Hearing Aids Embrace Wireless Solutions

In other Nordic news, hearing solutions company GN ReSound, has employed the company’s nRF24L01+ in its ReSound Alera™ hearing aid. This offering enables users to wirelessly stream audio from consumer electronics devices such as TVs directly to their hearing aid(s) over a range to 20 m (see figure).

In operation, the end user connects a TV or other device—smartphone, desktop personal computer (PC), laptop, tablet, home cinema system, radio, etc.—to a small audio streamer box equipped with a Nordic nRF24L01+ 2.4-GHz transceiver. This pairs with a second nRF24L01+ located in the ReSound Alera hearing aid. When a user wants to watch TV, they simply push a button on the back of the hearing aid. Alternately, an optional remote control can be used to select the device’s designated wireless channel (typically between 1 and 3) to immediately stream wireless audio in stereo.