On the 15th May 2025, GN ReSound hosted an intimate launch of the ReSound Vivia hearing aid. We have summarised the day in our write up below and also in a short video. Enjoy!
Who are GN ReSound?
GN ReSound is a key part of the 150-year-old GN Group and is a leading global hearing aid brand. They are headquartered in Denmark and operate worldwide.
ReSound have always been one of the most innovative companies and they take big risks on technology. For example, they were the first hearing aid manufacturer to implement the ‘Made for iPhone’ (mFi) Bluetooth protocol in 2014. It nearly killed them as a company because they were ahead of their time. Much of the audiology community saw it as a gimmick that would never take off.
Fast forward to today, and Bluetooth technology in hearing aids is a critical feature for enhancing quality of care. It has enabled us to offer telehealth features, music and phone call streaming, as well as self-adjustment and fine tuning. It is one of the key selling points of the hearing aids we dispense today and I feel it is the main reason satisfaction levels have increased exponentially in the last 10 years.
What’s crazy is this wasn’t the first time ReSound have implemented something groundbreaking, they were also the first company to introduce Wide Dynamic Range Compression many moons ago.
More recently, ReSound were the first company to introduce Bluetooth LE Audio and Auracast Bluetooth in their hearing aids, which is the biggest leap forward in accessibility for the deaf and hard of hearing community since the invention of the telecoil / loop system in 1936.
And today, there is another innovation, which is the world’s smallest AI hearing aid.
Introducing ReSound Vivia
ReSound Vivia is marketed as a device for enhancing your natural hearing intuition and ability to focus on what matters. It does this using a dedicated chip for processing the audio information.
Their Deep Neural Network is the unique selling point of this hearing aid and they are calling this feature ‘Intelligent Focus’.
Deep Neural Network aka Intelligent Focus
A hearing aid is a small device and so the computational power is limited by it’s size. This is why hearing aid manufacturers have come up with a clever way of adapting to complex listening situations.
Ahead of putting the chip in the hearing aid, they have to ‘train’ it using millions of different listening scenarios on a supercomputer. The supercomputer is able to do the hard work and figure out the best way of achieving enhanced speech perception. This learnt behaviour is then applied to the chip. Therefore, when the chip recognises a listening situation it already knows the best way to deal with this auditory information.
So an AI hearing aid isn’t like the AI we often see in the news like ChatGPT, which are highly complex neural network’s designed to understand and generate human like text, images and videos. The DNN chip on a hearing aid is designed for a highly specific task; audio processing in real time. The chip on a hearing aid isn’t able to automatically learn new information once it is installed.
The only way to improve the data set on a an AI hearing aid is through what is called a ‘firmware update’. This update is made available to the device within the app or by the hearing care provider.
So all users can rest assured that their privacy is safe with an AI hearing aid. It will not be listening to or recording your conversations to enhance it’s ability to perform.
Bluetooth LE Audio + AuracastTM
Bluetooth LE Audio is the latest way hearing aids are connecting to your mobile phone. It was designed to improve the quality of the audio signal, offer a more stable connection, and reduce battery consumption.
ReSound Vivia has Bluetooth LE Audio built in and is also Auracast ready. Auracast will allow users to connect to public audio broadcasts such as theatres, airports, and places of worship. Auracast is set to replace the outdated Telecoil system which is often underutilised or not readily available.
Hands free calling
Like most other modern hearing aids you can perform hands free calling with the ReSound Vivia hearing aid. This makes communication over the phone more intuitive and offers enhanced sound quality over traditional usage.
ReSound Smart 3D app
The ReSound Smart 3D app allows users to control their hearing aid. It offers features like volume control, program control, and sound enhancements (e.g. fine tuning your hearing aid at home).
I find the ReSound Smart 3D app to be one of the more intuitive out of all of the hearing aid manufacturers. It’s strengths lie in the ability to send fine tuning requests directly to the audiologist and also being able to update the firmware at home rather than relying on the audiologist like most manufacturers.
Additional Features
ReSound are still offering the Loop System on one of their devices but unfortunately not on their rechargeable version. Although Auracast is set to replace the telecoil, it is still a very useful technology for many individuals. This won’t be an issue in 2-3 years time as Auracast technology is being rolled out rapidly but at the time of writing, the telecoil is still a very relevant technology.
Real Life Experience
Our clinic was one of a select few in the UK that had exclusive access to the ReSound Vivia 9 miniRIE rechargeable hearing aid ahead of the launch and we were able to test it out on real clients.
One particular client had tried the following hearing aids:
- Oticon Intent 1 – 2 week trial
- Widex Allure 440 – 2 week trial
- Signia Pure C&G 7IX – 4 week trial
- Phonak Audeo Infinio – only 5 minutes as they didn’t like how big it was
All hearing aids were programmed to NAL-NL2, verified with Real Ear Measurement. This means that the hearing aids were set up identically and the only differences would be how the hearing aid processes the audio signal.
The ReSound Vivia 9 was their favourite above the others as they reported it had the best speech clarity in quiet and in noise and also best quality of sound when streaming music from their phone.
The Signia Pure C&G 7IX was a close second for the client and they really liked the ability to adjust the beamforming on the Signia app which is not available on the ReSound, but ultimately, they felt that the ReSound was a better performer day-to-day for them.
I appreciate this is only a single case and every person has their own unique requirements, but it is rare that one client will have exposure to this many hearing aids before making a decision and I think it speaks volumes for ReSound about how well the ReSound Vivia performed against it’s competitors.
Colour Range
The ReSound Vivia comes in a wide range of colours. They have extended on their previous range of colours by adding a lovely red, and navy blue. I love it when I see a manufacturer include bolder colours as it adds character and boldness to their aesthetic and really appeals to specific users.
Summary
With the ReSound Vivia, GN have sent a bold message to their competitors that they remain a formidable force in the industry. It is currently the world’s smallest AI hearing aid it will certainly be a popular choice amongst clients for it’s comfort, performance and bold colours.
Our own early experiences, suggest that the Vivia delivers exceptional performance, particularly with speech clarity and streaming quality and stands out as a promising solution for anyone looking to improve their hearing.
Contact Us
If you are interested in learning more or trialling the ReSound Vivia please get in touch with us today on 01227 851 033 or emailing info@whitstablehearing.com