Starkey Z Series Hearing Aids

We have used Starkey hearing aids in Aberdeen and Inverness for many years. Simply because we have always found them to be of high quality and reliability. We have always found that they manufacture excellent custom or in the ear hearing aids. They introduced the Z Series a while ago and we have been using it with some of our customers. We thought it was time to give a run down on the different technology levels and what they have to offer.

As Starkey’s newest full family of wireless products, the Z Series hearing aids feature their next-generation 900 MHz technology that leads the way in performance, comfort, personalisation and connectivity. The hearing aids are designed to help you in the situations that really matter:

• Help you hear and understand conversations better in noisy environments like on the street or in restaurants
• Make loud sounds more comfortable while making soft sounds clear and understandable
• Stream TV, phone calls and more directly to your Z Series hearing aids

With Z Series, you can:

Hear Better, Stream Better.
Z Series tackles hearing in the most challenging and noisy environments by addressing noise, while at the same time prioritising speech, this makes conversation more pleasant.

Socialise Better, Feel Better.

• Starkey's microphone directionality feature  called Acuity Directionality™ is designed to improve speech audibility in difficult listening situations by focusing on the speech you want to hear.
• Starkey's Sound comfort technology is designed to provide distortion-free listening comfort for loud sounds while ensuring clarity for soft sounds.
• Starkey's feedback cancellation system provides feedback-free, comfortable listening all day.
• HydraShield nano-coating gives real protection to those sensitive electronics from water, wax and oils.

With Z Series, Starkey’s award-winning SurfLink Mobile has been enhanced to provide a better experience for you. Offering an updated user interface and controls, SurfLink Mobile 2 is a mobile phone transmitter, assistive listening device, media streamer and hearing aid remote all rolled into one. It also features twice the battery life of the first generation SurfLink Mobile.

Z Series i110 Hearing Aids

The i110 is the flagship and most powerful hearing aid in the Starkey Z series which has different models and styles to suit all kinds of lifestyle. It is designed to help you have the best hearing possible in very noisy environments. It is ideal for those who have an active and busy social life and need better speech clarity whether they are mixing with crowds of people at festivals or parties, in the car, at the theatre or a restaurant. It is also ideal for those who work in a noisy environment. The premium technology in the i110 can help in the more challenging listening environments. This technology includes:

16 channel bands

The more channels a hearing aid has, the better the sound quality. However, there is debate over how many channels are the best. Most hearng aid manufacturers fall between 15 and 20 channels in their flagship hearing aids. With 16 channels to process the sounds around you, the i110 offers great sound and speech clarity.

Acoustic Scene Analyser

This feature has different levels for each different model. The i110 is the most powerful in the range at level 5. This, along with the audioscapes settings can detect whether you are in a quiet environment or if there is wind noise and make subtle adjustments to how the hearing aid is working to ensure great hearing. It can also detect machine noise as well as speech in noise, clarifying the speech whilst reducing the effect of the noise in the background.

Synchronised User Controls

This allows you to change the volume and memory on both hearing aids at the same time as well as changing to telephone mode. The binaural telephone mode clarifies the speech in your telephone ear whilst reducing distractions by lowering the sound in your other hearing aid.

Surflink Accessories

The Z Series is fully compatible with Starkey’s range of Surflink accessories which include media streamers, mobile telephones and remote controls. You can read more about Starkey Surflink accessories here

Spectral IQ

ISO clear compression is able to identify and enhance soft speech without increasing and distorting louder sounds. IQ Boost function allows user to reduce background noise whilst maintaining speech clarity, ideal for restaurants and social events. Voice IQ2 enhances and preserves speech in noisy environments

Spatial Streaming and Stream Boost

Spatial streaming lets you listen wirelessly to your music, PC or TV whenever you are in range. and gives you the best performance in all settings. Stream boost is an automatic setting which enhances audio streaming in more demanding environments, ensuring the best wireless performance in all settings.

Acuity Directionality

The directional microphones are designed to give you better speech audibility in noisy situations.

Speech ID

This program is able to recognise speech no matter which direction it is coming from.

Binaural Spatial Mapping

This makes loud sounds more comfortable by assessing your environment and making subtle adjustments.

Multiflex Tinnitus Technology

A tinnitus reliever feature which can be programmed to your own needs.

Hydrashield2

This nano coating works to repel wax and moisture, ensuring that your hearing aid stays working at its best. The Hydrashield technology really helps with long term reliability of the hearing aids.

Other features include live speech mapping and advanced memory programs, so you can have your favourite settings when you are listening to music or the TV.

All models in the Z series range benefit from Starkey’s 900 sync technology which allow these programs to work together to produce a high quality listening experience in challenging environments. Its wireless capability ensures synchronisation between hearing aids and three dimensional sound quality.

Hearing Aid Styles

The i110 is available in a wide range of styles and fittings so that you can choose the right one for you and your lifestyle. You can see a full explanation of Starkey hearing aid styles here. 

These include:

ITE Hearing Aids

These smaller styles are available in 5 faceplate colours and 4 shell colours, they are custom made to fit the contours of your ear to ensure a secure and comfortable fit.

BTE Hearing Aids

The behind the ear styles are also small and discrete, they are available in a range of 7 colours which include black, slate, sterling, bright white with sterling, expresso, bronze and champagne

The styles include:

Behind The Ear (BTE) including a BTE mini and BTE power plus. this is suitable for all levels of hearing loss from moderate to severe.

Receiver In Canal (RIC) including a micro RIC with multiflex tinnitus option. These are suitable for mild to moderate hearing loss. These styles are available in different power levels to suit your level of hearing loss.

The BTE and RIC styles also have a telecoil which is an optional extra in the ITE and ITC styles

All styles have a memory button and - with the exclusion of the CIC style, all have volume control and directional microphones.