Founded in 1904 in Denmark, Oticon is one of the oldest hearing aid manufacturers in the world. Driven by their “people first” mission, Oticon collaborates with the Ericksholm Research Institute to design cutting edge hearing instruments, defined by personalization and sophisticated features to provide comfort and clarity for those with hearing loss.

Oticon’s latest offering in hearing aid technology is the Opn, pronounced “open.” The Opn is powered by the Velox Processing Platform, which expands on BrainHearing Technology. Velox’s precise and ultra-fast platform provides wearers with 20% reduction in listening effort in noisy environments, 20% more capacity to remember in challenging noise situations, and 30% better speech understanding. Unlike older hearing aid models, Opn gives wearers a full 360 degree access to the sound environment, empowering wearers to choose where to focus their attention.

As a result, Opn gives wearers access to all sounds in their environment, with the OpenSound Navigator Environmental Analyzer feature. By taking in sounds at 100 times a second, the OpenSound Navigator captures elements of background noise to help situate wearers within their environment.

With the new TwinLink technology, Opn gives wearers two wireless communication systems in one hearing aid. Using near-field magnetic communication (NFMI), Opn simulates natural binaural hearing, and provides wearers with wireless connectibility through Bluetooth. As such, Opn wearers may stream phone calls, music, and other media directly from their smartphones to their hearing aids.

The Oticon Opn is also the world’s first hearing aid to connect to the Internet, through If This Then That (IFTTT.com). Opn hearing aids are equipped to connect wearers to sounds of daily life, such as alarms, doorbells, baby monitors, thermostats, home entertainment and gaming systems, and security systems.

Oticon’s BrainHearing technology supports brain’s process in recognizing sounds. With hearing loss, the brain struggles to make sense of auditory signals and attempts to fill in gaps. BrainHearing technology supports the brain with four main features:

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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)

BrainHearing technology is available in several Oticon hearing aid models, such as the Alta, Nera, and Ria.

Oticon hearing aids offer tinnitus therapy, which provides relief in the form of sound therapy. In terms of accessibility, most Oticon hearing aids are wirelessly compatible with smartphones, allowing wearers to stream sounds directly to their hearing aids. Additionally, Oticon offers a remote control to enable wearers to adjust volume and program settings with ease and discretion.

The Opn is available in the mini receiver-in-the-ear style, while Alta, Nera, and Ria hearing aids are available in a number of wearing options, from behind-the-ear to completely-in-canal. Oticon hearing aids are designed to treat varying degrees of hearing loss, from mild to profound.