Signia Active Pro IX Review: Is this the coolest hearing aid?
Agree or disagree: when you think of a hearing aid, is this what you imagine?
I thought not. Believe it or not, this isn’t an earbud; it is, in fact, the latest hearing aid being released by hearing aid manufacturing giant Signia in Autumn 2024. Today, I’m going to tell you everything there is to know about it.
Overview of Signia’s new hearing aid technology
Introducing you to the new Signia Active Pro IX, which has been a long time in the making. Signia updated the rest of its platform to the IX chip back in September 2023, so this update is long overdue.
This means they’ve now completed the set for their integrated experience hearing aids. So, if you’re looking for an up-to-date Signia hearing aid, you’ll need to choose between the Signia IX IIC, the Signia Silk IX, the Receiver-in-Canal Signia IX, the Styletto IX, and now the Active Pro IX.
Unique physical characteristics
If the black earbud style isn’t for you, Signia has the most diverse colour range for this style of hearing aid. In fact, they’ve pioneered this style, and none of the other “big six” manufacturers have a model like this at all.
Of course, there are similar models, but there are some unique physical and acoustic features built into these that I’ll cover with you now.
Starting off, the most obvious unique physical characteristic of this hearing aid is that it’s a generic in-the-ear style. This means, unlike Signia’s competition, no impression of your ear needs to be taken to make it.
Do I think there’s a need for this unique style of technology? Well, Signia seems to think the Signia Active Pro provides a modern, low-profile solution for people who need a hearing boost but aren’t ready to accept a traditional hearing aid just yet. I would agree with that statement.
If you’re someone who knows or suspects you have hearing loss but aren’t yet comfortable with the thought of wearing a hearing aid, you’ll be delighted to know that you’re not alone. In the U.S. alone, less than 30% of adults over 70 with hearing loss have even considered trying a hearing aid, which is a massive number in my opinion.
Yes, cost is partly to blame, but based on my daily conversations with patients, there’s no question that the stigma associated with wearing hearing aids is still a concern—and it may well be yours too.
Customisation options with silicone tips
Now, while these are not made from an ear impression like other hearing aids, they can still be personalised by choosing from a wide selection of medical-grade silicone tips that sit on the ends.
So, despite being generic, they can still be adapted to suit both your ear canal shape and your hearing loss profile.
Rechargeability features
Building on that, Signia has also been at the forefront of rechargeability for their in-the-ear hearing aids and continues that trend with this new technology.
I have to say, of all the hearing aid manufacturers, Signia’s chargers look the coolest. In my opinion, this is because they’re changing the conversation about what hearing aids should look like; they have more of an Apple AirPods-type look. Plus, they fit neatly in your pocket, without needing to carry a massive 70L backpack just to store your hearing aid charger like we’ve seen with some other hearing aid manufacturers.
In terms of usability, a single charge will give you 24 hours of life, and it’s worth mentioning that the charger itself stores up to three full days of additional charge. So, if you go away for a long weekend where your power supply might be limited, such as camping, you don’t need to worry about taking a power bank.
The downside is that Signia doesn’t have a disposable battery version of these hearing aids, and if history is anything to go by, I don’t think we’ll see one in the future either. Most manufacturers are heading in this direction, as it aligns with the majority of consumer demand.
Interestingly, Signia hasn’t only released the Active Pro in a single model. It’s also available in a budget-friendly Active model, which is the equivalent of Signia’s 1IX entry-level hearing aid. As you can see, there are tons of features, and I’ll cover the most important ones below.
Signia IX chip
So, is this hearing aid all about cosmetics, or is there more to the technology? Signia has made some bold claims, so let’s go through them now. This chip runs all the same features as its predecessor, the AX chip, but with a few key developments.
Realtime conversation enhancement technology
Firstly, these hearing aids will analyse 192,000 data points per second related to your specific environment, deciding on the best way for the hearing aids to react and deliver the most relevant sounds.
By building on directional beamforming technology, your hearing aid microphones work together in noisy environments to focus on what’s in front of you, avoiding sounds outside your focus. If you’re in a restaurant, for example, they aim to focus on the person in front of you.
While this isn’t a new concept, Signia’s development – new real-time conversation enhancement technology – analyses, augments, and adapts to the dynamic flow of conversations. This means the hearing aids not only focus the microphones forward in background noise, but they also pinpoint multiple moving speakers in real-time and adapt the microphones to follow conversations.
So, what does that mean for you if you’re wearing these hearing aids? Signia claims that with this faster processing, the hearing aids are not only detecting who you’re speaking to but also monitoring their movement. In fact, they lock onto them, updating the microphone position 1,000 times per second, tracking each speaker amongst background noise, and adapting to their movement.
In theory, this should allow you to follow conversations more easily with minimal effort.
Signia’s studies showed that 95% of participants showed improved performance with this feature enabled, and it provided a 12 dB improvement in a simulated noisy group conversation scenario. Additionally, 80% of participants preferred real-time conversation enhancement in real-world noisy conversations.
Bluetooth capabilities and streaming
You’ll be pleased to hear that, like the Receiver-in-Canal models, the Signia Active IXs are Bluetooth-enabled. This allows streaming of phone calls, music, radio, podcasts,
and more from your smartphone to both iOS and Android devices.
They’re also Auracast-ready, having included the latest LE Audio technology, which is the biggest advancement in Bluetooth streaming since the first Bluetooth-compatible hearing aid was released in 2014. This means improved Bluetooth capabilities, sound quality, and battery consumption.
Introduction to LE Audio and Auracast
Where this technology will truly take off is in public venues with built-in Auracast transmitters. This new transmitter design works specifically with newer LE Audio technology, sending audio directly to your hearing aids.
This could be for hearing commentary at a sports game, train announcements at a station, or sermons at places of worship. Over the next few years, we’ll likely see public venues installing Auracast transmitters, allowing multiple hearing aid users to connect simultaneously to audio in these spaces with enhanced sound quality and significantly lower battery consumption.
In my opinion, this will be a game-changer not only for those with hearing aids but for regular headphones, too. Now, while Auracast is built into this technology, it hasn’t yet been activated. This will be done in the future with a simple, free firmware update.
Does it matter that it’s not yet activated? In my opinion, no, not really, as, to my knowledge, no public venues have installed these transmitters yet.
Before you rush off to buy these hearing aids, stop immediately. I wouldn’t recommend purchasing any hearing aids until you’ve compared them with every other manufacturer’s models currently available. To do so, you must watch this video covering the best hearing aids available today.
Signia Active Pro IX Feature Review: Signia’s Coolest Hearing Aid Video
Matthew Allsop is a Partner at Harley Street Hearing and the content creator for Hearing Tracker, where he shares his honest opinions on all things to do with hearing health and hearing aid technology. Hearing Tracker is the world’s first truly independent resource for hearing aid customers. You can watch his video on the MyPhonak App update below.
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