Oticon Hearing Aids

Oticon

Intent Hearing Aids

New 4D sensors to deliver a better understanding of user intent

Oticon has announced the launch of its very latest hearing aid technology, Oticon Intent. The company claims it is "the world's first hearing aid with 4D Sensor technology to understand each user's listening intentions and seamlessly support individual listening needs while giving access to the full sound environment."

Firstly, the Intent will be initially available in the smallest rechargeable miniRITE (receiver in the ear) form factor that Oticon offers. That discreet and popular model offers a telecoil and is designed to provide 20 hours of battery life even when streaming. Under the hood, they are building further on their BrainHearing™ technology with a device they say will capture and enhance a person's listening intent with motion sensors in the hearing aids, which pick up head aspect and movement.

Oticon says they can use the data from those sensors to understand better what the user is trying to hear in the moment. It allows them to layer this information upon the foundation of their BrainHearing™ technology, designed to deliver a full 360° soundscape with less listening effort and better speech understanding.

Motion detectors, or, to be more exact, accelerometers, have been around in hearing aids for a while. Until now, none of the hearing aid manufacturers have used them in quite this manner. Oticon says that it allows them to deliver outstanding speech clarity in complex sound situations while giving full access to surrounding sounds.

In fairness to them, since the introduction of the Opn, that is what they have been attempting to deliver. The goal of the strategy first delivered with the Opn, and built upon in the Opn S, Real and More ranges was to provide access to the full 360° soundscape with less listening effort, better speech understanding, and the capacity to remember more of what was heard.

The Intent technology takes that one step further, delivering a hearing aid that strives to understand the needs and listening intent of the user within changing sound environments and then adapts its signal processing according to their unique listening needs.

Auracast & DNN 2.0 and much more

The Intent also features a new Smart Speaker, Bluetooth® LE and Auracast™-ready technology, and a second-generation Deep Neural Network (DNN) system. DNN 2.0 is a type of machine learning system designed to allow the hearing aid to work more like the brain—having learned through experience—enabling more accurate representations of sound in the brain and better access to even soft speech sounds in noisy situations.

The new DNN is built from the ground up for the Intent as opposed to being an upgraded version of the original. The original system proved effective in the More and Real, so I expect great things here.

It is also equipped with a new MoreSound Intelligence 3.0 which provides higher clarity and better balance, with up to 12 dB noise suppression. They say that due to this innovative processing, which ultimately provides users with clearer speech, Oticon Intent delivers 35% more access to speech cues compared to Oticon’s preceding premium hearing aid.

If you are interested in the Oticon Intent range, or if you are looking for hearing aids at the best price in Scotland, honest advice and care, call me on 01506 420519 to arrange your appointment now.

You can read about the fantastic offer I have on the Intent 1 here

You can read about the Oticon Intent 2 here

You can read about the Oticon Intent 3 here

Oticon

Real Hearing Aids

Oticon has announced the launch of its latest flagship hearing aid, Oticon Real™, which runs on the company’s new Polaris R™ chip platform. It features its RealSound™ technology building upon its predecessor Oticon More™. They say it is designed to give users a full spectrum of sounds in different environments.

With new technology designed to guard against sudden disruptive signals, such as wind noise and many of the other real sounds of life, Oticon Real provides a more comfortable and sharper perception of sound in the real world.

They say "Oticon Real is powered by Polaris R™ and RealSound Technology™. It builds on the technology in Oticon More™ by giving patients access to all relevant sounds, in balance, with exceptional detail and clarity. Oticon Real also includes new technologies that balance sudden disruptive sounds and clean up wind and handling noise, so patients can be comfortable and stay sharp in the real world".

Four Device Types, Three Technology Levels

The new Real platform will be available in four device types, two RICs (Receiver In Canal) and two BTEs (Behind The Ear) across three technology levels. The devices are designed to cover hearing loss from mild, to profound. The aids initially offered will be a rechargeable miniRITE  (they call them receiver-in-the-ear) and a rechargeable miniBTE alongside traditional size 312 battery-powered miniRITE and BTE. All of the models will have telecoils so you can have access to loop technology in any public place equipped with them.

Full Day of Use With The Rechargeables

The rechargeable miniRITE/BTE versions should easily give you a full day of battery life with a full charge. While the size 312 disposable battery versions should last around a week before a battery change is required, depending on how much you stream audio. Speaking of streaming audio, they feature Bluetooth® Low Energy (LE) technology with an excellent range of connectivity options, including hands-free calls on select iPhone® and iPad®** and seamless connection to most modern Android phones.

The miniRITE R and miniBTE R each come with two different options for chargers: the Desktop Charger or the optional SmartCharger. The optional SmartCharger is an interesting device which comes with an onboard battery pack that offers a couple of days' charge on the go without having to connect it to a wall socket. Oticon Real also offers tinnitus SoundSupport. While the new Oticon Companion app is the main control centre for the aids, they also come with manual push-button control for changing volume and programme if your professional has set this up. 

Brain Hearing & Oticon's DNN

Real hearing aids, like More before them, incorporate Oticon’s BrainHearing™ design philosophy to give the brain enhanced detail, clarity, and balance in sound. Real also uses the Oticon’s onboard Deep Neural Network (DNN) system which has been trained to identify 12 million real-life sounds and optimise the hearing aids based on it. The new RealSound™ technology, powered by the new Polaris R chip platform, features additional detectors for fast and precise processing of disruptive sounds and wind, as well as handling noise. Oticon specifically highlights two new innovations made possible with this technology: SuddenSound Stabilizer and the Wind & Handling Stabilizer.

Sudden Sound Stabiliser

Oticon says that their new SuddenSound Stabiliser uses the updated DNN system to monitor the sound environment and adapt the device's amplification to keep both soft and loud sudden sounds available, but balanced, and comfortable. They say that it reduces listening effort by 22% in the presence of sudden sounds instantly changing amplification as the sounds occur. This keeps it comfortable while not compromising the all-important access to speech.

Wind & Handling Stabiliser

Oticon says that "Wind can often cause disruptions and unpleasant sounds in hearing aids." They aren't wrong, if someone is an active, outdoors type, wind noise can be a huge bugbear.  Other sounds like hands, hair, or glasses touching the hearing aid microphones, can also be very irritating. Oticon Real hearing aids protect against uncomfortable wind and handling noise with double‑patented technology that they say detects and cleans up wind and handling noise 500 times per second. This will make the Real devices a more comfortable listening experience, with better access to speech in windy environments. They say that the new system significantly outperforms their top competitors.

Companion App

The Oticon Companion app is the new, all-in-one solution that allows users to easily control and personalise their hearing aids. It offers the support users need to easily control and personalize their hearing aids, find their hearing aids if lost, manage their connected devices, and receive remote counselling when needed.

SpeechBooster can be used to reduce background noise and enhance speech when in conversation and the streaming equalizer is applied to create a personalized listening experience. The app can also be used to handle wireless accessories paired with their hearing aids and control multiple TV Adapters or devices, such as Oticon EduMic or ConnectClip which can be used both for streaming and as a remote microphone.

The available wireless accessories for the Real platform are:

•  ConnectClip works as a remote microphone, a remote control, and can even turn the hearing aids into a wireless headset. This enables streaming from any Bluetooth device and allows comfortable hands-free calls  
• TV Adapter streams sound from the TV directly to the hearing aids   
• Remote Control adjusts volume, switches program, or mutes the hearing aids with the touch of a button
• EduMic can be used as a remote microphone or to stream audio from computers, tablets, and more

You can read about the fantastic offer I have on the Real 1 here

You can read about the Oticon Real 2 here

You can read about the Oticon Real 3 here