Signia Reimagines the Hearing Aid with Stylish New Design

Styletto developed to shatter perceptions about hearing aids

Signia Styletto

All-new Styletto developed to shatter perceptions about hearing aids

Although more people worldwide are developing hearing loss, the overwhelming majority won’t do anything to treat it. Studies show that nine out of ten people with moderate hearing loss don’t wear hearing aids. While reasons can vary, for many people the idea of wearing hearing aids makes them feel old or infirm, or at least they think they’ll be perceived this way by others.

The fact that the basic hearing aid shape has remained relatively unchanged over the decades doesn’t help. But Signia set out to reimagine the hearing aid as a sleek, stylish device that looks nothing like the traditional model.

The result is Styletto, combining style, convenience, and advanced hearing technology in a device that fits into a modern, active lifestyle.

A hearing aid people will be proud to wear

With the launch of Styletto, Signia introduces an entirely new category of hearing aid, the SLIM-RIC (Slim Receiver-in-Canal). Signia expects this first-of-its-kind design to appeal to those who have been putting off treatment for their hearing loss due to aversion to the traditional hearing aid—and current wearers who want a hearing aid that better represents their self-image.

Styletto comes in three modern color combinations, enabling patients to select the palette that best represents them and their unique style: Dark Granite and Silver Brush, Cosmic Blue and Rose Gold Brush, or Snow White and Rose Gold Brush.

Styletto - Show Your Independence

Convenience

Styletto’s unconventional slim shape is due to an innovative lithium-ion battery. Rather than the round-shaped batteries used in traditional hearing aids, Signia developed Styletto around this narrow, pin-shaped battery, which enables its sleek design.

This lithium-ion battery also provides a high level of convenience. As with other rechargeable hearing aids, this power source eliminates the need to change tiny batteries—and concern that the hearing aids will stop working during daily use. With Styletto, Signia also introduces a breakthrough in battery charging with a portable charger. Mimicking the sleek design of the hearing aids, this special charger can keep the devices charged and ready to go for up to three days without the need for plugs or cables.

This new level of portability further fits with Signia’s goal of making hearing aids better suited to today’s on-the-go lifestyle. Whether taking a weekend getaway or traveling for business, Styletto’s wireless charger provides active wearers with a new level of convenience.

Sound quality

In addition to modern design and enhanced portability, Styletto retains the high-tech audiological features previously introduced in the Signia Nx platform to ensure a more natural hearing experience. This includes the company’s signature Own Voice Processing (OVP™). Some traditional hearing aid wearers report that their own voice sounds tinny or artificial, providing another reason people may avoid using them. However, hearing aids with OVP process the wearer’s voice separately so it sounds as natural as possible.

Styletto also provides exceptional sound quality in all situations, enabling wearers to hear speech clearly even in loud environments. With advanced noise suppression technologies, wearers can hear and understand conversations no matter the background noise, whether in a restaurant, on the train, or walking down a city street. In addition, through enhanced spatial awareness, wearers can better localize sounds for exceptional quality even when moving.

Market impact

To gauge how consumers would react to this new hearing aid design, Signia conducted an extensive consumer study of 500 people with hearing loss. Overall, Styletto was proven to stand out from other hearing aid options and convince more people to consider hearing aids who wouldn’t have otherwise.

As part of the study, participants were asked to select between two different hearing aid options, or none at all. Nearly a quarter selected “no hearing aid.” However, when the same question was asked, but with the addition of Styletto as an option, nine out of ten participants said they would select a hearing aid, and the majority chose Styletto. The study also found that Styletto’s look is preferred by more than eight out of 10 people when compared to conventional hearing aids.

Moreover, when shown a variety of hearing aid styles and asked which is new and different from the others, Styletto was overwhelmingly the top choice, confirming its potential as a hearing aid people will want to wear.

Reimagining the hearing aid

Signia believes Styletto will set a new standard for hearing aid design, while turning more people who previously avoided hearing aids into proud wearers.

What do you think of this new shape? Would you want to wear these hearing aids? Let us know!