Press room

MINNEAPOLIS (January 23, 2017) — Over the next two months, Starkey® Hearing Technologies, the only American-owned and -operated hearing aid manufacturer, will release a suite of new technologies and applications to bring patients more of what they want from their hearing devices. The release includes a brand-new, faster operating system, Acuity OS 2; the new Halo™ 2 RIC 312 and next generation of the TruLink Hearing Control App; a rechargeable Muse hearing aid option designed with ZPower; and the new SurfLink Mini Mobile.

On Monday, January 23, Starkey Hearing Technologies will officially release Acuity OS 2, TruLink 4.0 and the Halo RIC 312 to market. The new rechargeable Muse micro RIC 312t ZPower option and new SurfLink Mini Mobile will launch in February.

Acuity OS 2 and Interactive Intelligence
The new Acuity OS 2 operating system is designed to deliver patients personalization at the speeds their lifestyles demand. Five times faster than its predecessor, Acuity OS 2 includes two revolutionary new features and will work with all of Starkey Hearing Technologies Synergy® platform hearing aids.

• Interactive Intelligence ensures seamless environmental shifts and preservation of conversation by quickly and constantly adapting to changing lifescapes when speech is present.
• Initial Fit Protocol in the Inspire® software allow for a faster and more personalized best fit — shortening the time professionals spend fitting and allowing more time to counsel patients on best practices for use and care.

All-new Muse and Halo 2 products will ship with Acuity OS 2. All Muse and Halo 2 products currently worn by patients can be upgraded to the new operating system at any time.

Halo 2 RIC 312 and TruLink 4.0 – Nearly invisible and intimately personalized
The Halo 2 RIC 312 is Starkey’s smallest Made for iPhone® hearing aid yet. A new style of Starkey’s award-winning hearing aids, Halo 2, the nearly invisible Made for iPhone® hearing aid launches alongside TruLink 4.0 for the best hearing experience yet.

“Halo 2 is one of our most popular hearing aids. It delivers high-quality performance, clarity of sound, listening comfort, and the connectivity with mobile technology that patients want,” Starkey Hearing Technologies Chief Technical Officer Tim Trine said. “With the Halo 2 RIC 312, new TruLink updates and the enhanced performance and speed provided by Acuity OS 2, patients will be able to have a better, more personalized listening experience.”

To help patients with Halo or Halo 2 hearing aids better customize their hearing experiences, TruLink 4.0 features a brand-new tool and new layout. The tool, Ultimate Personalization, ensures patients won’t miss a word in wind, noise and crowds by enabling them to control and personalize noise management on-demand. Additionally, SoundSpace™ has been relocated to the new Personalized Control section of the app to help patients make easier adjustments to sound quality in different environments. Finally, users will now be prompted to create custom memories to make geotagging and custom memory creation easier.

To learn more about the features of TruLink, visit www.trulinkhearing.com.

ZPower and Muse – Our “Made for Music” hearing aid is now rechargeable
Thanks to ZPower, the Muse micro RIC 312t now comes in a rechargeable option. Patients will no longer have to worry about their batteries failing at inopportune times and can simply, “Recharge. Relax. Repeat.”

“We are proud that Starkey chose ZPower’s rechargeable battery technology for their highly acclaimed Muse hearing aid,” Sara Sable-Antry, VP of Sales and Marketing for ZPower, said. “It has been our mission to use ZPower’s innovative silver-zinc battery technology to improve the quality of life of hearing aid wearers, and now, with the launch of the rechargeable Muse, more patients will benefit from the convenience of reliable, rechargeable hearing aids.”

SurfLink Mini Mobile
Alongside the new Muse product, comes a new SurfLink wireless hearing accessory. SurfLink Mini Mobile offers patients the two-in-one advantage of streaming phone calls and enhancing one-on-one conversations. A compact cellphone streaming solution, the SurfLink Mini Mobile adapter plugs into the popular SurfLink Remote Microphone 2 to allow patients to connect to any Bluetooth®-ready device and stream phone calls directly to their hearing aids. Once a call has ended, patients can unplug the Mini Mobile adapter and return to using the SurfLink Remote Microphone 2 to aid in one-on-one conversations.

To learn more about the new Acuity OS 2, Halo 2 RIC 312 or TruLink 4.0 updates, please visit www.starkey.com for patients and www.starkeypro.com for hearing healthcare professionals. To learn more about the new ZPower rechargeable Muse micro RIC 312t or SurfLink Mini Mobile, please connect with our Director of PR and Customer Experience, Karen Spaeth.

About Starkey Hearing Technologies
Starkey Hearing Technologies is a privately held, global hearing technology company headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Founded in 1967, the company is recognized for its innovative design, development and distribution of comprehensive digital hearing systems. The company develops, manufactures and distributes hearing aids via three distinct brands – Audibel, NuEar and its original brand, Starkey. As the only American owned and operated provider of hearing technologies, Starkey Hearing Technologies is proud to support veterans and active military service personnel with the best in American innovation, including a suite of revolutionary hearing technologies and other resources. Starkey Hearing Technologies currently employs more than 4,800 people and operates 21 facilities and conducts business in more than 100 markets worldwide. For more information, visit www.starkey.com.

About ZPower, LLC: ZPower is a leader in the development of rechargeable, silver-zinc batteries for miniature battery applications whose headquarters and manufacturing facility is in Camarillo, California. The company provides a total solution for hearing instrument manufacturers which includes advanced silver-zinc battery technology and charger design support. The ZPower solution simplifies new product development and speeds time-to-market. For end users, ZPower batteries deliver unmatched performance, improved user experience and are better for the environment.ZPower is ISO 9001:2008 certified and its facility and devices registered with the FDA. For more information, visit www.zpowerbattery.com.