Why Widex? Here's 10 Reasons to Start!

WHY CHOOSE WIDEX HEARING AIDS?

BECAUSE THE DIFFERENCE IS IN THE DETAILS. Hearing aids need to facilitate communication by making speech signals more accessible to the listener and, thereby, reducing the amount of effort required to decode speech. This reduced effort is what Widex calls Effortless Hearing, a patented fitting rationale where every hearing aid feature is designed so people with hearing loss — regardless of cognitive capability — use the least amount of effort possible to hear and communicate in all listening situations. This philosophy is a guiding principle behind how Widex designs our hearing technology to produce a clear sound for all wearers. The difference is in the details.

10 MORE REASONS TO CHOOSE WIDEX: 1

Most Advanced True-Input Chip Technology at all Price Points

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• 4 A/D converters with 113 dB linear input range

• Widex pure-link enhanced 2.4 GHz BLE streaming with speech and music streaming templates

• Binaural InterEarTM communication (21 times per second)

• Advanced features including automatic firmware updates, GEOtagging, and “Find My Hearing Aids”

• Best battery life in the industry

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Extraordinary Hearing in Noise • Speech Enhancer • High Definition Locator — multichannel fully adaptive directionality with low frequency compensation

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Flexible Fitting and Fine-Tuning

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Consistent Audibility in Different Environments

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• SMARTWIND ManagerTM noise reduction • Audibility Extender — linear frequency transposition

• 70 Hz – 10,000 Hz* frequency range

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ZEN Tinnitus Management

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More Connected Than Any Other Hearing Aid

• ZEN harmonic tones, noise, and/or shaped noise

• Widex TRI-LINKTM and WidexLinkTM

• Soft and loud audibility and comfort • Sound Class Technology

Superior Music Representation • High Frequency Boost

• Multi-segmental I/O Curves

• Soft Level Noise Reduction

Connected Hearing Never Sounded Better

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Innovative Tools to Verify Audibility • Sensogram, SoundTracker and SpeechTracker

Commitment to Improving Access to Advanced Technology • Quality, durability and efficiency — IP68 rating • WindmadeTM by Widex

* 10,000 Hz available in select receivers.

WIDEXPRO.COM | 1 (800) 221-0188

1 MOST ADVANCED TRUE-INPUT CHIP TECHNOLOGY AT ALL PRICE POINTS 4 A/D Converters with 113 dB SPL Linear Input range Widex is the only manufacturer that utilizes four A/D converters — each with the highest linear input range in the industry at 113 dB SPL. By using additional converters, Widex successfully preserves the integrity of input sounds, allowing for a cleaner listening experience in every situation. All input levels are captured in their purest form, without corrupting the input signal.

Binaural InterEar™ Communication (21 times per second) Binaural InterEar communication provides instantaneous synchronization by communicating 21 times per second between hearing aids. This synchronization allows the brain access to a fuller, more complete listening experience even in complex listening situations.

POWERSAVER PLUS™ — Best battery life in the industry Widex offers the lowest current drain in the industry across all product styles and price points, ensuring reliability and consistency of signal processing and features, plus lower cost and less hassle for wearers.

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2 EXTRAORDINARY HEARING IN NOISE Real-Time Inter-Aural Speech Enhancer By assessing real-time acoustics and utilizing the Speech Intelligibility Index (SII), the Speech Enhancer algorithm identifies the need for additional gain and reduction of noise. These adjustments are based on an instantaneous analysis of the environment, the patient’s hearing loss, and the goal to emphasize speech over noise. Inter-aural Speech Enhancer provides the hearing aid wearer with the most accurate, comprehensive, and instantaneous binaural adjustments to their real-world sound environment by comparing input between hearing aids.

High Definition Locator Widex’ High Definition Locator is a multi-channel fully adaptive directional system with low frequency compensation. By focusing on speech in each individual channel while adapting to non-speech noise, the High Definition Locator is able to emphasize speech from all directions, eliminating the risk of missing important speech cues. Furthermore, Widex mimics the natural binaural directionality of normal hearing by automatically providing low frequency compensation for speech sounds.

3 FLEXIBLE FITTING AND FINE-TUNING Compass™ GPS fitting and fine-tuning software is designed to offer the hearing care professional extreme flexibility in adjusting hearing aid features and settings. By allowing for 1 dB gain adjustments at three input levels (soft, normal and loud) in all available channels per technology level, precise frequency shaping can be achieved — customized compression characteristics, noise management, speech enhancement, and directional variations offer the hearing aid wearer an exacting prescriptive formula for his/her individual hearing loss.

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4 CONSISTENT AUDIBILITY IN DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS Audibility for Soft Sounds and Comfort for Loud Sounds Preserving the full dynamic range of sound is a fundamental core principle of Widex signal processing. By using a variable speed compression system (primarily slow-acting with fast components), Widex maintains temporal and spectral characteristics of both soft and loud speech, making speech more comprehensible and recognizable to the wearer.

Soft Level Noise Reduction Utilizing the lowest compression threshold in the industry, Widex believes if a speech sound is not audible, it will never be intelligible. When combined with Widex Soft Level Noise Reduction, soft speech is preserved while minimizing the negative impact of ambient nonspeech sounds, providing unmatched speech clarity.

Sound Class Technology Widex Sound Class Technology contains a classification system that catalogues the listening environment in up to 9 distinct Sound Classes. An Internal Controller optimizes feature settings in order to secure the best possible listening circumstances for each Sound Class.

Universal Program

Quiet

Transport

Urban

Party

Quiet with Speech

Transport with Speech

Urban with Speech

Party with Speech

SMARTWIND Manager™ Widex SMARTWIND Manager has proven that hearing aid wearers can maintain audibility outdoors in the presence of wind with an 8.4 dB SNR improvement for phonemes in wind noise. By measuring the correlation between inputs from the front and back microphones per hearing aid, Widex is able to preserve speech while reducing the annoyance of wind noise.

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Music

Audibility Extender Linear Frequency Transposition As a pioneer of frequency transposition technology, Widex continues to revolutionize the industry by offering multiple frequency lowering strategies and modification abilities to best meet the audiological needs of patients with sloping hearing losses.

5 CONNECTED HEARING NEVER SOUNDED BETTER 2

The Widex U-PLATFORM technology delivers the best sound quality in the world. With the launch of 2.4 GHz direct connectivity, Widex hearing aid wearers are now seamlessly connected — any time and anywhere — with clean, pure, leading-edge sound.

Widex Pure-Link Widex pure-link enhances 2.4 GHz Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) streaming with separate speech and music templates and a designated A/D converter for direct BLE communication. The result is pure sound and accurate capturing of the streamed signal.

Automatic Firmware Update BEYOND wearers stay connected to the newest hearing aid firmware updates. The app automatically updates the hearing aids when new releases are made, reducing office visits for simple adjustments.

GEO-Tagging Customized settings for favorite locations allow the BEYOND app’s GEO-tagging capability to automatically activate those preferences when the wearer enters a specified location.

“Find My Hearing Aids” With a built-in search function, the Widex BEYOND app can lead the wearer to the last connected location of the hearing aids and alert him/her when they are close by.

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6 SUPERIOR MUSIC REPRESENTATION

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Musicians love Widex sound and Widex provides the best sound quality for music by capturing the full range of sound input through the preservation of both intensity and frequency ranges. The Widex music program provides a frequency range from 70 Hz to 10,000 Hz* and a linear dynamic range of 108 dB SPL, the highest in the industry. By offering an additional High Frequency Boost, musicians and music-lovers benefit from the additional high frequency emphasis.

True-Input Technology™ from Widex is the name associated with a novel approach designed to ensure that the available dynamic range is fully utilized while keeping the noise floor low. This technology utilizes a transformer action that allows the input voltage to be doubled.

This has the effect of extending the top range of the A/D conversion process to 113 dB SPL, which is more appropriate for many forms of music.”3 — Marshall Chasin, AuD

7 ZEN — TINNITUS AND RELAXATION MANAGEMENT Widex revolutionized tinnitus management with the introduction of ZEN tinnitus and relaxation therapy. Utilizing fractal technology, Widex offers proven therapeutic techniques for tinnitus patients4. This includes ZEN harmonic tones for habituation sound therapy as well as ZEN broadband noise and ZEN Frequency Shaped Noise for a full selection of tinnitus management options. This patented technology is available in all levels and styles** of technology emphasizing Widex’ fundamental philosophy of providing benefit for all patients.

* 10,000 Hz available in select receivers. ** ZEN is not available in MICRO CIC.

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8 MORE CONNECTED THAN ANY OTHER HEARING AID WITH TRI-LINK AND WIDEXLINK TM

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Widex unites our leading-edge sound with full wireless capability so wearers stay connected to the world around them. Widex TRI-LINKTM technology instantly connects the hearing aid wearer to an iPhone®, telecoils and the full range of DEX wireless listening accessories.

WidexLinkTM — our proprietary wireless technology — is designed specifically for the demands of hearing aids. It uses less power, is extremely fast and ensures minimal to no delay or drop-out of sound. With WidexLink, the hearing aids are constantly in communication with each other. Our DEX assistive listening devices use WidexLink to transmit sound between our hearing aids and other sound generating accessories. The full-range of DEX devices allow for wireless communication — while watching television, listening to music or talking on the phone, Widex hearing aid wearers are connected instantly to a world of sounds.

WIDEXLINK Pure-link

WIDEXLINK

2.4 GHz BLUETOOTH

TRANSMISSION FROM ALL DEX DEVICES InterEar

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T-COIL

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9 INNOVATIVE TOOLS TO VERIFY AUDIBILITY Widex developed Compass™ GPS software to be highly accurate by utilizing embedded fitting and programming tools to supplement traditional verification methods. These include, but are not limited to, the Sensogram, SoundTracker, and Speech Tracker.

Sensogram Developed by Widex, the Sensogram increases the accuracy of the hearing aid fitting by utilizing an in-situ measurement.

The measured in-situ thresholds take into account the effect of the earmold/shell, the size of the individual ear canal and the hearing loss.

SoundTracker SoundTracker shows the real-time performance of the hearing aids by conducting a continual, instantaneous tracking of the hearing aid’s performance. SoundTracker measures the input at the hearing aid microphone then adds the natural amplification of the ear canal and insertion gain to display the real-time output at the eardrum.

SpeechTracker SpeechTracker displays the hearing aid performance over time by showing the average output for continuous input signals (speech, speech in noise and/or noise only). This view gives a clear indication of how much gain the hearing aid provides the hearing aid wearer.

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10 COMMITMENT TO IMPROVING ACCESS TO ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY Widex’ vision is to give people unlimited access to a world of sounds by providing perfect hearing. In order to reach these goals, Widex produces some of the best and most advanced digital hearing aids on the market. Widex values can be captured in five concepts: to put customers first to be reliable to be pioneers

to develop digital hearing aids with passion to cherish team spirit

Widex is constantly striving to meet and exceed these values every day. With the highest possible IP 68 rating for durability, a WindMadeTM headquarters in Denmark that is powered by wind energy, and the ability to capture more sound than any other hearing aid available, Widex continues to push boundaries to be the best choice for patients.

1 Data on file.

2 Canadian Audiologist, VOL. 3, ISSUE 5, 2016, “A Canadian Evaluation of Real-Life Satisfaction of Hearing Aids in Challenging Environments”, By Ryan Kalef, BSc, MSc, AuD(C), RAuD Carol A. Lau, MA (AuD), BA (Sp & H Th) Rachel Liu, AuD, AuD(C), Reg. CASLPO Melissa McFadden, MSc, Reg. CASLPO Andrew Sharpe, HIS 3 Chasin M., A hearing aid solution for music. Hearing Review. 2014: 21(1)[Jan]: 28-31.

4 Sweetow, R., Jeppesen, A.M. A new integrated program for tinnitus patient management: Widex Zen therapy. Hearing Review. 2012; 19(7): 20-27.

5 Kuk. F. Going Beyond: A Testament of Progressive Innovation. Hearing Review. 2016: 24(2):Supplement.

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WIDEXPRO.COM

DBR118/0517

1.800.221.0188 185 Commerce Drive. Hauppauge. New York. 11788