QUALCOMM, INC. Oct 21, 2020
Qualcomm products mentioned within this post are offered by Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.
According to the World Health Organization, a third of the global population over age 65 have disabling hearing loss, and over 900 million people are expected to be suffering from disabling hearing loss by 2050. There are also many people who have mild to moderate hearing loss who may not yet need a hearing aid but could benefit from hearing enhancement and personalization if it were easily accessible to them. Jacoti, a medical device company with a mission to address the world's hearing needs, has been working closely with Qualcomm Technologies to make its hearing enhancement technology available on the Qualcomm QCC5100 Series Bluetooth Audio SoCs for use in true wireless earbuds and headsets. We spoke with Senior Director of Product Marketing for Voice & Music, Chris Havell, Qualcomm Technologies International, Ltd., about how we are working with Jacoti to help our customers design enhanced and personalized audio experiences.
Why are you looking to support hearing enhancement technology to the QCC5100 Series SoCs?As consumers continue to embrace wireless audio - in particular, true wireless earbuds - we're seeing a rapidly increasing demand for more richly featured, contextually aware devices. In our most recent consumer research, The State of Play Report 2020, we found that over 40 percent of participants said they were interested in earbuds that would provide automatic hearing assistance when needed. By supporting Jacoti's personalized hearing enhancement technology on our breakthrough QCC5100 Bluetooth Audio SoCs, we're helping to make this feature more accessible to consumers who can benefit from it in their everyday lives.
Oct 21, 2020 | 0:14
Jacoti is a medical device company with a QMS (Quality Management System) in compliance with international medical device regulations and standards, it looks to deliver hearing software from audio personalization to full hearing support in compliance with FDA and CE regulations. Supporting this quality and standard of technology to mainstream Bluetooth audio devices is truly groundbreaking. Not only is it extremely effective, it is also very safe with embedded hearing protection features which are designed to prevent the user from being exposed to sounds that may cause further hearing damage.
Oct 21, 2020 | 0:14
The Jacoti solution involves two steps. The first is a hearing test that runs via an app on either Android or iOS phones, which prompts the user to respond to different tones and frequencies. This helps to establish the volume thresholds and frequencies that the user has difficulty hearing. The interesting thing about this is that, like fingerprints, no two people have exactly the same hearing capabilities. The Jacoti app then creates a tailored profile for the left and right ear based on classical audiological principles. These profiles can then be loaded into the earbuds and are designed to work in conjunction with the Jacoti technology on the earbuds to provide the right levels of personalization, intercepting incoming sound before it reaches the ears and then adjusting the volume of the appropriate frequencies to enhance the users' hearing. Once the hearing test has been completed on the app, Jacoti's algorithms and correction parameters should embed in the QCC5100 series-based earbud, which can then be used with any phone, tablet, or other Bluetooth wireless audio device.
How do I get the Jacoti technology?Manufacturers who are interested in implementing Jacoti's technology on our QCC5100 Series can contact Jacoti directly for more information on how to obtain and integrate their technology into our devices.
What does this mean for consumers?We're really excited about supporting Jacoti technology on our Bluetooth Audio SoCs and making personalized audio more accessible than ever before. I believe it has the potential to enhance everyday experiences for those who may have struggled to fully hear what is happening around them. For example, in a busy restaurant or even in an open plan office their technology is designed to deliver assistive listening for live conversations so that those with mild to moderate hearing loss can more easily participate in conversations around them. The Jacoti technology can just as readily be used when making calls and listening to music, ensuring immersive experiences no matter what the user is doing.
Oct 21, 2020 | 0:15
Our customers are competing in an ever evolving and crowded market. Supporting this technology for OEMs that are designing true wireless earbuds and headsets based on the QCC51000 series helps them differentiate; they're able to offer a new user experience to an expanded consumer base, providing unique and important benefits that can serve the user. Ultimately, consumers will be able to look for earbuds and headsets with Jacoti, technology inside that's designed to provide hearing enhancement technologies based on audiological science.
Find more information on the QCC5100 Series Bluetooth Audio SoCs, which now support Jacoti technology.
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Qualcomm Inc. published this content on 21 October 2020 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 22 October 2020 19:04:04 UTC
