There have been plenty of world firsts in the wide landscape of hearing aid technology but this is a big one. Starkey Livio Edge is the world’s first hearing aid to provide both superior audio quality and the unmatched ability to track body and brain health, within the same unit.
Featuring integrated sensors, unparalleled computer processing and artificial intelligence, Livio AI can feed back information about your health — in your ear or through an app, translate language, detect if you’ve fallen and act as an assistant. It’s safe to say this has never been seen before.
Starkey have created a brand new category for their technology, unseen in the hearing world, or any other tech devices category — they call them “Healthables”. This intriguing area of technology is more than just a concept, as the ingenious aid treats hearing and measures other aspects of your health simultaneously.
Now you have the functionality to monitor health activities via an app and integrate the data into your life. You can even set up an SOS alert function, so that selected contacts (family, friends) are immediately notified if you were to fall down.
There is a full-featured list of these functions on a dedicated smartphone app called Thrive Hearing Control that allows the wearer to interact cleverly with their hearing aids. Compatible with both Android and Apple smartphones, the Thrive app also provides an array of information services and more control over your hearing aids.
Comfortably Hearing in Challenging Environments
Hearing Reality™ is an intelligent feature, effective in even the noisiest environments, like a restaurant, pub or football stadium. It reacts to loud settings, like a train station, by making things sound more comfortable, whilst increasing slight, subtle sounds in quiet places. The wearer is then free to enjoy the natural sounds of life, with the focus on enhanced speech clarity.
The Convenience of Adjustments on the Go
You can easily make adjustments to your hearing aids anytime, anywhere, with the associated Thrive™ app. You can even choose to have the hearing aids remember the settings for when you next go back to the same location (see Geotagged memories below).
Hearing That Happens Intuitively
Geotagged memories automatically switch modes when the GPS feature in your smartphone detects you are in a tagged location. For example, a “HOME” memory activates when you arrive at home, or a “RESTAURANT” setting can be set up for multiple locations triggered by you simply walking into whichever favourite restaurant you have chosen that day.
Maybe you want maximum wind noise reduction at an often-frequented beach, or selection of golf courses — you can set up a custom “OUTDOOR” program, which will automatically kick in when you arrive, giving a useful reduction of this particularly irritating noise. Wind noise had been the bain of hearing aid wearers lives for the longest time.
Echo blocking is also handy to have activate itself when in a large echoey room, hall or venue. For example, you may select “CHURCH” for this and also add a bit of general noise reduction if the music gets a little loud. Livio will simply remember this setting when you return next Sunday.
Hearing That’s Personalised for You
Personalized Control in the Thrive app that lets you make adjustments to suit your preferences in different listening environments without necessarily needing to use the geotagging feature. Livio will make educated assumptions and make these subtle changes when it detects you have entered a similar environment.
To Live a More Active and Healthy Life
Starkey Livio is the first hearing aid ever to include built-in integrated sensors, so you can track your body and brain health activities and send automatic fall alerts. The sensors are far more effective for data capture and analysis than standard sensors in a watch, or phone, because they are not around the wrist, or in a pocket, but positioned in the head area, which is much more stable and reliable.
Also, you are more likely to leave a watch off, or leave a phone on a table, plugged in etc, so you lose important data each time. Starkey Livio should be with you almost all the time, feeding back valuable information for useful monitoring.
Rechargeable and Reliable Hearing Aids
The smallest, “healthable” rechargeable device with 24 hours of superior hearing on one four-hour charge.
Starkey even provide custom rechargeable aids, which gives the ultimate in convenience — a perfect fit and no need for batteries, or anything over the ear.
Better Wireless Streaming
New technology provides consistent wireless performance through your smartphone or wireless accessories, while streaming from mobile phones, TV, music or other media. Essentially, the Starkey Livio uses Bluetooth to receive transmitted sound from multiple sources.
A Solution for Single-Sided Deafness
Starkey Livio CROS — a transmitter aid will open up sound from an ear that is unusable by constantly sending the sounds wirelessly to a hearing aid on the other side, creating a pseudo stereo effect that blows people’s minds. This really cannot be overstated. A dead ear feels alive again through groundbreaking technology that restores something that was assumed impossible.
Great sound quality, clarity and consistency with this new CROS technology allows streaming between your hearing aids, as well as from a phone.
No Buzzing/Whistling
Starkey’s feedback cancellation system is extremely effective, providing feedback-free, comfortable listening all day long.
Durable, Dependable Hearing Aids
Surface™ NanoShield is a pioneering water, wax and moisture repellent system, designed to protect and ensure durability and dependability for long-lasting, consistent hearing aids that you can rely on.
Music the Way It Was Meant to Be Heard
Starkey boasts a whole new way to experience music — adjustable via the Thrive app. They incorporate a different set of processors in the hearing aids, their sole purpose being to enrich music and widen the whole experience, so that it fills your head with layers of sound.
Livio music response is designed so you can hear every note the way the artists intended — with pure, refined sound quality. This is quite an underestimated feature, as it makes a noticeable enhancement to the listener, regardless of whether they are casual or discerning in their enjoyment.
The other eye-opening aspect of this feature we picked up on and feel is worth a big mention is this is the first time since the birth of hearing aids that dedicated processors have been designed to focus on something other than speech. One of the first lessons we learn in audiology is that the number one purpose of a hearing aid is to improve speech, so Starkey have really evolved the technology on that front.
Customisable Tinnitus Relief
Advanced Multiflex Tinnitus Technology, adjustable via the Thrive app, is a clever feature, designed to bring relief to those who suffer from ringing in the ears. We could write a whole dissertation on how we apply features like these that are wonderfully built into hearing aids for our programming capacity, but it’s definitely worth just hearing it directly from us, relating to each particular issue in question. It’s probably best to simply say that it’s a fantastic feature that’s highly effective in the right hands.
