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Phonak Infinio Ultra Evidence
Infinio Ultra evidence embodies our commitment to the highest industry standards, ensuring that hearing aid wearers can enjoy extraordinary sound, and Spheric Speech Clarity like never before.
Learn more about the science behind Infinio Ultra and the proven real-world benefits for your clients.
Spheric Speech Clarity 2.0 (SSC 2.0):
Significantly improves speech understanding and reduces listening effort1
Speech understanding is a top priority when choosing a hearing aid for your clients.2
New evidence: Using neuroimaging to measure the effect of hearing aid features on listening effort
A recent peer-reviewed study used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), a cutting-edge brain imaging technique, to measure the impact of our DNN-based Spheric Speech in Loud Noise program on listening effort.
Participants wearing Audéo Sphere Infinio hearing aids showed remarkable results: The Spheric Speech-in-Loud Noise program, … led to lower oxygenation in the left lateral prefrontal cortex compared to the standard-listening program, which aligned with improved speech understanding and reduced listening effort.3
Tested in real-world listening conditions
The Phonak Audiology Research Center in Shanghai, China, conducted a study to test the performance of SSC 2.0, the AI-powered denoising feature in Audéo Infinio (Ultra) Sphere™ hearing aids:
Real-world lab setup
12 loudspeakers arranged in a circle around the listener to simulate noise from any direction and speech from various frontal directions.
Speech understanding task
Speech reception threshold (SRT) test
Participants listened out for target sentences and recalled the color-number pair at the end of those sentences.
Listening effort task
Spatial ACALES Test
Participants heard 5-word sentences in noise (e.g., “Alan gives eight dark toys.”) They rated the effort required to follow the speaker on a scale of 1 to 14.
Real-world benefits
The result showed that Spheric Speech Clarity 2.0:
- delivers up to 31% improvement in speech understanding*
- is proven to reduce listening effort by up to 35%*
Better speech understanding in multi-talker environments
In a study at Hörzentrum Oldenburg, users compared Spheric Speech Clarity 2.0 (SSC 2.0) versus traditional Speech in Loud Noise (SILN) including StereoZoom (SZ). The results showed that SSC 2.0 delivered significantly better speech understanding in challenging multi-talker environments. Plus, users reported less listening effort and reduced fatigue at the end of a time-compressed auditory day:4
Less fatigue: Lowers cognitive load in complex communication situations, leading to less fatigue at the end of the day**
37 %
reduction in listening effort** 3
50 %
better speech understanding performance**
AutoSense™ OS 7.0:
AI-powered precision in challenging listening environments
New evidence, conducted at the Phonak Audiology Research Center (PARC) in Chicago, USA, showed that ASOS 7.0 offers significant benefits for your clients.
86 %
of clients value an automatic hearing aid5
Lab setup
A simulated challenging communication situation was created using a 12-speaker array with speech coming from the front (O degrees) and noise from other directions. The same noise environment and level were used for both the sound quality ratings and the speech understanding task.
Speech understanding task
AzBio sentence test
Example: “There is a penny and a dime in my pocket.”
The AzBio Sentence Test evaluates how well hearing aid wearers understand everyday conversational speech in quiet and noisy settings.
Real benefits for the real world
AutoSense™ OS 7.0 adapts 24% more precisely to listening situations than the previous generation. The study shows that a more accurate classification results in improved speech understanding***6
Deliver an exceptional first fit with Phonak Adaptive Phonak Digital 3.0 (APD 3.0), a refined fitting formula designed to enhance sound quality across all listening programs. APD 3.0 features a new frequency response curve that elevates general sound quality, helping you achieve high client satisfaction from the very first fitting.
93 %
client satistaction from the very first fit compated a key competitor7
From lab to real life
Our research team in Toronto validated APD 3.0 under realistic acoustic conditions using ambisonic recordings in a multi-speaker setup to simulate everyday listening environments.
Listening task
While listening to the sound scenes, participants toggled between APD 3.0 and APD 2.0 programs. They then chose which program they preferred for speech clarity, noise intrusion, listening comfort and overall experience.
Real-world benefits
Speech intelligibility performance was found to be similar for APD 3.0 and APD 2.0. Study participants preferred APD 3.0 over APD 2.0 for:
- Increased listening comfort
- Reduced intrusion of background noise
- Enhanced overall sound experience8
Ensuring reliable evidence through real-world lab setups
At Phonak, we strive to provide solutions that deliver real-world benefits to your clients.
Our technical measurements are designed to validate effectiveness and usability in everyday life.
Key components of our quality measurement set-up include:
Realistic loudspeaker setup:
Loudspeakers arranged in a circle around the listener to simulate noise and speech from any direction.
Realistic sound scenes:
Background noise simulation realistic sound recording to replicate real-world listening situations.
Target speech:
Direction of target speech and the task reflects real-world listening task.
Infinio Ultra blog posts
Infinio Ultra: Making life easier for professionals and clients
As Director of Holistic Hearing Care at Sonova, Dr. Maren Stropahl shares how innovations like EasyGuard™ and APD 3.0 help make hearing care smoother, more reliable, and more person-centered for both professionals and clients.
Phonak Infinio Ultra: Real time adaptation for high-quality sound in every situation
Leveraging 18 times more training data, Phonak’s AutoSense OS™ 7.0 has been retrained to enhance acoustic scene classification, enabling Infinio Ultra hearing aids to intelligently adapt to new sound environments in real time.
Phonak Infinio Ultra: Connectivity that works, no matter what the device
Discover how advancements in Infinio Ultra support more intuitive connectivity that simplifies device use for clients and streamlines workflows for clinicians.
Phonak Infinio Ultra: Clear speech from every direction
Just one year after launching Spheric Speech Clarity, Phonak introduces Infinio Ultra with Spheric Speech Clarity 2.0. This next step in AI-driven hearing technology delivers clear speech in noise, and from every direction.
Phonak Infinio Ultra: Delivering what matters most to clients
The Phonak Infinio Ultra platform sets a new standard, built around the hearing and lifestyle priorities that matter most to clients.
Learn more about our high-quality evidence:
Footnotes
compared to StereoZoom 2.0, adults with moderate to severe hearing loss
** relative change in performance compared to StereoZoom 2.0, subjects with moderate-severe hearing loss
*** compared to previous generation
**** rated by clients comparing APD 3.0 to APD 2.0
- Tian, E. et al. (2025) Spheric Speech Clarity significantly improves speech understanding in a multi-talker scenario and reduces spatial listening effort with Mandarin speakers. Phonak Field Study News. Retrieved from https://www.phonak.com/evidence.
- Sonova proprietary research. (2024). Project ID #4716, USA N=306 . Please contact marketinsight@phonak.com if you are interested in further information.
- Vaisberg, J. M., Dang, C., Jiang, Y., Qian, J. & Russo, F. A. (2025). Brain benefits of deep learning-based noise management in experienced hearing aid users using functional near infrared spectroscopy. Scientific Reports, 15, 41815. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-25801-y
- Latzel, M et al. (2025) Spheric Speech Clarity improves speech understanding and reduces both listening effort and fatigue. Phonak Field Study News. Retrieved from https://www.phonak.com/evidence.
- Sonova proprietary research. (2022). Project ID #4535. Please contact marketinsight@phonak.com if you are interested in further information.
- Wright, A. et al. (2025). AutoSense OS 7.0 improves speech understanding with highly rated sound quality for challenging listening environments. Phonak Field Study News. Retrieved from https://www.phonak.com/evidence.
- Stewart, E., Adler, M., Seitz-Paquette, K. (2024) "Adaptive Phonak Digital (APD) 3.0 is the preferred first fit compared to a leading competitor device". Phonak Field Study News retrieved from https://www.phonak.com/evidence.
- Voss, S. C., Sheikh, B. & Cui, E. M. (2025). Sound quality improvements with APD 3.0. Phonak Field Study News. Retrieved from https://www.phonak.com/evidence.