BeHear ACCESS (Model II)
Hearing amplifier for live conversations, mobile calls, streamed audio, looped venues
- Easy to tune, even without the BeHear smartphone app!
- Full customization and advanced features via BeHear app
- Bluetooth 5.0 for amplified phone calls and audio steaming
- Large control buttons and charging cradle for ease of use
- Rechargeable for up to 13 hours of use
Note: BeHear ACCESS Model II headsets are not hearing aids and are not designed to restore hearing.
BeHear ACCESS is a stylish hearing amplifier for people who need enhanced hearing in specific situations. It looks (and functions) like a typical Bluetooth® stereo headset but also provides enhancement for all around hearing (live conversations, mobile phone calls, music play, ambient hearing), as well as assistive listening functionality.
Built-in Telecoil receivers ensure best possible hearing in locales equipped with hearing loop technology.
New in Model II:
- The ability to emphasize high- or low-pitched sounds, directly from the headset
BeHear ACCESS utilizes sound processing technologies developed by Alango Technologies, Ltd. over the past two decades, such as:
- ListenThrough™ – passing through important ambient sounds during music playback
- EasyListen™ – slowing down speech dynamically during mobile phone conversations
- Personal Sound Amplifier – providing dynamic, compressed amplification of ambient sounds
- SoundFocus™ – three options for determining directionality of hearing amplification (narrow, wide, omni) based on the wearer’s desire to focus on a specific sound source, or a broader range
- Hearing Enhancement Functions – including tone control, noise reduction, echo cancellation, and more
- CROS/BiCROS – support for single-sided deafness
The BeHear ACCESS assistive hearing headset belongs to a new category of sound enhancement products. It combines the functionality of three existing devices into one:
- Bluetooth stereo headset for wireless mobile phone calls and media playback
- Assistive hearing device for enhanced intelligibility of speech and other important sounds
Situational Hearing Enhancement:
When You Need It
BeHear ACCESS can enhance hearing for those with normal hearing, as well as people with mild to moderately severe hearing loss. This is true for all situations:
- In-person conversations
- Mobile phone conversations
- Video calls and conferences (Zoom, Facetime, Skype, etc.)
- Music/audio streaming
- Television viewing
- Movies, theater and concert performances
- Outdoors, in nature
These profiles can be modified in real-time, based on the current sound environment and the wearer’s preferences, using the W&H BeHear mobile application. For example:
Sound Focus™ for Better Understanding of Speech in Noise
BeHear ACCESS supports three degrees of directionality, or “sound focus”: narrow, wide, and omni. Narrow focuses on the area directly in front of the wearer’s face, Wide amplifies important sounds in a 180 degree half-circle in front of the wearer, and Omni collects important sounds from all directions.
Alleviating the “My Voice Echoes” Perception
A typical downside of wearing a pair of earbuds is the “occlusion effect”; a perceived echo of your own voice when your ear canal is sealed. A four-step slider in the W&H BeHear app allows you to control how much you hear yourself when wearing the BeHear ACCESS headset.
Customizable for Your Hearing Capabilities and Preferences
The headset itself includes a variety of controls to manage its hearing functions for six different hearing profiles:
- Indoor
- Outdoor
- Crowd
- Live Music
- Telecoil (Exclusive)
- Telecoil (Transparent)
Support for Unilateral Hearing (CROS/BiCROS)
In the CROS and BiCROS implementation in BeHear ACCESS, sound that reaches the microphones on the non-hearing side is transferred to the speaker in the ear bud of the hearing ear. When activated, the function takes effect for all hearing modes: Personal Hearing, Mobile Calls, and Audio Play.
Furthermore, this function helps people with unilateral hearing to enjoy music and other stereo audio content. When activated, all streamed stereo audio is mixed automatically down to mono and reproduced in the functional ear, thus allowing people to enjoy the full sound spectrum without missing the channel corresponding to the other, damaged side.
The BeHear application also includes:
- Self-administered personal hearing assessment for automatic adjustment of the sound in each of the operational modes (ambient hearing, phone calls, and audio play)
- Direct access to the video tutorials library
- An option to set the balance between left and right ears
- Assistive listening functions for phone calls and media playback
- Various device settings, including default mode behavior, vibration alerts, and more
Product Specifications
Product Number
ABH-120
Bluetooth
- Version 5, Class II
- HFP 1.6, HSP 1.2, A2DP 1.2
- Supported audio CODECs: SBC, aptX, aptX-LL
- Range: 30 ft / 10 m
Acoustic Performance
- Maximal Sound Pressure Level (OSPL90):
- 100 dB in talk and music play modes
- 116 dB in hearing amplification mode
- Full-on Gain: 42 dB
- Total Harmonic Distortion (THD): < 0.7%
Receiver Specifications
- Speaker: 13.6 mm receivers
- Frequency Response: 20 Hz to 20 kHz
Microphone Specifications
- Microphones (4 in total):
- Ultra low-noise 74 dB SNR ECM in each earpiece
- Low-noise digital 64 dB SNR MEMS in each control box
- Frequency Response: 100 Hz to 15 kHz
T-coil Receiver
- Type: dual coil
- Frequency range: 200 Hz – 8 kHz
Battery
- Rechargeable Lithium Ion
- Charging interface: Micro USB
- Capacity: 250 mAh
- Charging time: 2 hours
- Battery life: 500 charging cycles
Operation Time
- Hearing Mode: 13+ hours
- Talk: 10+ hours
- Play: 8+ hours
- Standby: 400 hours
Software Versions Supported by W&H BeHear App
- Android: Version 4.4 and up
- iOS: Version 9 and up
Physical Specifications
- Neck loop form factor (behind the neck)
- Headset weight: 1.7 oz. (47 grams)
- Package weight: 22.6 oz. (640 grams)
- Package dimensions: 2 1/8″ x 7 7/8″ x 9 1/8″ (54mm x 200mm x 232mm)
Vibration Alerts
(enabled/disabled via W&H BeHear app)
- Power On/Off
- Bluetooth pairing
- Connection/disconnection
- Connecting to charger
- Incoming call (synchronized with call tone)
Package Contents
- Headset
- Charging cradle
- Micro USB charging cable
- 3 types of silicone ear buds in varying sizes
- 3 sizes of silicone ear hooks
- 2 pairs of wind protection covers
- Quick Start Guide
- Durable travel pouch
Agency Approvals
- CE RED
- FCC
- TELEC
- SRRC (pending)