about 50 engineers working on it.
Took em over 200,000 total man hours
and if you took one engineer and made him work on it
for 12 hours a day every single day,
it would have took him over 45 years.
The development of this new Sword chip
allows us to do five different wireless protocols
inside of these hearing aids.
And the first wireless protocol is Bluetooth Low-Energy.
Bluetooth Low-Energy is what we use
to program the hearing aids
and it's also what you use to actually go in
and make adjustments to your devices
from the remote app.
The Phonak remote app allows you to change programs
and it allows you to change volume
so you don't have to do this on the hearing aids themselves.
Second is the Bluetooth Classic protocol.
This is what allows the Marvel hearing aids
to directly connect with an Android phone
as well as an iPhone
and it can be broken down into two sub-protocols.
You have HFP which is Hands-Free Protocol.
This is what allows you to talk on the phone
both so you can hear them and they can hear you
without actually having to talk into your phone.
Then you have A2DP which stands for
Advanced Audio Distribution Profile
which gives you the best stereo-audio connection
for music listening.
Third, you have the Airstream Protocol
which allows you to connect to the TV connector box
so you can attach to your TV set
which will give you Dolby Stereo sound.
This also allows you to stream audio from your TV
at very low latency,
so when you hear the words, they actually match up
with the mouths of the people talking on your TV.
Fourth, you have the BVST Protocol
which stands for Binaural Voice Stream Technology.
This is what allows your hearing aids to communicate
back and forth with each other
and gives rise to features like Stereo Zoom
which helps you hear up to 60% better
in a background noise situation.
And fifth is the Roger 2.4G Wireless Protocol
which will be made available in the Fall of 2019.
The Marvel hearing aids already have this inside of them
but it needs to be activated by a firmware update
later on in the year.
And when this gets made available,
this is going to be unbelievable
because it's gonna allow you to connect directly
with these Roger accessories like my favorite accessories
the Phonak Roger Pen
and the Phonak Roger Select
which both can dramatically improve how well you hear
in a background noise situation
by picking up the voices of whoever you want to hear
and it will allow you to stream that audio directly
into your hearing devices.
You don't need a receiver that you have to wear
around your neck or anything like that.
You all you have to do is turn on those devices
and you're gonna be able to stream that audio
directly into your hearing aids.
I for one am extremely happy that Phonak took the time
to develop a chip this advanced
so their hearing aids can do all of these
different wireless protocols.
Bluetooth isn't just a nice-to-have feature
inside of a hearing aid.
If you have difficulty hearing the TV,
hearing on the telephone,
hearing in a background noise situation,
having these wireless protocols inside of a hearing aid
can dramatically improve your performance.
At the end of the day,
whether you like it or not,
Bluetooth technology is here and it is here to stay
and it is completely taking over the hearing aid industry
and it is improving the way that you can hear
in almost any environment.
That's it for this video.
If you have any questions,
leave them in the comment section below.
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I'll see you next time.
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