New high-performance, open fit digital hearing aid from America Hears

Oct 9 2009

America Hears, Inc. (www.AmericaHears.com) introduced a new high-performance, open fit digital hearing aid offering significant value for listeners with mild to moderate hearing loss who need assistance hearing and understanding everyday speech, even in challenging listening environments such as noisy restaurants. Priced at $699 and available direct from the manufacturer, the new America Hears OF₁-152 hearing aid is packaged in a small, sleek case worn behind the ear and configured with 16 channels that can be programmed to enhance hearing at all frequencies where amplification is needed.

“The new America Hears OF₁-152 hearing aid extends our price-performance lead in the hearing aid industry and continues to fulfill our mission to help the broad and growing market of people who need high-quality digital hearing aids at affordable prices,” said Henry C. Smith, CEO and founder of America Hears. "It is the perfect solution for first-time hearing-aid buyers who need an easy and affordable way to start hearing better.”

America Hears began designing and manufacturing hearing aids in 1985 and in 2001 delivered the Virtual Office software and programming kit that for the first time enabled hearing aid users to adjust their hearing aids to their satisfaction at home whenever they please. With Virtual Office, America Hears made endless trips to the audiologist’s office for adjustments a thing of the past for its customers.

The OF₁-152 is the newest member of the America Hears Independence Series 1 family and extends the company’s lead in designing, manufacturing and marketing the world’s most affordable high-performance digital hearing aids. Like all the America Hears Independence hearing aids, the new OF₁-152 utilizes an advanced digital signal processor featuring America Hears’ unique ADRO^® operating system and the latest modules including Enhanced Speech in Noise, Low Level Noise Reduction and Automatic Volume Control.

America Hears programs hearing aids at the factory precisely to each customer’s audiogram. After that, America Hears’ audiologists and professional fitters work collaboratively with customers to make additional adjustments over the Internet using the Virtual Office programming kit.

All hearing aids in the America Hears Independence family integrate advanced components at the cutting edge of hearing aid technology and design, including:

• A Sound Design Technologies Ltd VoyageurII Digital Signal Processor (DSP) designed for high-performance hearing aids.
• Dynamic Hearing Pty Ltd’s ADRO® (Advanced Dynamic Range Optimization) software, sophisticated hearing aid operating system software optimized for the high-performance DSPs used in all America Hears products.
• Enhanced Speech in Noise (ESIN) software, the latest ADRO® module improving the ability to hear and understand speech in noisy environments. Unique to America Hears, ESIN separates and amplifies the high frequency sounds that comprise 60% of speech, enhancing hearing in noisy environments such as crowded restaurants.

http://www.americahears.com/