Qualcomm and Jacoti Optimize Hearing Experience for True Wireless Earbud Users

The World Health Organization reports that a third of the global population over age 65 has disabling hearing loss and that more than one billion teens and adults are at risk for hearing loss, with more than 900 million people expected to have disabling hearing loss by 2050. In fact, the Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. 2020 State of Play Report found 40 percent of consumers surveyed are interested in earbuds that can provide automatic hearing assistance, as needed. In response, Jacoti has combined its medical expertise with the engineering prowess of Qualcomm Technologies to provide high-quality hearing enhancement solutions.

“By working with Jacoti, we’re making hearing enhancement and personalization technology more accessible to consumers than ever before. For our customers, who are competing in a rapidly changing and crowded market, exciting technologies like this will provide a really interesting way to differentiate and enrich the end user experience, ” said James Chapman, vice president and general manager, Voice, Music & Wearables, Qualcomm Technologies International, Ltd.

“We are excited to have this collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies and be able to integrate our audiologically-based hearing solutions into this powerful platform to improve the audio experience of all users,” said Jacques Kinsbergen as CEO and Founder of Jacoti. “It will also help us realize our social mission to make state-of-the-art hearing solutions accessible and affordable for those with hearing challenges throughout the world.  We believe that hearing loss is both a medical condition and a consumer challenge and therefore needs a consumer-driven and consumer-oriented solution.”

Jacoti’s technology comes with a self-administered hearing test that prompts various tones and frequencies, to establish volume thresholds for the user’s level of hearing. Two audiograms are then created, tailored specifically to the user’s right and left ears, acting as the user’s individual hearing prescription based on their level of individual hearing. These bespoke audiograms, in conjunction with the Jacoti technology, will work on devices featuring the Qualcomm QCC5100 Series SoCs and across multiple devices, with the software intercepting incoming sound before it reaches the user’s ears and then adjusting the volume of the appropriate frequencies to compensate for the user’s individual hearing deficiencies. The software on the device also prevents the user from exposure to sounds that can cause further hearing damage, resulting in a clear, safe, and pleasurable listening experience.

For more information on Qualcomm QCC5100 series SoCs, visit: www.qualcomm.com/products/ qcc5100-series