Oticon, Inc announced that the Oticon More is now available through the Veterans Affairs (VA) Administration, Department of Defense (DOD), and other federal agencies. The new hearing aid is said to build on Oticon’s BrainHearing approach to “provide the brain optimum input for better speech understanding with less effort.”  Oticon More is “the world’s first hearing aid that uses a fully trained, on-board Deep Neural Network (DNN) to process the sound environment in a more precise and balanced way.” According to Oticon, this helps provide the brain with optimized input from all types of meaningful sound, so that users can better focus on what matters to them without losing track of the sounds happening around them. Speech in noise is said to be “processed more like the human brain, based on extensive experiential learning, not on a limited set of man-made rules.” The result is a more natural representation of all sounds and an additional 15% increase in speech understanding.*

“Oticon More continues Oticon’s commitment to providing innovative hearing solutions that improve not only hearing but overall quality of life for our nation’s veterans,” said Rob Zimmer, director of government services for Oticon, Inc. “New independent research has shown that the brain needs access to all sounds — not just speech — in order to work in a natural way.  The breakthrough technology in Oticon More makes the full sound scene 60 % clearer.** This ability to represent all relevant sounds in the brain is crucial for a patient’s ability to navigate in environments that are dynamic and complex.”

Radically New Approach to Sound Processing

The Polaris platform supports Oticon More’s technologies. The MoreSound Intelligence (MSI) and MoreSound Amplifier (MSA) innovations in Oticon More are designed to give the brain “better access to more relevant and precise information, breaking with traditional approaches to noise reduction and  compression in hearing aids.”

MSI technology reportedly optimizes the way the hearing device makes sounds more distinct, helping it to work “seamlessly across varying listening environments.” All types of sounds are recognized, including their details, and how they should ideally sound to optimally support the brain. Scanning the soundscape 500 times per second, MSI captures the details in the sound scene and processes them with “better contrast, balance, and clarity than ever before.” According to the company, MSI is proven to make the full sound scene 60% clearer based on EEG testing.** The rapid high-resolution amplification of MSA works in both 24 and 4 frequency channels to naturally follow changes in the sound scene, helping to balance and amplify sound objects.

Direct Streaming from iPhone and Android Devices 

Oticon More features Bluetooth Low Energy technology and offers a range of connectivity options. Oticon More is a Made for iPhone (MFi) hearing aid and compatible with the new Android protocol for Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids (ASHA), making it possible to stream directly from Apple and selected Android mobile devices.***  Oticon More can be combined with Oticon ConnectClip to stream from any other Bluetooth device. 

The Oticon ON app lets veterans personalize their listening experience via the new streaming equalizer that allows them to fine-tune the sound when streaming. The ON app also lets users adjust the volume, change the program, check the battery level, and control other Oticon devices. It even comes with a “Find my hearing aids” feature.

More Power, Freedom, Flexibility

The rechargeable Oticon More miniRITE R uses reliable lithium-ion batteries for a full day of battery life****, including streaming, after just three hours of charging. A quick charge takes just 30 minutes and provides an additional six hours of power.

Oticon More is available in eight colors and supports hearing loss from mild to severe.  For more information about Oticon More and the entire portfolio of Oticon hearing solutions with BrainHearing technology available through the Veterans Affairs Administration, visit: https://www.oticon.com/solutions/for-veterans.

*Compared to Oticon Opn S™, Santurette, et al. 2020. Oticon More clinical evidence. Oticon Whitepaper. 

**EEG testing with MoreSound Intelligence in on vs off setting, from Santurette, et al.

*** Android devices need to support ASHA to allow direct connectivity to Oticon More.  Please visit Oticon.com/support/compatibility for more information.

****Lithium-ion performance varies depending on hearing loss, lifestyle, and streaming behavior.

iPhone is a trademark of Apple Inc, registered in the US and other countries. Android, Google Play, and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.

Source: Oticon

Images: Oticon