Samsung"s recently launched Galaxy Buds Pro is actually a decent alternative to hearing aids for people with mild to moderate hearing impairment, according to a new study. The study was conducted by Samsung Medical Center with Samsung"s help, and the research has been published in the Clinical and Experimental Otorhinolaryngology (CEO). CEO is a medical journal dedicated to ears, nose, and throat (ENT) research.
The Galaxy Buds Pro was pitted against a hearing aid and a personal sound amplification product, to see how well it performs in three categories:
-
Electroacoustic Assessment: to test output sound pressure level, frequency range, equivalent input noise, and total harmonic distortion.
-
Sound Amplification Evaluation: to test sound boost levels across seven different frequencies.
-
Clinical Performance Evaluation: to test individuals’ hearing levels both with and without the devices, and their ability to recognize speech.
In each of the tests, the Galaxy Buds Pro performed admirably and there was a definite improvement to individuals" speech and word recognition levels when compared to un-aided scenarios.
It is being said that the Buds Pro"s Ambient Sound feature is very effective and is the reason why the earbuds performed so well. Samsung says Ambient Sound filters out noise and can amplify meaningful sound by up to 20 decibels. The earbuds sport a two-way speaker with an 11mm woofer and a 6.5mm tweeter, and this also likely helps the Galaxy Buds Pro provide definition to the sound it produces.
While the Galaxy Buds Pro was used in this evaluation, it"s possible that other earbuds from rival manufacturers may also yield similar results and prove helpful for this type of use case.