Nura was born with the idea to create headphones that automatically measure the user’s hearing by monitoring otoacoustic emissions (OAEs). OAEs are tiny tones the human ear naturally generates when it’s processing sound, which are then used to create a personalised sound profile. Nura released the first consumer headphones with this technology in 2018 (the Nuraphone), and later shrunk the form factor into earphones (the NuraLoop) and earbuds (NuraTrue and NuraTrue Pro).
In 2023, Nura formed a strategic alliance with audio trailblazers Denon, and medical technology company Masimo, renowned for their exceptional non-invasive patient monitoring technology. The collaboration resulted in the development of Masimo Adaptive Acoustic Technology (AAT) by integrating Nura's personalized sound technology with Masimo's groundbreaking signal processing. This cutting-edge technology is featured in Denon's PerL and PerL Pro earbuds.
The Nura/Denon device plays a range of tones into the ear:
These tones vibrate the inner ear, which produces a tiny sound in response - this is the otoacoustic emission (OAE). This sound is about 10,000 times smaller than the sound that went in.
Encoded in the returning sound wave is information about how well you heard the sound that went in. The Nura/Denon device uses extremely sensitive microphones to detect this returning sound wave, and a self-learning engine built into the Nura/Denon device to create your profile.
Once the Nura/Denon device has created your hearing profile it sonically shapes your music so that it matches your hearing system and delivers all the detail of the music you love.
Your unique hearing profile is stored on the headphones/earphones/earbuds themselves, so you don’t need to use the app to benefit from your personalised hearing profile - simply connect to your playback device via Bluetooth or cable if your headphones allow this and enjoy your favourite music, sonically tuned to you.
When you think about it, there are not many pieces of technology we use that have such a connection to our body as headphones. As such, it is a good idea to clean your headphones regularly, as wax and other detritus can build up and affect the sound of your headphones. Further, wax and detritus may block the sensitive microphone your headphones use to measure your ear’s OAE measurements. Check out some useful information on cleaning your headphones on our support site here.
With an understanding of how your Nura or Denon device measures your hearing, we recommend that you clean your headphones and create a new personalised hearing profile today! Our hearing changes over time, so it can be very interesting to hear the small differences in your hearing profile when comparing with hearing profiles you may have created in the past.
We recommend creating your new personalised hearing profile in a quiet place where possible. Make sure not to speak, chew gum or swallow while your Nura or Denon device is measuring your hearing. Any sounds may affect the end result of your hearing calibration, and actions such as chewing gum or swallowing can change the shape of your ear canal during the measurement stage.
The best thing you can do to continue enjoying music is to protect your hearing wherever possible, which includes reducing situations where you are subjected to high sound pressure levels. Hearing loss is a function of loudness versus time — the louder the volume, the less time you can be exposed to it. The quieter the volume, the longer you can listen. For example, 8 hours at 85 dB causes as much damage as 4 hours at 88 dB, 2 hours at 91 dB, or just 15 minutes at 100 dB.
Here are some ways to protect your hearing:
We have additional advice on headphone safety on our support site here.
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