As an audiologist, I get asked to describe why one hearing aid is better than another. I have to relate the features of the product and say what benefit it will be to my patients. The Oticon Real hearing aids just came out and so today I wanted to describe more about why I think this model of hearing aid has great features.
Brain Hearing Philosophy: Clarity and Comfort
Oticon’s Brain Hearing Philosophy is based on the belief that clarity and excellent sound quality are what patients need in order to hear well without discomfort. Oticon has stayed focused on bringing these two challenging opposites together so that patients don’t have to sacrifice one for the other.
Core Technologies: Compression, Directionality, Noise Reduction, and Feedback Management
There are four core technologies used in hearing devices: compression, directionality, noise reduction, and feedback management. Oticon has been focused on improving each of these core technologies.
Compression
Before 2016, Oticon developed a technology called Speech Guard, which uses an adaptive compression strategy to keep speech as unprocessed as possible. This allows for the ability to switch between slow-acting compression or fast-acting compression dependent on the input for that receiver, which can change in milliseconds. This has evolved into MoreSound 2.0 amplifier.
Directionality and Noise Reduction
In 2016, Oticon took a different approach to directionality and noise reduction, believing that an open scene and rapid noise removal, even in the most challenging of environments, is the best way to improve a signal-to-noise ratio for patients who are struggling in noise. I talk more about this in my article about the best hearing aids in background noise.
Feedback Management
In 2019, Oticon developed a system that prevents feedback or the high-pitched whistle before it’s a problem so that patients get stable gain without gain reduction in the high frequencies.
Deep Neural Network (DNN)
In 2020, Oticon introduced the world’s first hearing aid with an onboard DNN. This DNN provides the best contrast between speech and all of the other sounds in the environment. This was used in the Oticon More product line and the system was rained on over 1 million sound environments. The 2023 hearing aids (Oticon Real) were trained on 12 million environments.
MoreSound Intelligence 2.0: Real BrainHearing Technology on the Polaris Platform
In 2023, Oticon is taking Real BrainHearing technology to the next level with RealSound Technology on the Polaris platform. MoreSound Intelligence 2.0 (MSI 2.0) is a key component of this technology.
MSI 2.0
MSI 2.0 includes the world’s first wind and handling noise prevention system in a hearing aid. The sensors for Wind & Handling Stabilizer ensure that a cleaner signal is delivered to the DNN to improve output and ensure audibility. This feature is useful in situations such as walking outside on a windy day or doing activities such as biking or putting on a sweater.
MoreSound Amplifier 2.0
MoreSound Amplifier 2.0 receives optimized sound input from MoreSound Intelligence 2.0. It uses an adaptive compression strategy to deliver precise and balanced amplification according to the needs of the patient, protecting speech regardless of the input. It can adapt within milliseconds to provide the best benefits of both slow and fast-acting compression.
MoreSound Optimizer
MoreSound Optimizer is the overarching feedback prevention system that eliminates feedback before it becomes a problem. This results in improved access to speech detail with more natural sound, increased comfort, and improved speech understanding, even in the most challenging listening situations.
Conclusion
Oticon’s Real BrainHearing Technology is focused on bringing clarity and comfort together in hearing aids. The technology includes core technologies such as compression, directionality, noise reduction, and feedback management, as well as MoreSound Intelligence 2.0. MoreSound Intelligence 2.0 includes the world’s first wind and handling stabilizer and also the SuddenSound stabilizer. These are part of the reasons why I recommend Oticon Real hearing aids as my current pick for hearing aids.
