Oticon Hearing Aids

Founded in 1904 in Denmark, Oticon is a leader in research and innovation for hearing solutions. Driven by their “people first” mission, Oticon puts their 100+ years of experience in the hearing industry to use in developing some of the most exciting new hearing instruments on the market. In the era following World War II, Oticon began to focus on technological research and design – specifically on the science of hearing and how instruments may support this process. Now, with research and development from the Ericksholm Research Institute, Oticon hearing aids embody cutting edge technology that continues to push the envelope for hearing aid design.

Velox is Oticon’s latest processing platform, an ultra-fast and precise chip with a 64-band frequency resolution. Velox assists the brain in its hearing process, giving Oticon hearing aid wearers an improved listening experience. Wearers have reported 20% reduction in listening effort in noisy environments and a 20% greater capacity to remember in challenging noise situations. With hearing loss, the brain struggles to make sense of muddled signals. Velox assists the brain in the auditory process, providing wearers with 30% better speech understanding and clarity in noise.

Velox employs an “open sound solution”: wearers experience a full soundscape, even in the most challenging sound environments and are empowered to focus on the sounds they want to hear. This provides Oticon wearers with significant cognitive benefits.

Velox is Oticon’s latest processing platform, an ultra-fast and precise chip with a 64-band frequency resolution. Velox assists the brain in its hearing process, giving Oticon hearing aid wearers an improved listening experience. Wearers have reported 20% reduction in listening effort in noisy environments and a 20% greater capacity to remember in challenging noise situations. With hearing loss, the brain struggles to make sense of muddled signals. Velox assists the brain in the auditory process, providing wearers with 30% better speech understanding and clarity in noise.

Velox employs an “open sound solution”: wearers experience a full soundscape, even in the most challenging sound environments and are empowered to focus on the sounds they want to hear. This provides Oticon wearers with significant cognitive benefits.

The new Oticon Opn, powered by the Velox Processing Platform, provides wearers with a great combination of new features and reliable functionality. Opn, pronounced “open,” provides wearers a fuller spectrum of sound in their environment and empowers the brain by allowing wearers to choose the sounds they want to hear.

With the OpenSound Navigator, the Opn scans 360-degrees of the listening environment, 100 times a second. With the Velox platform, sounds are analyzed and balanced by algorithms to create a fuller sound picture for wearers. Rather than eliminating all background noise, as with traditional hearing aids, Opn connects wearers to their environment with access to clear sound. Oticon reports, “Users can now follow the sounds they want to hear and shift attention when desired. Surrounding sounds are available, but not intrusive so users can focus on the sounds they want to hear, even in noisy situations.”

As a wireless hearing aid, Opn offers TwinLink – two wireless communication systems in one hearing aid. Opn simulates natural binaural hearing with near-field magnetic communication (NFMI), which facilitates ear-to-ear communication between the two hearing aids. With TwinLink, wearers may stream phone calls, music, and other media directly from their smartphones to their Opn hearing aids.

Opn gives wearers the option to connect to Internet – an industry first. With the web service If This Then That (IFTTT.com), Opn hearing aids connect to services offered on the site to connect to sounds commonly experienced in daily life (doorbells, baby monitors, alarms, thermostats, security systems, etc.).

Oticon’s BrainHearing Technology, powered by the Inium platform, assists the brain in the auditory process. Research indicates that hearing happens in the brain; Oticon’s BrainHearing technology boasts a synchrony of four main features to support the brain in the auditory process:

Speech Guard E

Superb speech recognition: Speech Guard E protects speech clarity and details for you to easily understand what is being said – even in noisy surroundings.

Spatial sound

Locate the sources of sound: Spatial Sound supports your brain’s natural abilities to sense where sounds are coming from – even in noisy situations. This helps you know where to focus your attention.

Free Focus

Zoom in on what’s most important: Free Focus consists of automatic zoom functions to help you easily focus on the most important sounds. It helps you shift your focus from one conversation to another.

YouMatic

Shape the sound to suit you: The way you hear is as unique to you as your DNA. YouMatic is a tool to personalize your hearing instruments to your unique and personal hearing preferences and needs. (Source: Oticon BrainHearing Technology Overview)