AI in Hearing Care: What Phonak’s Award Really Means.

Artificial intelligence is often spoken about in broad terms.

In hearing care, it’s beginning to do something more precise.

Recently, Phonak was recognised at the 2026 Artificial Intelligence Excellence Awards for its latest hearing systems - Virto R Infinio and Infinio Ultra. 

The awards highlight technologies that deliver measurable, real-world impact. In this case, the impact is simple - yet significant and meaningful.

Clearer speech. Less background noise. Less effort in conversation.

From sound to understanding

Hearing technology has evolved steadily over time.

What is changing now is not just the quality of sound, but the way it is processed.

Using artificial intelligence, systems are able to recognise different listening environments and respond in real time. In more advanced applications, they go further - separating speech from noise at the signal level, rather than simply adjusting settings around it.

The effect is subtle, but significant.

Listening becomes easier.
Conversations feel more natural.
The strain begins to lift.

A wider shift

While this particular recognition belongs to Phonak, it reflects an encouraging and quite remarkable broader movement.

Manufacturers such as Oticon, Widex and others are also applying AI in extraordinary ways, to change people’s lived experience of hearing loss.

What makes this remarkable is not the presence of AI, but its maturity.

Less visible.
More intuitive.
Increasingly aligned with how we actually listen.

In the case of Phonak’s Infinio platform, this has been realised with notable precision - which is what makes the award so meaningful.

Why it matters

Hearing is never just about volume.

For many people, the real challenge lies in complex environments: conversation over dinner, a busy room, the layered sounds of daily life.

This is where effort accumulates, and where well-designed technology can make a disproportionate difference.

Reducing listening effort does more than improve clarity.
It supports concentration, energy, and confidence in social settings.

Our layered approach

Technology is only one part of hearing care.

At The Well Being BY CUBEX, we consider it alongside cognitive processing, listening strategies, and overall wellbeing. In some cases, this may include approaches such as mindfulness or cognitive support to help reduce listening fatigue.

The purpose of AI, applied at its very best, is to support this wider system seamlessly and quietly. Not to dominate it.

If you’re curious

Hearing technology is evolving quickly.

For anyone already using a hearing device, it may be worth reviewing what has changed.
For those in the process of considering how a hearing aid might benefit their quality of life, the landscape is very different from what it once was - well worth a look in.

Explore what this new generation of hearing technology could mean for you.