Galaxy Buds Pro Can Aid Those With Hearing Loss
March 25, 2021Samsung recently published the findings of a study in Clinical and Experimental Otorhinolaryngology, one of the most renowned scientific journals dedicated to researching ENT. The study indicated that Galaxy Buds Pro Ambient Sound feature had an effective effect in helping individuals with moderate hearing loss to better understand the sounds around them.
The research was conducted in partnership with Samsung Medical Center, a leading health care center with a sterling reputation for clinical excellence, and scientific advancements. The Samsung Medical Center and Samsung have been working together for over 10 years, focusing on the impact of mobile devices for hearing and researching ways to optimize sounds for users.
With this latest research, Samsung provides an important next step in its ongoing commitment to collaborating on innovations that affect the lives of people every day. The study compared the efficacy of a hearing aid with headphones, a personal sound amplification device, along with the Galaxy Buds Pro.
Researchers report that there has yet to be any study that evaluates the clinical functioning of hearing devices with true wireless earbuds. A new study has demonstrated for the first time that true-wireless earbuds for individuals with mild to moderate hearing impairments hold the potential to improve the lives of 1.5 billion people who currently suffer from some degree of hearing loss.
“With the rapidly aging population, it’s expected that one in ten will have some sort of hearing loss by 2050.” Despite their usefulness in managing hearing impairments, hearing aids remain relatively unpopular, mainly because of their high price,” said Il Joon Moon, Associate Professor at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at Samsung Medical Center.
Researchers conclude that initial study findings are promising and encourage people to seek out alternatives devices, such as Galaxy Buds Pro, that can support them in their daily activities. The hearing aid, the personal sound amplifier, and the Galaxy Buds Pro were all subjected to three key tests: electroacoustic testing, amplification testing, and clinical performance testing.
An electroacoustic assessment
Each device’s electroacoustic characteristics were first tested to assess whether they met the key criteria for hearing aid performance: sound pressure output, frequency range, equivalent input noise, and total harmonic distortion. Galaxy Buds Pro demonstrated comparable performance to hearing aids under each of these four criteria.
Evaluation of sound amplification
Then, each device was tested at seven different frequencies to determine whether it boosted sound adequately. All devices showed a sufficient level of amplification.
Clinical Performance Evaluation (CPE)
Finally, a clinical performance evaluation examined how hearing levels changed with and without hearing aids, how well individuals could recognize different words, and how well they could understand more complex sentences.
Statistical significance was observed at 1,000Hz, 2,000Hz, and 6,000Hz, meaning Galaxy Buds Pro amplified sound at each of the three pitch frequencies sufficiently. The participants had mild to moderate hearing loss, with a median age of 63 years. Further, the majority of the participants – over 57% of them – said that Galaxy Buds Pro helped them communicate in a quiet environment.
The study found that when wearing Galaxy Buds Pro, individuals could better understand spoken words – particularly when compared to their performance in the unaided condition – a statistically significant improvement in performance was found.
The data suggests Galaxy Buds Pro could provide some communicative benefit, especially for those with mild and moderate hearing loss, in addition to hearing aids and personal sound amplification products. With Ambient Sound in the Galaxy Buds Pro, which boosts sound by up to 20 decibels, users are able to adjust how they experience sound in accordance with their needs.
