Infinio Ultra: An Audiologist’s insights as a hearing aid user

Michael Preuss, Senior Audiologist for RIC Solutions, played a key role in shaping the new Infinio Ultra platform.

In this interview, Michael shares how his dual experience, as an audiologist and hearing aid wearer, gives him a front-row view into how Infinio Ultra transforms listening confidence and everyday life.

Here is our interview…

Michael, before we get into the technical side, can you tell us a bit about how your experience as both an audiologist and hearing aid wearer influences your approach to innovation?

I have been wearing hearing aids since I was three years old, and that lived experience has shaped the way I think about innovation. Growing up with a severe-to-profound asymmetric hearing loss and relying on hearing aids on a day-to-day basis made me very passionate and excited about innovation.

My approach to innovation is that I am always linking innovation to the real-life benefit, to understand how we’re adding additional benefits that were not possible before. Ultimately, this also results in our innovation being tested and benchmarked in the most realistic situations, with the goal that expectations are matching the hearing aid experience.

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And how does that experience translate into what you value most about Infinio Ultra?

Infinio Ultra is building on the groundbreaking foundation of Infinio, which still offers unmatched performance to date – and everything that was made possible with Infinio has become noticeably better. Infinio Ultra is further boosting my everyday listening confidence, no matter the situation and seamlessly blends into whatever I’m doing! It simply works.

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You have also experienced AutoSense OS firsthand. What makes this feature so powerful in daily life?

AutoSense OS automatically senses your listening environment and adjusts accordingly. Every environment has different listening needs and AutoSense makes sure the right features activate at the right time.

What I find outstanding about AutoSense is how smoothly it activates the right features and functions. I hardly notice the changes, but I instantly notice the benefit. That is the magic behind AutoSense.

No two seconds of listening are the same, which is why precision in detecting the listening environment is key. Whether it is noticing my dog tapping across the floor, a chat by the coffee machine, or my children calling from another room, AutoSense reacts instantly without me having to think about it. That is what seamless hearing truly means.

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With AutoSense OS 7.0 in Infinio Ultra, there is a reported 24 percent improvement in classification accuracy. How does that translate into a better experience for hearing aid users?

It means AutoSense OS 7.0 understands your environment even more accurately to adapt more precisely, activating the right features in the right moments. It can now even better recognize speech, noise or different music genres, as it has been trained on 18x more sound samples than the previous generation, including a higher variety of audio samples.

As a result, the hearing aid wearer can follow more conversations in noise and enjoy live music no matter the genre. It’s these moments that create real peace of mind and make you enjoy the moment without thinking about the hearing aids.

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You’ve also been involved in the research and validation behind Infinio Ultra. What stood out to you from that process?

What stands out for me is not only the commitment to support our innovation with research and validation, but the dedication at Phonak towards the highest quality of the eviden

If something appears in our marketing materials, whether it’s a performance percentage or a reported benefit, there is always strong, accessible evidence behind it. In addition, we’re dedicated to conducting studies as realistic as possible by recreating typical listening situations, to assess the benefit for the hearing aid wearer. That level of rigor is quite unique in the industry. This is to ensure that what we measure in a study and communicate also translates into a benefit when the hearing aid is worn in the real world.

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You’ve spoken passionately about Spheric Speech Clarity. What makes version 2.0 so special for you?

Spheric Speech Clarity is able to separate speech from noise in real-time, to address the #1 listening need of clients: Speech understanding in loud noise. Spheric Speech Clarity 2.0 stands out because we’ve improved its efficiency by a stunning 30% which lets me move through a day with even more confidence.

Even though I never had any battery issues before, this version gave me a new level of reassurance. It delivers outstanding benefit exactly when I need it, and I never have to think about power or performance throughout the day – even when travelling and listening for much over 24 hou

Another thing I really appreciate is that existing Infinio wearers can access these same benefits through a performance upgrade to their device.

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Looking back, what does Infinio Ultra represent to you personally?

For me, it represents progress that truly matters, not just technological progress, but progress that improves everyday life for people like me who rely on hearing aids all day, every day

It’s not only about clearer sound. It’s about confidence, independence, and peace of mind. When your hearing aids simply work wherever you are, you stop thinking about them. That’s when hearing becomes effortless again.

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Thank you, Michael. Your experience captures exactly what Infinio Ultra represents: technology that empowers people to live life with confidence and ease.

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Learn more about Infinio Ultra and its key features on our website.

Want to learn more about the technology Michael mentions? Read Michael Preuss’ earlier article, Phonak Infinio Ultra: Clear speech from every direction, for a closer look at Spheric Speech Clarity 2.0 and how it supports clear speech in noise.