Why hearing aids are so much better than the new iPhone X

The release of the iPhone X has caused much of a stir in the technology world and we don't just mean because of the price tag. Apple promise a new and improved facial recognition software, which uses biometrics to map the users face to 30,000 invisible dots using the TrueDepth camera.

Whilst Apple are not actually the first to release a facial recognition feature on a smart phone, they are the first to promise absolute reliability and security, ensuring that the tech cannot be easily tricked using a photograph or a mask.

This is all sounds very new and exciting and it certainly seems to have shaken up the smart phone market since they announced the new feature.

What are biometrics?

Biometry is the application of statistical analysis to biological data. Biometrics is the measurement of people’s physical and behavioral characteristics for use in some way, currently mainly used for identification and verification. Biometrics is a science we’re all becoming accustomed to in our day-to-day lives as technological innovation and personalization moves forward, such as fingerprint scanning on smart phones and biometric passports. And now, this technology has made its way to hearing aids. Taking every individual ear anatomy into account, Phonak has developed Virto™ B, the world’s first hearing aids with Biometric Calibration.

Hearing aids with biometrics

Developed in Switzerland, the proprietary hearing aid modeling software from Phonak measures and analyzes the unique characteristics of an individual’s ear anatomy and identifies over 1600 biometric data points, within each ear. It then calculates the unique calibration settings of each custom made Virto-B hearing aid. Saved into the hearing instrument memory, these calibration settings enables the Phonal Virto-B to more reliably sense where sound is coming from, ensuring increased accuracy and precision and providing more improvement in hearing speech-in-noise when compared to Phonak products without Biometric Calibration.

Why is this better than the iPhone X?

Biometrics is undoubtedly well-known for its use within the current smart phone and technology market, allowing people to continuously improve the tech they carry around in their pocket and improve their day-to-day lives. Hearing aids are worn as commonly as prescription glasses, although with the current trend to keep hearing aids invisible, this may not necessarily be obvious. With thousands of people needing and wearing hearing technology in order to help them make sense of the world around them, wasn't it about time we utilised this fantastic technology and applied it to something genuinely useful? 

Changing lives & things that matter

The truth is, people are already walking around with biometric technology in their ears, allowing them to make sense of sounds they could not previously hear or understand. These hearing aids are calibrated to each and every ear anatomy, meaning every noise around that individual is passed through biometrics simply in order to be heard. We think this is far beyond the use of facial recognition to unlock your smart phone.

The biometric calibration in the Phonak Virto-B's is accessed every second of every waking hour, changing the lives of thousands of people for the better. This technology arrived quietly, it needed no fanfare and yet it's capable of improving the hearing, cognitive health and mental wellbeing of people all over the world. We think that makes it far better than the iPhone X.