BOULDER - A device made by Sophono Inc. improved hearing for French children who used it, according to a new study published in a trade journal.

Children who could not hear in one ear who used a Sophono hearing device had their hearing levels improve to "nearly normal," according to the study, which was done at the Paris Children's Hospital in France and published in the February issue of Otology & Neurotology, a trade journal based in Philadelphia.

The 6- to 9-year-old children also experienced statistical and clinical improvement in "speech-in-noise," an indication of how well a person can understand speech in a noisy environment, according to the study.

The Sophono Alpha System device is fitted to a patient's head with the use of small, implantable magnets, Boulder-based Sophono said in a press statement about the study.

Sophono received $7 million in venture-capital financing in August. The company manufactures its devices at a 10,000-square-foot location at 5744 Central Ave. in Boulder. Sophono also has an office in Germany and sells devices through distributors in more than 20 countries.