HILLSBORO, ORE. -- The World Health Organization estimates that 20% of the world’s population today suffers from some degree of hearing loss. This figure is expected to increase to an estimated 25% (nearly 2.5 billion) by 2050. Over time, individuals with hearing loss tend to stop socializing - leading to impacts on friends and family members as well as increasing the risk of other health issues, including a higher likelihood of dementia. Hearing difficulties are particularly challenging in phone conversations as telephony is not designed to cater to those with hearing loss, and visual cues like lip reading that can help overcome some hearing difficulties are absent.

Radisys Corporation, a global leader of open telecom solutions, today announced the availability of Engage Clarity, a unique service that enhances the quality and comprehensibility of voice calls for people with hearing challenges. With the goal to significantly enhance their quality of life and interactions, a personalized and unique service profile is activated, enabling in-line, real-time enhancements that deliver a superior experience. Engage Clarity seamlessly integrates with telecom operators’ communication networks, ensuring a smooth and user-friendly implementation experience without requiring any special applications and devices. The Engage Clarity is accessible via any device through mobile voice, fixed voice, or OTT/web communication service.

With Radisys’ Engage Clarity, MNOs have a unique opportunity to offer a fully personalized wellness solution to their subscribers and meet inclusivity and societal improvement objectives. With a suggested street price per month that is less than the cost of a cup of coffee, this unique solution enhances the quality of life and improves accessibility to services for people with hearing loss. The solution benefits can be extended to anyone in consumer and business calls.

With global leadership in media processing, Radisys is uniquely positioned to deliver the benefits of Engage Clarity through service providers. “The ability to ensure the voice clarity in conversations between grandparents and grandchildren, patients and doctors, businesses and their customers - regardless of the background noise - has broad benefits to users and operators,” said Al Balasco, Head of Digital Experiences and Applications Business, Radisys. “Voice is communication’s lowest common denominator, and ensuring the highest quality experience can be life-changing for those experiencing hearing challenges.”

Radisys’ Engage Clarity addresses a critical need for people with hearing difficulties during voice calls. Clinical trials revealed high levels of user satisfaction, with 90% of users finding speech clearer and easier to hear and 74% of users reporting that calls were less tiring, highlighting the positive impact of the service on the overall communication experience for everyone, not only people with hearing difficulties.

Hearing wellness is often neglected. Compared to examining their eyes annually, people rarely take a hearing test. Radisys’ Engage Clarity offers a unique entry point for MNOs to help people manage hearing wellness by suggesting regular check-ins with the Engage hearing profile creator when they change their handset or perhaps once a year.