- In this video, I'm talking
about the first hearing device,
that uses machine learning,
the Widex Evoke Hearing Aid, coming up.
(mellow upbeat music)
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
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Now this video review is long overdue,
because the Widex Evoke Hearing Aids
have been out for almost a year ago now,
but because of the overwhelming
interest of viewers
on my channel asking about
the Widex Evoke Hearing Aids,
I figured I'd better
go ahead and get a set
to check 'em out and let
you know what I think.
In terms of looks, the Widex
Evoke Fusion Hearing Aid
is very similar to other form factors
that they've had on previous
generations of Widex devices.
This one right here is
the Evoke Fusion two,
this is what it looks
like inside of my ear,
you can see it's very standard
receiver in canal technology,
very slim hearing aid, it's
very comfortable behind my ear,
but they have a variety of
different models of this device.
They also offer the Evoke
in the Passion form factor,
which uses a smaller size 10 battery,
the Fusion, which is the
non-Bluetooth version of the Evoke,
the Fusion two that you saw on my ear,
which is the only style
actually that has Bluetooth
and it also has a rechargeable option
in addition to the disposable
312 battery option.
They also have a Fashion Mini BTE,
a Fashion traditional BTE
and a Power version of the Evoke,
that uses a size 13 battery and earhook.
The Evoke is best known for
being the first hearing aid
to utilize machine learning technology,
this technology allows
a hearing aid wearer
to customize their preferences
and have the hearing aids actually learn
what those preferences are,
it's kind like Netflix,
when you watch a certain type
of movie and you like it,
Netflix will take and
give you recommendations
based on that movie that you like,
it's the same type of concept
with these hearing aids.
But before I get too in depth
with the machine learning technology,
let's go over a few of
the different things
that I really like about the Widex Evokes.
Number one is that they have
a telecoil inside of them,
a telecoil is essentially a device
that lets you tap into
the audio at a facility
like a theater or a church
or even a conference center
and pull the audio from that facility
into your hearing aids, if
they have an induction loop
in that particular facility.
It also lets you gain direct access
to a telecoil enabled phone,
so if you're someone who
has difficulty on a phone,
having a telecoil in your hearing aids
can be a game changer.
Some manufacturers have decided
to leave the telecoil out
of their hearing aids,
so they can have Bluetooth
inside of their hearing aids,
but Widex doesn't make
you make that decision,
they have it inside of their devices,
so all you really have to
do is go into your phone
and tap on the Telecoil program
or just give a quick click
on the push button on your hearing aid.
Number two is the 113 dB
SPL Linear Input Range.
Having a really high input
range in a hearing aid
is very important, if
you wanna hear better
in a background noise situation
and if you wanna be able to
appreciate music to its fullest.
In audiology we have this term
called garbage in, garbage out,
this means that if we have to alter
the incoming signal into a hearing aid,
then it is not going to be as good,
when it comes out of the
hearing aid into your ear.
So if we have to compress a sound down
to even get it into the hearing aid,
it's gonna give you a lower quality sound
by the time it goes into your ear.
If you combine this
high linear input range
with four, yes, count them,
four A to D converters
inside of the Evoke hearing aids,
you get a hearing aid
that can better preserve
the integrity of the incoming signal
allowing for a cleaner sound
in nearly every
environment that you're in.
Number three is the Sound Classifier
and I really like what
Widex is doing with this.
Basically the Evoke Hearing Aids
are automatically identifying
which environment you're in
and automatically putting
you into the correct settings
for that particular environment
and if you end up
getting the higher level,
the 440 level of Evoke Hearing Aids,
there are 11 different classifications
that it can put you in.
This means that if you're
the type of person,
who does not want to have
to push a push button
to switch your hearing aids
into your noise program,
you don't have to do that,
the hearing aid's gonna do that for you.
Number four is the Zen Tinnitus Program,
Widex takes a completely
different approach
than basically any other
manufacturer out there,
because they use fractal tones,
in order to mask over your tinnitus
and to reduce down your
annoyance of your tinnitus.
The tones inside of the Zen
program are not repeatable,
so it prevents the brain
from habituating to them.
They're kind of like wind chimes,
where you generally know
what they'll sound like,
but you can't predict the
sequence of the tones.
Here is a sound clip of
the Aqua fractal tones.
(melodic music)
They essentially act
like a tinnitus masker,
just more pleasant than using
a white or a pink static noise.
You can use the Zen programs by themselves
or in the background with another program
and number five and perhaps
the most exciting feature
inside of the Widex Evoke Hearing Aids
is the machine learning feature
using SoundSense Learn
and SoundSense Adapt.
Using the SoundSense Learn
feature in the Evoke F
allows you to make realtime adjustments
to your hearing aid programming,
while you're actually in that
specific listening situation.
After selecting SoundSense Learn,
just select your environment
and what your goal is in
that particular environment,
the app will then make
two different adjustments
to how you're hearing
in those environments,
one labeled A and one labeled B,
you're basically doing
an A to B comparison,
your job is to select
which adjustment you prefer
and how much you prefer it.
You do this until you customize the audio
exactly to your preference
in that specific environment.
The more this feature is used,
the more your hearing aids
learn about how you want to hear
just like how Netflix knows
which movies you want to watch.
Not only does the Evoke use this data
to improve your ability
to hear in the moment,
it also uses this data
to intelligently guide future innovation
and even allowing for better updates,
that can be uploaded directly
into your hearing aids
right from your phone.
Now the features of these hearing aids
truly are revolutionary
and ahead of their time,
but there are some things
about these hearing aids,
that I am not a huge fan of
and the first one is rechargeability.
The Widex Evoke Fusion two Hearing Aids
have the option of being rechargeable,
but the option that they have
is using ZPower battery technology,
which is a silver zinc technology,
I am a much bigger fan
of lithium technology,
when it comes to
rechargeable hearing aids,
it is just flat out more reliable,
but you don't have a lithium option,
when it comes to the Evoke.
The second thing that
I am not a huge fan of
is that they only have
15 adjustment handles
inside of the Premium level 440 devices,
what I mean by that
is that when I'm programming
a set of hearing aids,
I wanna have as many
adjustment handles as possible,
so I can very specifically
customize the audio
in those particular hearing aids
and some of the more
premium level technology
that's out there, we tend to see
upwards of 20 adjustment handles in those,
so I know we're only
about five off from that,
but those five adjustment
handles can mean a big deal
when you're trying to program
a hearing aid perfectly.
And the third thing that
I am not a huge fan of
with the Widex Evokes
is that they are only directly
compatible with an IPhone,
I happen to be more of an Android user,
yes, I do have an IPhone,
so I can do a lot of these reviews,
but at the same time I
would much prefer if I could
directly access the Evokes
with my Android smartphone.
Now to be fair, you can utilize
a lot of the same features
inside of the Widex Evoke app,
if you have an Android phone,
but you have to use a streaming interface,
in order to stream audio directly
from your phone into
the Evoke hearing aids.
Now considering what these
hearing aids are capable of,
these potential negatives
seem relatively minor,
but at the end of the
day you're only gonna get
all of the benefit from these devices,
if you go to a hearing care professional
who performs real ear measurement,
real ear measurement is
the only way to ensure
that your hearing aids
are programmed correctly
to your hearing loss prescription
and actually using the
machine learning function
of these hearing aids is no substitute
for doing real ear verification.
So if you have not heard
of real ear measurement
or real ear verification before,
I highly recommend that
you watch my video,
that I will link in the description.
The Widex Evoke really
is an impressive piece
of hearing aid technology
that is one of a kind,
so if you're the type of individual,
who likes to make a lot
of little adjustments
to your devices based on the
environment that you're in
without having to go back
into your hearing care professional
to get those adjustments done,
then you might wanna
consider the Widex Evoke
for your next set of hearing devices.
That's it for this video,
if you have any questions,
leave them in the comments section below,
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I'll see you next time.
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