Hear the world
For many people, hearing is so fundamental to everyday life that its importance becomes apparent only when something gets in the way.
It is the conversation across a restaurant table, a friend’s voice in a crowd, laughter from another room, or the sounds that make an experience feel alive.
Hearing is not simply about sound. It is about participation.
That idea is at the heart of Signia’s newest innovation, Multi-adaptive Xperience (MaX), which was introduced to the Asia-Pacific region during its launch on Sept. 7 at the WSA headquarters in Singapore, before its introduction to the Philippine market.
The world speaks with noise
At the launch, WSA APAC president James Benston offered a different way of thinking about sound:
“Individuals speak with a voice. The world speaks with noise.”
Noise, he explained, is not necessarily something that should simply disappear. In a restaurant, the surrounding sounds may include a waiter’s voice, music, conversations, and the ambience of the room—all part of the experience.
“So why are we asking ourselves such a one-dimensional question?” Benston said, challenging the idea that AI in hearing technology should focus only on reducing noise.
Hearing means participating
For Riina Stengert, head of brand strategy and activation, APAC, the subject is deeply personal.
“My daughter had a hearing loss. And she wears hearing aids,” she shared. “But without hearing aids, her life would be very different. Her experience of this world would be different. Her life would be put on hold.”
For Campbell Stevens, an audiologist and Signia MaX wearer who has lived with severe-to-profound hearing loss in his left ear, hearing technology is likewise about staying engaged.
After wearing MaX for two weeks, including an evening at a noisy cocktail bar, he described the experience as “clear and natural.”
“You want to hear the crowd. You want to be part of the action. You want to be immersed in it, and you want it to be natural,” Stevens said.
April Chong, WSA managing director for Southeast Asia and a trained audiologist, sees that sense of participation as part of a larger hearing-awareness challenge across the region.
Having trained as an audiologist in Melbourne, she said returning to Singapore revealed a lower level of hearing awareness than she expected. While awareness has grown, Chong believes accessibility, affordability, and outreach remain important challenges in Southeast Asia.
Four dimensions, one response
The technology behind MaX was demonstrated by Peter McKinnon, head of product, brand and marketing strategy, ANZ, and Isabel Low, product management and training manager, SEA.
“The number one complaint of people with hearing aids is hearing in social situations,” McKinnon said.
MaX addresses that complexity through four Deep Neural Networks coordinated by Acoustic Intelligence: Scene, Speech, Noise, and Own Voice.
The Scene DNN interprets the changing environment; Speech tracks conversation partners; Noise manages unwanted sound while preserving the character of the environment; and Own Voice Processing is designed to make the wearer’s own voice sound more natural.
The philosophy is perhaps best captured by Low’s simple explanation:
“It’s not about eliminating the noise.”
Hear the world
The technology is housed in the Signia Pure Charge&Go MaX, a discreet, rechargeable hearing aid designed to fit naturally into everyday life.
For Maarten Barmentlo, global chief marketing officer, comfort is an important part of that experience.
“One huge benefit of hearing aids over any wearable is wearing comfort,” he said.
Ultimately, however, MaX is less about the sophistication of its technology than what that technology enables: To hear the conversation; to notice the laughter; to feel the energy of a crowd without being overwhelmed by it; and to remain present in the moments that matter.
Because the goal is not to silence the world.
It is to hear it, and remain part of it.
