Eden Prairie, Minnesota – Starkey’s Thrive Hearing Control app now includes Mask Mode, a new custom memory that boosts the frequency response in certain channels to help patients better hear people who are wearing face masks. This new feature is available on select Livio technology levels....
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✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
No actionable clinical change to fitting protocols; however, dispensers fitting Livio AI users should inform patients of the Mask Mode feature available via an app update.
Demonstrates the growing role of over-the-air software updates in extending hearing aid utility, a trend that has practical implications for remote patient support and clinic workflow.
- 01Starkey added a Mask Mode to the Thrive Hearing Control app for Livio AI hearing aids.
- 02The feature boosts specific high-frequency channels to compensate for speech muffling caused by face masks.
- 03The update is delivered via the smartphone app, requiring no clinic visit.
- 04No clinical trial evidence of efficacy for Mask Mode is provided.
- 05The feature reflects a pandemic-era adaptation of hearing aid software.
Mask Mode boosts certain frequency channels to help hearing aid users better understand masked speech.
press releasepartially supportedFace masks reduce audibility of high-frequency speech cues important for speech understanding.
studysupported