Siemens iMini hearing aid is custom-made to be invisible

The new Siemens iMini is the company’s smallest hearing instrument, and as such, it can be inserted so far into the auditory canal, it becomes invisible.

Each one is individually crafted at iMini facilities in Germany and the US. According to Siemens, this labor-intensive manufacturing process is necessary because of the extreme miniaturization of the iMini.

First, the size of each customer’s auditory canal has to be measured, and then the hearing technology has to be arranged and mounted into its small porcelain-like, nano-coated shell.

No two iMinis are alike, Siemens says. Some technology it comes standard with include:

• BestSound Technology developed by Siemens for “greater hearing comfort even in difficult noise environments,” found in several of the company’s hearing products.
• FeedbackStopper isolates and eliminates whistling before it starts
• SoundBrilliance extends high-frequency sounds
• SoundSmoothing and eWindScreen soften sudden noises and wind
• It’ll be located precisely where sound travels when no hearing aid is used, providing a natural, acoustic amplification.

Also, each iMini is programmed with the preferences and settings of the wearer, so no adjustments are needed later on. An ‘invisible’ nylon thread is used to pull the system out at night, and the batteries can last up to one week.

Siemens has been in the field of hearing technology for over 100 years, and it has offered in-the-ear hearing instruments for the past 45, but this is the first system that disappears far into the auditory canal. It's ideally suited for the “style-conscious” wearer with mild to moderate hearing loss.

Siemens' entry into the invisible in-the-canal (IIC) or completely-in-the-canal (CIC) hearing aid market indicates a strong demand for cosmetically appealing solutions that eliminate the stigma of wearing hearing aids.

Although, according to Digital Hearing Care, the iMini won’t sit as deep in the canal as Starkey’s OtoLens/SoundLens and Phonak’s Lyric. And pricing details are a little sketchy at the moment.

In the European market, only white iMinis with dark-brown caps (pictured) will be available. In the US, a dozen colors will be sold.

Image: Siemens Healthcare

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com