Blog

Three of the best hearing aids were tested by Oticon in a realistic, noisy environment in order to show users how well they can help. Conversations were recorded with a 360° microphone that captured their speech, as well as the surrounding sound and noise. The tests showed that ‘Oticon More 1’ was the best hearing aid at giving you speech. The tests also showed that the Oticon More aid can help you hear other people around you significantly easier. The aids gave far more access to speech that came from the side – resulting in users becoming more aware of their surroundings where the head does not have to be turned to hear others.

The Oticon More offers a clearer quality of sound that also delivers significantly faster than its competitors. The test also revealed that the Oticon More hearing aids provide sound in higher fidelity. Good sound fidelity is what makes it easier for the brain to separate sounds from each other, and to overall understand what is being said. Overall, Oticon More aids are brain-friendly; this means they support the way the brain naturally works instead of cutting off peripheral sounds – which is the reason Oticon believes these aids outperform their competitors.

The new Oticon Ruby is a line of behind-the-ear hearing aids that are designed to improve speech understanding which will give you the confidence needed to get the most out of life. The Oticon Ruby includes superb sound quality, easy connectivity, rechargeable solution and the choice of different styles and colours. The styles include: miniRITE, miniRITE T (telecoil), miniRITE R (rechargeable), BTE and BTE Power Plus, and five popular colours.

As the Oticon Ruby is designed to make life easier, the 2.4 GHz Bluetooth wireless connectivity distributes high quality sound streaming. This allows you to connect to endless devices and people, as well as being able to watch videos, stream music, take phone calls and much more. Patients can pair Oticon Ruby with multiple TV Adapters and use the ‘Oticon ON App’ to stream from any TV. The Oticon ON App also allows patients to adjust volume, switch settings, check battery level, and access features such as ‘Find My Hearing Aid’ and ‘Oticon HearingFitness’.

The long-lasting, new lithium-ion rechargeable batteries helps provide a full-day’s charge in a few hours, and also comes with a sleek and stylish charger. Oticon states that a 30-minute recharge provides an additional six hours of power. The Oticon Ruby is powered by the Velox S platform, where it introduces the new SuperShield feedback management system that analyses incoming sound levels and “helps prevent feedback before it occurs, so patients can enjoy hearing without interruptions from unwanted whistling and squealing.”

A WORLD first hearing aid, supporting how the brain naturally works, has been launched in Australia.

Thanks to ground-breaking artificial intelligence (AI), rather than focus only on speech, the Oticon More aid allows the wearer to hear more, while helping the brain interpret and focus on what it needs to hear.

The device was developed after research revealed people with hearing loss need access to all sounds for their brains to make sense of their environment.

The hearing aid was recently awarded a prestigious Consumer Electronics Association Award.

The international awards program annually selects the best of the best in consumer electronics.

Oticon More uses one of the most advanced technologies, a Deep Neural Network platform which has been trained using 12 million everyday-life sound scenes, collected in nature using a special 360-degree spherical microphone.

Oticon Australia National Audiology Manager, Jonathan Constantine, said: “Most people think we hear with our ears, but our brains are our main tool for hearing”.

“In background noise, traditional hearing aids block out surrounding sound, but Oticon More scans and analyses a sound scene at 500 times per second allowing the brain to process key sounds”.

“When you limit what you can hear to just a single person speaking, which traditional hearing aids do, your brain is forced to work harder in an unnatural way, and you can be cut off from other conversations around you”.

“It is the world’s first hearing aid to support the brain to work in the most natural and effective way taking in a full sound scene”.

“We understand that it is essential to give the brain as much sound information as possible in order to hear properly, which our recent research revealed was the best way for the brain to handle sound”.

“Hearing loss often forces people to avoid situations with too much noise, but Oticon’s progress in the use of AI is a quantum leap in processing sounds with clear contrast and balance”.

Call to book your FREE HEARING CHECK with Acoustic Hearing Clinics by phoning 5443 6633.

See if this world first technology is right for you. Always read the instructions for use. Follow the instructions for use.

A DECADE of research had led to the release of breakthrough technology which will address one of the biggest difficulties facing hearing device users. Beltone, a hearing care retailer with over 1500 locations in North America, has just announced Beltone Imagine, the first ‘made-to-measure’ hearing device to combine a microphone and receiver in the ear, along with two microphones behind the ear. This had led to the first-t0-market hearing device with triple microphone technology. This technology is ‘unprecedented’ and Beltone says it will address the ‘unnatural’ sound experience that is sometimes reported by hearing device users.

Currently, hearing devices worn behind the ear capture sound with two microphones placed behind the ear. While providing helpful sound amplification, this process works differently to the way sound is naturally channeled to the eardrum. Consequently, some device users describe the resulting sound as ‘unnatural’, reporting less depth and reduced ability to determine sound direction.

Beltone Imagine seeks to resolve this problem, with a third microphone placed directly in the ear canal to collect sound using the unique acoustics of the user’s ear. This provides greater depth, improved sound localisation, improved sound of your own voice and ‘significantly’ reduced wind noise, for what Beltone describes as a ‘naturally immerse’ hearing experience.

GN Audiology & Medical Affairs vice president Dr John Nelson agrees that sound quality has previously been an unexpected disappointment for some users of popular (behind-the-ear) devices styles. “By figuring out how to eliminate feedback, we were able to add [the third microphone] directly in the ear canal,” Dr Nelson says. “This delivers sound the way we are more naturally accustomed to hearing. We think this advancement will get more people to use hearing aids.” Dr Nelson says there is ten years of research and profound understanding of a user’s unique requirements behind the new device, which goes beyond the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. “… [previous] hearing aids used algorithms of the ‘average ear’ shape when delivering sound. Most of the time, [Beltone Imagine] will be collecting sound using the microphone in the canal, delivering that individualised sound. It truly lets each person experience the world with their own ears.”

This technology is available through Acoustic Hearing Clinics. With five clinics located throughout the Sunshine Coast and one in Gympie, there is a clinic close to everyone. Call 5443 6633 now to book your FREE HEARING CHECK.  See if this hearing breakthrough is suitable for you.

Oticon, the manufacturer of the popular Opn family of hearing aids, has just launched the new Opn S hearing aid. The introduction of Oticon’s Opn hearing aids in 2016 changed the way hearing aids support people with hearing loss in noisy environments. Now, Oticon Opn S takes the features of Opn hearing aids to a new level, with further improvements to speech understanding and reduced listening effort.

Opn S enables users to join in and keep up with conversations with multiple speakers. Users can experience speech understanding at the same level as people with normal hearing in noisy environments, such as a family dinner or at a restaurant. Opn S makes it easier for the brain to decide who and what to listen to, and when to switch attention, if needed.

In other hearing aids, feedback occurs when sound escapes the hearing aid and is then amplified by that hearing aid, creating a whistling or static noise. This commonly occurs when something comes close to the hearing aid. The Opn S combats this problem with Oticon’s OpenSound Optimizer – a ground-breaking new feature, which analyses sound so fast that it can detect and prevent feedback before it even occurs.

Oticon has introduced a new setting in their improved OpenSound Navigator feature, which allows users to give their Opn S hearing aids an extra boost regardless of their hearing aids’ pre-defined settings. To use this extra support, users can simply activate the OpenSound Booster in their Oticon ON App.

When compared with traditional hearing aids, Opn hearing aids provide significantly increased speech understanding, reduced listening effort, and improved memory recall. The new Opn S hearing aids even further increase speech understanding by another 15%, reduce listening effort by another 10%, and improve memory recall by another 10%.

Opn S hearing aids are available in three performance levels and four different styles, including a rechargeable solution. With the rechargeable Opn S miniRITE, a 3-hour charging time provides a full day of power, including streaming. For a quick recharge, 30 minutes of charging time will provide up to 5 hours of power.

Phonak’s new Audéo Marvel hearing aids provide exceptional sound quality from the first fit. Whether you’re using them during conversations in noisy environments or streaming audio to your hearing aids from a device, the sound quality delivered by Marvel hearing aids is second to none.

A new generation of Phonak technology enables Marvel hearing aids to precisely match more listening situations than ever before by recognising and automatically adapting to different listening environments. Thanks to AutoSense OS 3.0 and Binaural VoiceStream Technology users can now achieve better speech understanding in noise with less listening effort.

Marvel hearing aids are available in a rechargeable version, which is quick to charge and long lasting with a full charge allowing a full day hearing, including audio streaming. The hearing aids automatically switch on when removed from their charging case, and switch off when placed back inside the case. The rechargeable battery has been designed to last six years before a replacement is needed.

The new Marvel hearing aids can connect directly to iPhones, Android smartphones and other Bluetooth devices for stereo sound quality streaming of any kind of audio to both ears, plus the built in microphones allow for hands free mobile phone calls. Users also have the option of setting audible phone notifications to be heard through their Marvel hearing aids.

Phonak’s TV Connector and AirStream technology enable streaming from any TV or media system using a simple plug and play solution, allowing users to hear TV programs and movies directly through their hearing aids. This feature works similarly to using wireless TV headphones, however Marvel hearing aids can distinguish between streamed speech and music signals and automatically adjust for enhanced sound quality.

Marvel hearing aids are also compatible with Phonak’s Roger technology, which boosts hearing technology in loud noise and over distance.

Oticon Opn hearing aids are some of the hearing industry’s most advanced hearing aids released to date, and are now available in a range of custom In-The-Ear styles. For many hearing aid users, cosmetics are an important factor when choosing new hearing aids. Many users prefer a hearing aid that no one will notice, but also require a hearing aid with outstanding performance. With the new Oticon Opn custom hearing aids, hearing aid users can have both.

The OpenSound Navigation technology in Opn hearing aids scans the environment more than 100 times per second to quickly and precisely reduce disturbing noise, delivering 360° sound and allowing users to interact with multiple speakers with less effort. Evidence from studies shows how Oticon Opn empowers users to participate in the same noisy environments as people with normal hearing, which were previously too difficult.

The popular Opn hearing aids are now available in five In-The-Ear styles, custom moulded to fit each individual’s ear for the most comfortable fit. These includes Oticon’s new smallest ever invisible hearing aid, designed to suit 8 out of 10 people.

• Invisible-In-The-Canal – Oticon’s smallest ever hearing aid. Entirely hidden in the ear. Suits some users with mild to moderately severe hearing loss.
• Completely-In-The-Canal – Difficult to see, though not entirely hidden. Suitable for users with mild to moderately severe hearing loss.
• In-The-Canal – Oticon’s most discreet style with all feature options available. Can be tailored to individual’s needs and preferences for functionality and features.
• Half Shell – fills up more of the visible part of the ear, are fully featured including wireless connectivity. Suitable for users with dexterity needs.
• Full Shell – a larger In-The-Ear style that is easy to handle, control and adjust. Ideal for users with dexterity needs.

Oticon’s Siya is a new range of hearing aids in the essential category and a significant upgrade from previous models in this category, offering the best sound quality ever in the essential category. This new family of hearing aids offers an enhanced listening experience for anyone with hearing loss up to severe-to-profound. Siya hearing aids are available in a range of styles, including Behind-The-Ear (BTE) styles and In-The-Ear (ITE) styles.

Oticon’s Velox chip, which powers Siya hearing aids, is ultra-fast, processing sounds 50 times faster than ever before and enabling outstanding sound quality. Siya captures the rich natural details of sounds and adapts rapidly to various listening environments, quickly reducing disturbing noise, including noise between words.

Siya is the world’s first hearing aid in the essential category to feature industry-leading wireless connectivity with high quality streaming of sound and low battery consumption. This means users can connect wirelessly to smartphones, TVs and various other devices without significantly compromising the life of their hearing aid batteries.

Oticon also offers Siya users access to a variety of useful features and accessories including; the Oticon ON App, which allows users to control their hearing aids from their smartphone; the Internet of Things, which can connect Siya to other internet-connected devices and services; HearingFitness technology, which provides users with usable insights via an app; the ConnectClip microphone; rechargeable hearing aids; and Tinnitus SoundSupport, which offers tinnitus sufferers a wide range of customisable tinnitus relief sounds.

Launched in late 2017, the LiNX 3D is ReSound’s latest and most advanced hearing aid, enabling you to better identify speech in noise by 40% and hear 80% more of the sounds around you.

With the LiNX 3D you will no longer have to turn your head or position yourself to hear the person speaking, as ReSound’s surround sound allows you to hear 360 degrees of sound. Their Spatial Sense technology provides a clear and natural sense of the sounds around you, and Binaural Directionality III helps you to focus on what you want to hear in complex listening situations without being cut off from your surroundings. ReSound’s sound processing mimics the performance of the natural ear to provide clearer speech and richer, more vibrant sound.

The ReSound Smart 3D app lets you control your hearing aids from your smartphone, allowing you to make them sound the way you want them to by adjusting the volume or picking a setting suitable for the type of listening environment you’re in. If you’re an iPhone user you can stream audio from phone calls, video calls, music, movies and TV shows on your iPhone or iPad directly to your LiNX 3D hearing aids. If you’re an Android smartphone user, the ReSound Phone Clip+ accessory allows you to stream audio from your device to your hearing aids. The Smart 3D app also has a feature which helps you find your hearing aids if you misplace them.

The ReSound LiNX 3D hearing aids come in a full range of styles and colours, including custom fit and behind-the-ear styles. Every component of the LiNX 3D hearing aids is coated in iSolate nanotech to protect them from water, dust and wax so you can rely on your hearing aids for many years.

Since their release, Oticon’s OPN Hearing Aids have been a popular choice among hearing aid users due to their ground-breaking technology and sleek design, and this hearing aid just got even better with the release of a new rechargeable model.

The Rechargeable OPN miniRITE can provide a full day of battery life with a single overnight charge. At the end of each day users can place their hearing aids in the charging dock, leaving them to charge overnight, and wake up to a full battery which lasts all day.

The OPN Rechargeable Hearing Aids are not only more convenient for most hearing aid users; they are especially convenient for hearing aid users with dexterity and eyesight problems. The elimination of disposable batteries means users with these problems will no longer have to deal with the trouble of putting new disposable batteries in their hearing aids.

With the Oticon OPN Rechargeable Hearing Aids users will no longer have to carry spare batteries with them wherever they go or worry about running out of disposable batteries. However, in the case where a hearing aid user may forget to charge their hearing aids overnight or is unable to charge them for any reason, the OPN Rechargeable Hearing Aids will still work using disposable batteries.