BeHear ACCESS Model II Released
Tinnitus Masking Therapy Now Included in BeHear ACCESS Hearing Amplification Headsets
Alango Technologies, a leading independent supplier of DSP voice and audio enhancement software technologies for the communication industry, announced the release of a new, advanced version of its BeHear® ACCESS hearing amplifier featuring an option for basic sound personalization without using an app, customizable tinnitus masking therapy, increased amplification without feedback, and easier pairing based on Bluetooth® 5.0.
Inexpensive, Stylish, Multi-Functional, Self-Fit Hearing Amplifier Reconnects People to the Individuals and Sounds They Love
This new version of a personalizable hearing amplifier by an Israeli start-up aims to help the millions of people worldwide with untreated hearing loss which, consciously or not, oftentimes leads to isolation, depression, and even dementia. In contrast to expensive hearing aids that people cannot afford or do not want, BeHear ACCESS is inexpensive, stylish, multi-functional, and self-fit. With the release of Model II and its advanced features, BeHear ACCESS provides an even simpler way to be part of the conversation.
What is BeHear ACCESS?
BeHear ACCESS is a sophisticated hearable that provides personalized hearing amplification users can self-tune in real time. While it looks like a standard Bluetooth headset, the device is powered by Alango Technologies proprietary audio enhancement and customization software, giving users hearing aid quality technology at a fraction of the price. ACCESS belongs to the BeHear line of smart hearing amplifiers, designed to help those with mild-to-moderately-severe hearing loss hear better during face-to-face conversations, mobile and video calls, and when listening to television, music, podcasts, and sounds in nature. This already sophisticated product received an upgrade that added several new benefits.
Tinnitus Affects More than 10% of the Population
Continuous or spontaneous ringing, noise, or other internal sound in the ears is a medical condition known as tinnitus. It affects more than 1 in 10 people and in many cases is reported as disabling. Tinnitus masking therapy is a popular approach for alleviating the symptoms. It consists of playing an external sound that perceptually resembles the internal, phantom sound, but has a slightly louder volume so that the internal sound is not heard because it is “masked” by external stimuli. Tinnitus sufferers may turn to professionals to help define the appropriate masking noise, but this is often a lengthy and expensive procedure. The new version of BeHear ACCESS supports adjustment of the masking noise by the user, who determines its sharpness, tone, and volume to achieve a more accurate result, quickly, independently, and inexpensively.
- Personalized Amplification Directly from the Headset
For those who prefer not to use the dedicated BeHear smartphone app, it is now possible to adjust the emphasis on bass or treble (low and high frequencies) in real time, directly from the headset’s control buttons. This “tone control” is available for all listening modes: live hearing, cell phone/video calls, and music/audio streaming. - Support for Bluetooth 5.0
Providing a more stable connection than version 4.2 (used in the earlier model), BeHear ACCESS is now easier to pair and supports “over the air” firmware updates to effortlessly introduce new features to existing customers, thanks to Bluetooth version 5.0. - Increased Loudness
Users who need the full amount of gain provided by BeHear ACCESS (42 dB) will appreciate the new formula, which allows higher amplification without feedback.
Another Milestone in the Democratization of Hearing
“As part of our efforts to enhance wellness through advanced technology, we have developed a method making the process of choosing the most comfortable tinnitus masking sound as simple and intuitive as possible, allowing tinnitus sufferers to try the tinnitus masking therapy without spending a lot of time and money. Our devices may also help where hearing aids cannot, due to the limited frequency range of hearing aids, which cannot mask the high-pitched sound common to tinnitus.”
Dr. Alexander Goldin, CEO and Founder of Alango Technologies
About Alango Technologies
Alango Technologies, Ltd. (www.alango.com) has been developing sound enhancement technologies since 2002, selling over 60 million software licenses that improve the audio experience in automotive, entertainment, and smart home applications around the world. Realizing the importance and opportunity of combining the sound enhancement technology found in hearing aids with the advances and costs in the consumer electronics world, the Company is now using its field-proven expertise in sound technology to create products for personal hearing enhancement: the “BeHear” product line (www.alango-behear.com). With over 10,000 BeHear units sold to date, the direction is clear: people want inexpensive, stylish, multi-functional, and self-fit solutions to keep them in the conversation.
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BeHear is a registered trademark of Alango Technologies, Ltd. in the United States. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.
This press release was also published on PRlog: https://www.prlog.org/12909301-tinnitus-masking-therapy-now-included-in-behear-access-hearing-amplification-headsets.html
January 2022 Newsletter
Here’s an Idea for a New Year’s Resolution…
Our first two articles in this January 2022 newsletter describe how individuals have used their personal experiences to improve the quality of life for many people. We hope they inspire you to share your journey to hearing health with others.
Awareness and education about hearing loss are the first steps on the path to a more equitable environment for all, and we would be happy to serve as a platform for you to share your story. Let us resolve together to normalize hearing loss treatment, and support those who need hearing assistance. Do you have an idea? Let us hear it!!!
IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
♦ What one woman has achieved for many
♦ “El Deafo”: now an educational and entertaining animated series for children
♦ Bonus features in BeHear ACCESS
♦ New BeHear branding
♦ Great savings on refurbished BeHear PROXY TV watching bundle
To get these newsletters sent directly to your inbox, register here.
“It was easier for me to change the world than it was to lower my standards.”
Janice Lintz wanted her young daughter to experience the full spectrum of culture and mainstream education provided in New York City, despite her hearing loss. While on a visit to London Mrs. Lintz learned that taxi cabs there were outfitted with hearing loops, which allowed those with high end hearing aids to hear conversations clearly.
While popular in Europe, hearing loops were not widely used, even though ADA legislation passed in 1990 mandated assistive listening technologies for public places. Today, thanks to Mrs. Lintz’s efforts, New York City taxi cabs, subway information booths and call boxes, Broadway theaters, museums, and baseball stadiums are on the long list of those who host the induction loop technology. Read more about her efforts, here.
We applaud activists like Janice Lintz for refusing to accept the status quo when it comes to quality of life. We are proud to support Telecoil in our BeHear ACCESS hearing amplifiers.
Animated Adaption of Award-Winning Graphic Novel
Perhaps you are a parent of a child with hearing loss, or an educator wondering how best to integrate that child into the classroom. This animated series, now streaming on Apple TV+, is a great way to educate the uninitiated and normalize behavior surrounding treatment of children with hearing loss. Highly recommended!
3 Hidden Features of BeHear ACCESS
Maybe you have heard about BeHear ACCESS, or even already own one. But did you know about these special features, exclusive to it in the BeHear line?
- SoundFocus™ – Choose your direction of interest (narrow, wide, omni). Important sounds will be amplified based on that input range only. Very helpful when you want to zero-in on your conversation partner, and not the whole room!
- Support for Unilateral Hearing – 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. This function helps people with unilateral hearing to enjoy stereo audio content, such as music, as well.
- Eliminating “Own Voice Echo” – 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 by the device. A four-step slider in the BeHear app allows you to control how much you hear yourself when wearing the BeHear ACCESS headset.
BeHear is Being Rebranded
Did you notice that our logo has changed? The new design symbolizes the gradual hearing amplification offered in our products, represented by a thickening of the lines in each successive letter:
We are also simplifying our brand hierarchy by phasing out the use of “Wear & Hear” and “W&H”. Instead, our registered trademark “BeHear” will be the brand name for all our hearing enhancement products. As a result, our product names are now: BeHear.ACCESS , BeHear.PROXY, BeHear.SMARTO, etc.
Our slogan “Life Sounds Better” remains as we are still committed to our original mission: to bring affordable, high-quality, self-fit hearing enhancement products to market.
Changes to our Web site and product packaging will happen gradually, over the next few months. Come take a look to see how we are progressing…
Great Savings on BeHear PROXY TV Bundle
Treat yourself to clear, crisp TV dialogue and superb stereo sound with this refurbished* wireless neck speaker and Bluetooth audio transmitter. Your ears will thank you twice: once for fantastic sound and once for keeping them free!
Get a 25% discount when you purchase a refurbished BeHear PROXY with HearLink PLUS.
*Refurbished units are used but cleaned, tested, and fully updated.
Shattering disability stigma for World Hearing Day with Israeli BeHear technology enabling self-administered hearing screening
A.R.M. and BeKol leverage BeHear’s innovative hearing check kiosks to raise hearing health awareness and accessibility
A special initiative by A.R.M. Medical Center, experts in Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck, and Oral and Maxillofacial surgery; BeKol, the organization representing the hard of hearing in Israel; and BeHear by Alango Technologies is designed to shatter disability stigma while promoting hearing health awareness and accessibility.
Imagine a world where disabilities are addressed without stigma. Imagine a world where all people are treated with dignity and respect and can easily implement technological solutions without experiencing shame. While this seems like an obvious and morally imperative goal, when it comes to hearing health there is a painful dissonance between its importance and the general levels of awareness and accessibility. Worst of all, there is a high level of social stigma attached to hearing as a disability, as if it is indicative of being “broken”, old, or damaged, as well as the negative and completely inappropriate association of cognitive incapacity.
World Hearing Day is an annual global initiative sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO), designed to raise awareness and promote hearing care at community and national levels across the world. This year’s theme “Hearing care for ALL! Screen. Rehabilitate. Communicate.” fits perfectly with the A.R.M.-BeKol-BeHear initiative to provide free, accessible hearing screening.
Using equipment donated by Alango to BeKol, free access will be provided to BeHear’s hearing check kiosks located at the A.R.M. Medical Center in Assuta Hospital, Tel Aviv. The innovative kiosks offer a unique balance of user-independence with precision results, testing in a quick and simple process that anyone can undertake without the help of a healthcare professional. The system guides the user through a 5-minute hearing assessment using an intuitive interface available in English, Hebrew, Russian, and Arabic. Results are received on the spot and can be sent to the user’s email. The user is then invited to compare “what they hear” with “what they could be hearing” once BeHear’s advanced hearing enhancement technology is applied to the sound they hear.
“Increasing visibility raises acceptance and reduces social stigma.” states Dr. Alexander Goldin, Founder and CEO of Alango Technologies. “There is no excuse for people to be deterred from attaining the hearing care they need due to complicated bureaucracy, fear of going for screening, or high costs. We hope that through the donation of our kiosks to Bekol and the screenings that will take place, many people will be empowered to take control of their hearing health and address any issues they might have sooner, rather than later. People tend to like playing with gadgets so many will find that our hearing assessment is actually an interesting and engaging experience.”
“We at A.R.M. Medical Center work hard to raise awareness about the importance of early diagnosis of hearing loss and the need for appropriate and customized treatment,” states Prof. Michal Lunz, Director of the Department of Ear Surgery and Hearing Rehabilitation, A.R.M. “Each year, in conjunction with World Hearing Day, we hold a special week-long event. We invite the public to come and get tested by A.R.M.’s team of experts and receive the best diagnosis and consulting, all at no cost, in order to make good hearing health accessible to everyone.”
BeKol Executive Director Damian Kelman explains, “Bekol constantly strives to raise awareness and increase accessibility to good hearing health. World Hearing Day 2021 marks a unique opportunity to enhance Bekol’s efforts to provide free hearing screenings to the general population and to elderly adults in particular. With the newly and highly appreciated addition of BeHear kiosks to our centers and hearing mobile stations, we at Bekol look forward to expanding and maximizing the impact of our screening program throughout the year as well. Increasing testing availability and simplifying the process is a critical part of disrupting the barriers to hearing health.”
Free screenings using the Hearing Check Kiosks will take place over the course of two days (March 8 & March 10). The appointments are conditional on pre-registration by phone: 03-7645464, and will take place at A.R.M. Medical Center located at 20 Habarzel Street, 1st floor, Assuta Hospital, Ramat Hachayal, Tel Aviv. In addition to the hearing screenings, A.R.M. offers at no cost consulting appointments with its team of leading otologists and audiologists.
About A.R.M.
A.R.M Medical Center was founded in 2009 as a center of expertise in the fields of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck, and Oral and Maxillofacial surgery. With its team of leading Israeli doctors, it works to deliver all-encompassing solutions for patient needs, with full consideration of the best available technologies. The A.R.M Medical Center operates within “Assuta”, the most advanced private hospital in Israel. For more information, visit: www.aram-ent.co.il/en
About BeKol
BeKol is the organization representing the hard of hearing in Israel that strives for the empowerment, attainment of equal opportunities, and real integration of the hard of hearing in Israel, in all areas of life. The goal of the BeKol is to ensure that every hard of hearing person in Israel will be able to make the most of their skills, to the extent that their heart desires. For more information, visit: www.bekol.org
About Alango Technologies
Alango Technologies, Ltd. (www.alango.com) has been developing sound enhancement technologies since 2002, selling over 50 million software licenses that improve the audio experience in automotive, entertainment, and smart home applications around the world. Realizing the importance and opportunity of combining the sound enhancement technology found in hearing aids with the advances and costs in the consumer electronics world, the Company is now using its field-proven expertise in sound technology to create products for personal hearing enhancement: the “BeHear” product line (www.WearAndHear.com).
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BeHear, HearLink, and Wear & Hear are registered trademarks of Alango Technologies, Ltd. in the United States. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.
Also published at:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/shattering-disability-stigma-world-hearing-160200047.html