Widex have released a new IIC hearing aid, they have called it the Widex IIC… The Widex IIC is very discreet and can be placed beyond the second bend of the ear canal. Widex have worked on an all-in-one design that means all the electronics of the hearing aid are individually placed in the shell to provide the ultimate small fit. The integrated faceplate eliminates hard edges leading to extra comfort.
The IIC also benefits from the Widex Sound – natural sound that doesn’t just help users hear speech or loud sounds, but all the sounds around them. Because the IIC sits so deeply in the ear canal the wearer can make the most of the natural pinna effect (the natural shape and sound collecting qualities of the ear shape) for better localisation of sound and to easily determine the direction of sound.
The Widex IIC is available in three technology levels, entry level, mid range and advanced, that’s IIC3+, IIC5 and IIC10. The Widex IIC covers hearing loss from minimal to moderately severe.
Widex have replaced the ageing entry level Widex Real with the new Menu 3+, in the past Widex have not troubled themselves too much to develop the entry level hearing aid market, concentrating more on the quality end of the hearing aid market instead. Of course the volume of hearing aid supply seems to congregate more towards the value end of the market and the Menu 3+ seems to be an effort to address this side of their hearing aid portfolio. It will be interesting to see how that goes.
Also Widex have added a couple of wireless accessories to their DEX range, the FM-DEX and the T-DEX.
The FM-DEX converts audio from an FM receiver, tyelecoil or audio cable line-in and then streams that to the Widex hearing aids. The rechargeable battery in the FM-DEX provides up to 10 hours of streaming. The FM-DEX has a wide bandwidth of up to 10.5kHz which can provide superb sound quality.
Also the T-DEX is now available, a hands free wireless neck loop that accepts bluetooth audio in wirelessly (that usually means a mobile phone but can just as easily be an MP3 player, a sat nav device, or anything that broadcasts bluetooth audio), and then connects to the hearing aids wirelessly via telecoil. In the case of a mobile phone user this means hands free conversations on your mobile. In fact the T-Dex can be used with any hearing aid brand that has a telecoil facility.
