The new versions of Sennheiser’s MobileConnect and CinemaConnect apps for accessible streaming allow users to not only adjust volume but also to adapt speech intelligibility and sound quality to their particular requirements for the first time.

The apps are intended for users with early-stage hearing loss who have no hearing aid as well as hearing aid wearers with early-stage hearing loss or a slight hearing impairment. Users will benefit from generally improved sound quality tailored to their specific needs.

The process for personalizing the audio signal settings is intuitive, with no need for a prior hearing test. To make adjustments, the user draws her finger over a touch-sensitive field built into the app until she gets the optimal sound pattern for her specific requirements. The user can make further audio adjustments at any time during the event they are attending. With MobileConnect, wearers of hearing aids or cochlear implants can connect the live sound of the event directly from their smartphone to their hearing aid. To develop this technology, the scientists reduced the complex signal processing strategies used in hearing aid technology to a limited number of typical presets.

The updated versions of MobileConnect and CinemaConnect are now available for download free of charge from all app stores. Sennheiser’s details on them are here.