Doro Care Electronics solves the “cocktail party phenomenon”
Today almost 500,000 Swedish senior citizens suffer from hearing disorders*.
Despite numerous available hearing devices on the market, few of them fully
cover the most basic needs that elderly people commonly have. Doro is now
launching a multipurpose, assistive listening device that picks up sound at its
source even in the noisiest of environments - Doro HearPlus 325a. This allows
people to hear almost everything, almost everywhere, and brings a solution to
the problem commonly known as the “cocktail party phenomenon”.
Senior citizens using hearing devices often experience problems when speaking to
other people in noisy situations, for instance when attending a party or other
social gatherings. Instead of filtrating background noise, which a normal ear
would do, the hearing device amplifies all sound sources nearby, which makes it
difficult to hear what other people say. A problem commonly known as the
“cocktail party phenomenon”.
“Doro HearPlus 325a is designed for people suffering from “cocktail party
problems”, and can be used in almost any situation where disturbing background
noise easily arise, such as visiting a museum and listening to a guide, watching
TV, listening to music, or driving a car and listening to people talking in the
back,” says Jérôme Arnaud, responsible for Care Electronics at Doro.
Doro HearPlus 325a captures sound and transmits it to the user wirelessly
through a receiver and a transmitter device by using built-in Bluetooth®
technology. Based on the odicio® technology developed by a French audiologist,
Doro HearPlus 325a provides excellent signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)**. The
transmitter and receiver come with a discreet ear hook and a neck loop, both for
use with a hearing aid in T-mode, as well as a stereo handset. A TV connection
set is also included and the Bluetooth® technology allows connection to mobile
phones. The sound volume as well as the frequency response can easily be
adjusted.
“For a person who has a “cocktail party” type of hearing loss, it can be a major
difficulty to attend a party or take part in a conversation in a noisy
environment. Doro HearPlus 325a emanates from a growing need amongst the elderly
for a product that complements the ordinary hearing devices. By meeting this
need, the Doro HearPlus 325a simplifies everyday life for just about any senior
citizen suffering from hearing loss,” says Jérôme Arnaud.
Doro HearPlus 325a is sold through specialized channels that focus on hearing
disorders. Retail price is approximately EUR 400.
Find out more about Doro Care Electronics and the product range at www.doro.se.
For quick image downloads click here.
For further information, please contact:
Fredrik Forssell, Marketing Director at Doro, phone +46 705 15 67 34, email
fredrik.forssell@doro.com
Jérôme Arnaud, Managing Director, Care & Business Electronics Division, phone
+33 1 30 07 17 01, email jerome.arnaud@doro.com
For product tests, please contact:
Jonas Lidheimer, Sund Kommunikation, email jonas.lidheimer@sundkommunikation.se,
mobile +46 739 62 02 92
* Source: Hjälpmedelsinstitutet, Äldrestatistik 2006; Hörselskadades riksförbund
(HRF) (2006).
** SNR, or signal-to-noise ratio, is an electrical engineering concept defined
as the ratio of a signal power to the noise power corrupting the signal. SNR
compares the level of a desired signal (such as music) to the level of
background noise. The higher the ratio, the less obtrusive the background noise
is. Source: Wikipedia
About Doro
With over 30 years' experience in telephony Doro is today characterised by
innovative and user-friendly consumer electronics products. The company develops
markets and sells a wide range of products in four business units: Home
Electronics, Luba Sports Electronics, Business Electronics and Care Electronics.
The company's products are sold in more than 30 countries worldwide through a
variety of retail outlets, including electronics stores, online stores and
sports stores. The company had sales of SEK 433 million in 2006. Doro's shares
are quoted on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, Nordic list, Small companies. Read
more about Doro at www.doro.com.
