Unitron Hearing Introduces Liaison™ in a New BTE Design

Kitchener, ONTARIO -- Unitron Hearing today announced their new premium, digital hearing instrument, Liaison™, at the UHA Congress in Nürnberg, Germany and at the Canadian Academy of Audiology Convention in Vancouver, British Columbia. Liaison solves the everyday problems of active people with hearing loss by automatically adapting to changing listening environments, keeping people with hearing loss connected to the important sounds around them.

Liaison addresses the audiological goals of speech intelligibility, audibility, sound quality and comfort in every listening situation. As environments become noisier and more challenging, and as noise sources increase and move, Liaison’s intelligent digital technology determines the best processing strategy and automatically adjusts noise reduction, adaptive directionality, feedback cancellation and wind noise management to offer an ideal listening experience.

According to Michael Jones, President & CEO, Unitron Hearing, “Liaison completes Unitron Hearing’s digital offerings with a world-class, premium product that provides greater levels of intelligence and customization to individual listening preferences than ever before. We are very pleased to offer such a high quality, practical hearing instrument that incorporates special features designed to solve the everyday concerns of people with hearing loss.”

Liaison’s Dynamic SoundScene™ program uses discrete, sound pattern detectors to classify the environment, determine audiological goals and optimize performance by adapting frequency-gain function, microphone strategy, noise reduction, feedback canceller and wind noise management, all within one program. These key parameters within Dynamic SoundScene are easily adjusted to tailor the listening experience to suit individual preferences in both challenging and quiet environments.

Liaison manages noise from any direction, even if it’s in motion and automatically applies the most appropriate microphone strategy. Liaison’s continuously adapting polar patterns ensure optimal suppression of undesirable noises, allowing the wearer to move in and out of noisy environments without program changes. In addition, Liaison’s Intelligent Noise Reduction 2.0 provides new tools to tailor noise reduction parameters to individual preferences. Adjustable activation levels ensure noise reduction engages only when needed. Hearing Healthcare Professionals can further customize by specifying the preferred degree of noise reduction.

Active clients will also appreciate Liaison’s realtime feedback canceller, wind noise manager and new BTE design. The realtime feedback canceller activates within 60 milliseconds, simultaneously attacking multiple feedback peaks at different frequencies without diminishing the quality or clarity of speech signals or increasing battery drain. Liaison’s wind noise manager protects speech cues in moderate wind and improves comfort in high wind without manual adjustments. Liaison offers these desirable features in a new, aerodynamic BTE design featuring recessed microphones to reduce wind turbulence and improve comfort in high winds. This ergonomic BTE is available in two profiles designed to be lightweight and comfortable and comes in a choice of signature colors.

Exceptional Fitting Flexibility
Unifit™ for Liaison provides exceptional fitting flexibility by allowing operation in two modes: Dynamic SoundScene program or manual programs. The Dynamic SoundScene program for automatic functionality gives fitters control over noise reduction activation levels and degrees while auditory contrast control specifies the extent of frequency-gain changes in response to the incoming signals. Unifit’s manual mode includes settings for listening in music, telephone use and more. Other Unifit enhancements include a new ear canal resonance compensation tool, an occlusion manager and the abilities to link two hearing instruments for simultaneous adjustment or to adjust all listening programs simultaneously.

Liaison also includes a practical feature, the ideal volume indicator, which emits a single beep when the correct volume for the wearer’s particular loss has been reached. Additional features include sixteen channels, three listening programs, manual volume control and a low battery warning. Liaison is offered in the full range of styles from BTE to CIC, suitable for a range of hearing losses from mild to severe/profound, and is MLx FM compatible (BTE only).

Liaison will be introduced in Germany and Canada and then launched in additional countries in early spring 2004.

About Unitron Hearing
Unitron Hearing is a global provider of digital hearing solutions. Founded in 1965, the company is committed to solving the everyday problems of people with hearing loss by designing easy-to-use digital hearing instruments. Based in Kitchener, Canada, with operating centers in Canada, Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom and the United States, Unitron Hearing serves customers in more than 70 countries worldwide.

Contact Information:
Corporate Communications & Public Relations
Tracy Smith
(519) 895-0100, ext. 275
tracy.smith@unitron.com