Phonak Infinio’s new fitting formula delivers an exceptional first impression that lasts

It’s widely believed that first impressions are formed within the first 7 seconds, a brief window that can have a lasting impact on perceptions.

The key to a good ‘first fit’ impression lies in the fitting formula. This formula compensates for your client’s hearing loss by analyzing their audiogram to determine the necessary gain and compression. We at Phonak are excited to share that Phonak Infinio’s new fitting formula, APD 3.0, provides your clients with a preferred first fit experience, so they leave your office with a fantastic first impression that keeps them satisfied when they get home.

Journey of discovery – Insights from three studies

To evaluate the effectiveness and competitive advantage of APD 3.0, three studies were conducted, which demonstrate that it:

• Delivers additional benefits compared to APD 2.0.
• Is preferred over a key competitor’s first fit formula.

Lessons from the first study: Exploring streaming sound quality

The first study, conducted at Sonova Innovation Center Toronto, primarily aimed to see if we could improve on the streaming sound quality by taking inspiration from the consumer headphone industry.¹ We examined how top consumer headphone developers maximize the frequency response to achieve optimal sound quality for music.

While we didn’t identify a clear preference for the initial proposed modified streaming frequency curves, we found that adapting the frequency response curve positively impacted the acoustic signal. Participants in the study noted improved comfort, particularly highlighting that noise was less intrusive.

Insights from the second study: Refining ‘first fit’ sound quality

Findings from the first study prompted a follow-up study aimed at evaluating the benefits of a new frequency response curve in APD to further improve the ‘first fit’ sound quality for acoustic conditions.² This study, again conducted at Sonova Innovation Center Toronto, compared the proposed new frequency response curve for APD 3.0, which consisted of a slight reduction at 2-4kHz and a boost at 1kHz, with its predecessor, APD 2.0.

We focused on three key subjective ratings:

• Comfort while maintaining speech clarity
• Intrusiveness of background noise
• Overall user preference

The results (see Figure 1) indicate a clear preference for the first fit with APD 3.0 over APD 2.0, citing greater comfort, and a reduction in perceived noise intrusiveness.

From an audiologic perspective, the study also looked at objective speech intelligibility scores to ensure that the updates to APD 3.0 did not compromise speech understanding. Results confirmed that the new frequency response curve had no negative impact on either subjective or objective speech testing.

As a secondary objective of this second study , streamed sound quality was evaluated with a new modified frequency curve (different from study 1). A panel of expert listeners, trained in assessing the nuances of music quality, rated this new curve significantly better compared to the previous frequency curve.

Findings from the third study: User preference

In the third study, conducted at Phonak Audiological Research Center (PARC) in the US, first time users were asked to compare APD 3.0 with the first fit of a key competitor’s device, which is regarded as having a good first fit by hearing care professionals.³ Remarkably, 93% of participants preferred the first fit of APD 3.0 over the competitor’s device.

How we improved APD 3.0 and the benefits

APD 3.0 features new frequency curves implemented across all acoustic and streaming programs.

Acoustic programs: The new frequency curve of APD 3.0 introduces a boost in the mid-frequencies with a slight reduction in the high frequencies. This change was proven to maintain speech intelligibility while providing comfort in noisy environments. When compared to a key competitor’s first fit, 93% of clients preferred the first fit of APD 3.0.

Streaming programs – The new frequency curve for the streaming program was inspired by the consumer headphone industry. The reduction in high frequencies resulted in significantly better ratings from a panel of expert listeners, compared to APD 2.0.

A quality first impression that lasts

The first impression at the fitting appointment is so critical to an overall positive client journey, especially for first time users. But equally important is their first impression when they bring it home and wear with for the first time at the shops, when catching up with friends at the local café, at the next family gathering or even just at home with their significant other.

Each of these “firsts” is critical to the overall acceptance, long-term satisfaction, and wearing time of hearing aids. With APD 3.0 in Phonak Infinio, exceptional sound quality from the first fit continues.

History on the Adaptive Phonak Digital fitting formula
Almost 20 years ago 2005, Phonak introduced its own proprietary fitting formula called Adaptive Phonak Digital (APD). APD was designed to compress a wide range of sound intensities (input) into a narrow intensity range (output).

APD maps the hearing-impaired loudness function into a normal hearing loudness function for different hearing losses with the aim of compensating for hearing loss, restoring dynamic range, combating recruitment and maintain spatial qualities such as localization and environmental awareness.

This fitting formula was the key driver in the delivering the “love at first sound” in Marvel hearing aids and again the “unrivalled sound quality” in Paradise with APD 2.0.

To learn more about Phonak Infinio, we invite you to the Phonak website.

---

References:

1. Sonova proprietary research. (2023).
2. Sonova proprietary research. (2024).
3. Stewart, E., Adler, M., Seitz-Paquette, K., Adaptive Phonak Digital (APD) 3.0 is the preferred first fit compared to a leading competitor device. Phonak Field Study News in preparation, expected end of August 2024.