NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA — NewSound today launched its first truly AI-driven over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid, powered by Femtosense’s AI Acceleration.
“NewSound has consistently focused on the application of AI technology in OTC hearing aids for years,” said David Yu, founder of NewSound.
“While some players in the industry prioritize cutting-edge performance, NewSound takes a balanced approach by not only advancing technology but also ensuring product affordability and consumer accessibility. By partnering with Femtosense, we can now bring these affordable and accessible hearing aids to market, offering a valuable option for those struggling with hearing loss.”
Through its collaboration with the U.S.-based AI pioneer Femtosense, NewSound successfully integrated Femtosense’s Clara AI Speech Enhancement onboard its products. Clara AI uses a deep neural network to help distinguish speech from background noise, aiming to improve clarity and comprehension in real-world listening environments.
The system operates on Femtosense’s SPU-001 AI inference accelerator, which delivers low-power performance through quantization and pruning techniques. According to the company, the technology is capable of suppressing background noise by 7–13 dB while preserving speech from multiple directions.
“People with hearing loss experience significant challenges understanding speech in noisy environments,” said Scott Reid, co-founder and head of Machine Learning, Femtosense. “NewSound’s OTC hearing aids will be the first in their category to deploy AI speech denoising to tackle this critical issue all-day on a single charge. These products showcase our thesis that compressing neural networks enables customers to deliver real AI into products that improve people’s lives. We are excited to make this technology accessible and affordable to all.”
“As an audiologist and industry expert with over 30 years of experience, I am thrilled to see the introduction of true AI noise-cancelling technology in OTC hearing aids,” said Dan Thomas, Vice President of Operations, Nano Hearing Aids.
“By leveraging artificial intelligence, these hearing aids can now differentiate between background noise and speech, providing users with unprecedented ease of listening in noise. This is a significant advancement in making OTC hearing aids more effective and accessible to those with hearing loss.”
The collaboration reflects growing interest in how AI technology may shape the next generation of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids. NewSound, with its background in research, development, and manufacturing, continues to explore the role of advanced processing in accessible hearing solutions.
Femtosense and NewSound will be exhibiting at AAA 2025 + HearTECH Expo at Booth 902, where attendees can learn more about their current work in AI-powered hearing technology.
About NewSound
For over two decades, NewSound has been committed to its mission of helping people hear better. As a leading OEM and ODM manufacturer, the company invests over 10% of its annual revenue into R&D, prioritizing user-centric innovation. With a presence in more than 80 countries, NewSound continues to redefine accessibility and quality in audiology technology. For more information, visit https://www.usnewsound.com
About Femtosense
Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Femtosense pioneers sparsity-exploiting AI inference accelerators and AI algorithms and delivers embedded AI solutions with low-latency operation with high energy efficiency. Their technology takes inspiration from the principles of neuromorphic computing concepts of sparsity to empower intelligence in everyday devices. From wearables and household appliances to robotics and vehicles, Femtosense brings the power of AI to everyday devices. Visit https://femtosense.ai.
Source: NewSound
