Key Features

• Users can enable Edge Mode, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to identify a listening environment and adjust hearing settings accordingly to provide optimal sound clarity.
• Users can track daily steps and movements and set goals in the Thrive app.
• Users can enable fall detection to notify their listed contacts when they experience a fall.

Starkey is ??the largest American-owned and operated hearing aid manufacturer, present in over 100 markets and headquartered in Minnesota. Founded in 1967 by Bill Austin, who remains chairman, Starkey is known for its contract with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which supports veteran access to audiological care and hearing aids.

Starkey Evolv AI at a Glance

• Cost: Exact prices are ultimately determined by one’s audiologist, though customers can expect to pay $2,500 to $4,200 for a pair. That range may increase for someone who needs a more advanced technology level in their hearing aids.
• Size and style: The Evolv AI line comes in 14 styles, including behind-the-ear (BTE), receiver-in-canal (RIC), in-the-ear (ITE), in-the-canal (ITC), completely-in-canal (CIC) and invisible in-the-canal models. Rechargeable options are also available in BTE, RIC, ITE and ITC styles.
• Technology: The hearing aid line offers five technology levels (from most basic to most advanced): Economy 1000, Basic 1200, Select 1600, Advanced 2000 and Premium 2400.

How It Works

Starkey’s Evolv AI line offers a wide range of styles (from smallest and most discreet to largest and most powerful): IIC NW, CIC NW, CIC, ITC/HS R, ITE R, micro RIC 312, micro RIC 312 AP, RIC 312, RIC 312 AP, RIC R, RIC R AP, BTE R, BTE 13 and Power Plus BTE.

Styles with an “R” at the end of the name indicate that the devices are rechargeable as opposed to reliant on disposable hearing aid batteries. “AP” indicates absolute power, for those with severe to profound hearing loss.

The devices come in five technology levels, and an audiologist can help an individual determine which Evolv AI style and technology level is best for them based on their level of hearing loss and other details of their hearing experience.

The hearing aids’ settings can be controlled through the Evolv AI smartphone app called Thrive, which is compatible with both iOS and Android devices. In the app, a user can easily adjust volume, frequency ranges, background noise and other settings.

Edge Mode is one of the distinctive features of this product line. It uses AI to assess a user’s current listening environment and automatically adjust settings to deliver optimal sound quality and clarity.

“If it’s a challenging environment where someone in front of them is soft spoken, maybe wearing a face mask, [Edge Mode]…reduces the background noise of the sounds off to the side and emphasizes the sound in front of them,” explains Dave Fabry, Ph.D, chief innovation officer at Starkey.

Starkey’s Evolv AI line also lets users track their physical activity, such as steps and standing time, as well as social engagement, which is measured by spending time in environments with conversational speech. Progress is viewable on the app’s homepage. The app also allows users to set up notifications to remind them of their appointments and other to-do list items.

“They could program a reminder into the app to take medications throughout the day, and when the time comes up, they hear the reminder to take their specific medication,” says Fabry.

Fall detection technology is another stand-out feature of Evolv AI hearing aids, notifying selected contacts via text message when the user experiences a fall.

“Falls and hearing loss have a strong comorbidity. Even people with a mild degree of hearing loss are three times as likely to suffer a fall,” says Fabry. “The hearing aid user has peace of mind that in the unlikely event that they suffered a fall, they wouldn’t be laying there for hours.”

The translation tool is another unique feature, which allows users to engage in basic conversation with a person speaking a different language in real time. The app translates the user’s speech and displays it in the other person’s language. The other person replies by speaking into the user’s phone, which is translated again and streamed into their hearing aids.

However, certain features are only available with certain technology levels, such as the translation tool, which is only available in the premium technology level.

Additionally, certain Thrive app features require phone data or internet access, namely Language Translation, Transcription, Thrive Assistant, Fall Alerts, Find My Hearing Aid and TeleHear. All other hearing aid adjustment-related features are available offline, according to the company.