As of 2015, leading hearing instrument manufacturer Sivantos Group co-branded Siemens and Signia under one umbrella. For this dual brand, Sivantos Group says, “With Signia, we want to create a brand that is more human and personal, while building on the Siemens values of technological innovation and quality. For the years to come, this dual branding will allow us to leverage the best of both brands, appealing to a broader demographic, which will be the basis of our future growth.”

The co-branding of Siemens and Signia looks forward to the future with a long history of innovation rooted in over a century of experience. Founded in Berlin, Siemens began its work in 1847. Siemens was built upon the focus of improving the lives of people who are hard of hearing. Siemens introduced the first behind-the-ear hearing aid in 1959 and the first in-the-ear hearing aid in 1966. In 2014, Siemens introduced the binax, the first hearing aid to outperform normal hearing. Signia’s first product builds upon Siemens’ long history of innovation, with the brand-new Primax.

The Primax has been proven by independent studies to reduce listening effort throughout the day, built upon the binaural processing platforms found in previous Siemens hearing aids. Primax introduces new features such as SpeechMaster, HD Music, and EchoShield to provide wearers with a natural and accessible listening experience.

SpeechMaster utilizes a number of algorithms to enable wearers to focus on the voices they want to hear. With the elimination of background noise, SpeechMaster aids the wearer’s listening with digital noise reduction, directionality microphones, and amplification. For some hearing aid wearers, the experience of listening to music may be compromised due to loss of the richness of sounds. Primax offers the HD Music feature, which enhances sounds and preserves the fidelity of music. HD gives wearers three musical experiences: recorded music, live music, and for musicians, music performance.

Primax’s EchoShield feature further eases listening effort for wearers by softening sounds and preventing over-amplification. In certain environments with difficult acoustics, such as lecture halls, hallways, lobbies, and places of worship, hearing aid wearers may experience unpleasant reverberation. EchoShield functions as a balancing act, protecting sounds wearers want to hear while deflecting louder sounds.

As a wireless hearing aid, Primax offers the TwinPhone feature. With a wireless connection, wearers may stream conversations directly to their hearing aids. TwinPhone also reduces the feedback one may experience when talking on the phone. Primax is also available for people who experience single-sided hearing loss, with CROS and BiCROS hearing aids. Equipped with ear-to-ear (e2e) technology, sounds are picked up from the unaided ear and fed to the hearing aid in the other ear, to provide wearers with a fuller sound picture.

The Siemens binax received the 2015 Gold Edison Award for its innovation as the world’s first hearing aid to outperform normal hearing. Two independent studies, conducted by the University of Northern Colorado and the Hearing Center of the University of Oldenburg, found that binax hearing aid wearers were able to hear better than people with normal hearing in challenging noise situations. Siemens achieves this feat with e2e wireless technology. The binax simulates binaural hearing through an eight microphone network (four per hearing aid, which wirelessly share and balance audio data).

The binax offers features such as Narrow Directionality, which gives wearers the power to focus on specific sounds they want to hear, while eliminating difficult background noise and Spatial Speech Focus, which preserves and improves speech for people who are hard of hearing. The binax is also designed for active lifestyles outdoors, with eWindScreen binaural, which balances sound between ears in windy environments. Siemens’ High Definition Sound Resolution gives binax wearers a fuller picture of the sound spectrum.

Siemens hearing aids treat varying degrees of hearing loss, from mild to profound, and are available to be worn in a three main styles: behind-the-ear, in-the-ear, and receiver-in-canal. Primax is available in receiver-in-canal, behind-the-ear, or in-the-ear styles. They are all discreet and sleek in design, while providing maximum performance. It is also available in different performance levels for varying degrees of hearing loss: 7px, 5px, and 3px.

Signia Primax is available in best-selling hearing aid models from Siemens/Sivantos Group: Ace, Pure (receiver-in-canal), Motion (behind-the-ear), and Insio (in-the-ear). Wearers of Primax will find ease of operation with the touchControl app and remote control, and connectivity to other devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.) through the easyTek app. Primax hearing aids also offer tinnitus therapy (static noise and ocean wave sounds).

Siemens also offers the Aquaris, the world’s first fully waterproof and dustproof hearing aid. It is designed for people with active lifestyles and stands up to moisture, sweat, oils, and debris. Siemens hearing aids are equipped with wireless capabilities, using the easyTek app to connect hearing aids to smartphones and personal electronic devices.