Signia Silk or Signia Active: Which Hearing Aid Is Better for Me?
- Koorosh Nejad
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
I attended to a patient who was looking for an in-the-ear hearing aid. He was interested in Signia Silk and Signia Active. This article discusses the advantages of each model and discusses the suitability of each model for the potential range of patients. Take this post as a guide for patients looking for a pair of rechargeable in-the-ear hearing aids for reasons such as vanity and/or an active lifestyle.
What are the similarities between Signia Silk and Signia Active hearing aids?
Signia Silk and Signia Active hearing aids are similar to each other in several ways, including:
Both Signia Active and Signia Silk hearing aids are designed for users with mild to moderate hearing loss.
They are both rechargeable (the Signia Silk X is battery-powered).
They both come in Signia Xperience and Signia Integrated Xperience (IX) technologies.
They both are designed to support hearing aid users with an active lifestyle when the user is engaged in sports, or active professions (such as a paramedic), or activities which require the use of a helmet, such as biking, skiing, etc.
They are both easy-fit, meaning they can be fitted with Signia instant sleeve silicone earpieces and do not require earmoulds or ear impressions.
They both have long battery life and come with a portable charger unit that can provide multiple full charges on the go. Please see the battery life of Signia Active and Signia Silk hearing aids in the full review article in the references of this post.
What are the differences between Signia Silk and Signia Active hearing aids?
There are more differences between Signia Active and Signia Silk hearing aids. The top differences between the two hearing aids are:
Signia Active is in the ear (ITE), and the Signia Silk is a CIC hearing aid; for that reason, the Signia Silk CIC hearing aid can be quite invisible in the ear, especially if the patient has a medium to large-sized ear canal.
Signia Active has two microphones that enable the device to do a pretty nice job in improving the speech understanding in noisy environments through forward beaming and directionality. Signia Silk has only one microphone. Although Signia Silk Charge and Go IX have Binaural One-Mic Directionality in their 7IX, 5IX and 3IX models, the directionality works better in Signia Active than the Signia Silk in my experience.
Signia Active hearing aids are Bluetooth and can be used for streaming and hands-free calls (only iPhones), but the Signia Silk has no Bluetooth.
Signia Active hearing aids can be remotely programmed via a telecare session, while the remote adjustment of Signia Silk is quite limited.
Which one has higher technology, Signia Active X or Signia Active IX?
The Integrated Xperience or IX is the latest technology by Signia, which became available in late 2024. It replaced the Xperience or X technology in a wider range of different form factors of Signia hearing aids. The biggest improvement from the X to the IX technology platform is the multi-speaker tracking in the IX. With the IX technology, the device is able to track several speakers in front of the user. The IX technology platform is now fully implemented in Signia's range of hearing aids, including Signia Insio ITC and ITE, and Signia Pure Charge and Go IX. For a complete comparison table of the technology levels of IX technology in Signia hearing aids, please follow this link.
What technology levels are Signia Active hearing aids available in?
Signia Active comes in two models, Signia Active and Signia Active Pro. The Pro one is much more advanced in terms of sound processing and can deliver a superior performance in hearing in a noisy background. Please see a comparison table here.
What are the differences between Signia Active Pro IX and Signia Active IX?
There is a huge difference between the standard Signia Active and the 'Pro' model of Signia Active. I only advise considering the Signia Active X or Signia Active IX to those patients who are mostly home and are not in need of improved speech understanding in challenging sound environments. For a complete comparison table of Signia Active Pro IX versus Signia Active IX, please check this PDF from Signia.
As a summary, Signia Active Pro IX has the following advantages over Signia Active IX (i.e. the Active model lacks these features:
Real-time conversation enhancement
Conversation dynamic analyser
Conversation source analyser
Dynamic focus streaming
Spatial speech focus
Speech focus
Motion sensor
Binaural adaptivity
Adaptive directionality
Extended bandwidth
Auto EchoShield
Reverberant room program
Spatial configuration
Tinnitus therapy
Tinnitus notch therapy
48 processing channels and 20 adjustment handles versus 16 processing channels and 8 adjustment handles
Can Signia Silk hearing aids be remotely programmed?
Signia Silk hearing aids are not Bluetooth, but they can be paired to your mobile phone through a very high frequency pulsed signal that is not audible to humans. Your audiologist can send basic changes in the setting for your Signia Silk (or Rexton inoX), you receive the new setting and accept it in the Signia app. Then the new setting will be in action. There will be no real-time communication through the Signia App, and only basic adjustments, such as volume up or down or minor frequency tuning, can be done remotely.
Can Signia Active hearing aids be remotely programmed?
Yes, both the Signia Active and Signia Active Pro can be remotely programmed. The remote telecare and tuning will be done in real time and through the Signia App.
Which one is more invisible, Signia Silk or Signia Active hearing aids?
Signia Silk hearing aids are CIC and smaller than the Signia Active. If your ear canal is medium to large, there is a good chance the Signia Silk would be quite invisible in your ear canals. The Signia Active, by design, is an ITE hearing aid, and the main body of the hearing aid sits in the concha bowl. of your ear
I am young and love sports, which hearing aid should I pick, Signia Silk or Signia Active hearing aids?
Both Signia Silk and Signia Active are good for patients with an active lifestyle. Both do not take any space behind your ears, hence allow wearing safety helmets or safety googles, for example, for skiing, extreme sports, mountain biking, etc. The Signia Silk goes deeper in the ear and will be more secure, in my opinion, while Signia Active provides Bluetooth connectivity. As I always suggest to my patients, it is a matter of your wants and needs. There may be a compromise to be made.
The other factor to consider is that Signia Active Pro X and IX offer a superior hearing experience in noisy environments compared to Signia Silk, simply because the Signia Active benefits from having two microphones, which allows directionality and beam-focused listening, which is automatically activated when in a loud, noisy environment, also through the Signia App.
Where can I buy Signia Silk hearing aids at a lower price?
The good news is that Signia Silk has a twin sister. Rexton inoX is the same product offered under the Rexton umbrella by the AWS Audiology, which is the parent company of Signia, Rexton and Widex. Rexton Reach inoX CIC is positioned at a lower price point. You can learn more about Rexton Reach inoX CIC rechargeable here. Can also buy Signia Silk here.
Here I would like to share these two video clips from Signia's website about Signia Active and Signia Silk hearing aids.
How good is Signia Active Pro IX at hearing in noise and challenging listening environments?
My best advice to those looking for in-the-ear hearing aids with a priority being hearing speech in a noisy and challenging listening environment is Signia Active Pro IX. As you learned higher up in this post, the Pro model, combined with multi-speaker processing, provides a superior listening experience.
The video below demonstrates the multi-speaker capability of the IX technology. The IX technology is used in Signia Active Pro IX hearing aids. Please note that the Signia Active IX does not have such capability; this is mostly related to the Pro model.
What technology levels does Signia Silk IX have?
Signia Silk hearing aids come in 5 technology levels, 7IX, 5IX, 3IX, 2IX and 1IX. The 7IX is the most advanced of them all. You can see a detailed comparison table of different technology levels of Signia Silk Charge and Go IX CIC hearing aids on the Signia website through this link, but here are the critical features of the Signia Silk 7IX that you will be missing if you would start loosing totally or partially as you step down the technology:
Binaural one-mic directionality
Extended bandwidth
Echoshield
Reverberant room program
Sound smoothing
eWind stabiliser
48 processing and 20 adjusting bands in 7IX, which start dropping down as you move down the technology level
Questions?
If you have questions about Signia Silk and Signia Active Pro hearing aids, please do not hesitate to book a free telecare consultation with our audiologist.
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