Pros and Cons of Oticon Hearing Aids

Is an Oticon Hearing Aid Right for Me?

When considering if you might benefit from a hearing aid, your doctor or audiologist can perform a series of hearing tests to determine the level of your hearing loss. Since living with untreated hearing loss can lead to depression and social isolation, seniors need to take even the slightest changes in hearing seriously. Even if you feel like your hearing loss is not “that bad” it can still take away from parts of life that you don’t want to miss––like the sound of the rain or your grandchild saying, “I love you!”

Oticon Hearing Aids

Oticon offers a broad spectrum of hearing solutions for mild to profound hearing loss. If you don’t mind paying a higher price, Oticon hearing aids are well worth the investment. Since you must purchase Oticon hearing aids through a hearing center, you’ll be connected with a trained professional. They will assess your hearing and fit you for an Oticon hearing aid. After your purchase, you can check in with your hearing professional with any questions. This long-term support from a licensed hearing care professional is invaluable as your hearing changes over time, and you need routine maintenance on your devices. Most of this routine care is included in the upfront cost of the device; your initial purchase isn’t just for hearing aids but also professional hearing support. If you would benefit from this extra support, Oticon hearing aids are a great option.

Oticon Hearing Technology

Before we get into the hearing aid styles and devices that Oticon offers, it’s important to understand the technology that comes with their various models. Depending on your needs, you may only want some of these technologies, while others may want a model equipped with all of them.

BrainHearing

Every Oticon hearing aid is equipped with this innovative technology. Designed to provide support not only in the ears but in the brain as well, users experience less fatigue. Precise sound is delivered through the hearing aid, so your brain spends less energy deciphering noise. This technology works very well for those with mild to moderate hearing loss. Those with more severe losses may need additional technologies such as remote microphones to hear well in noise.

OpenSound Navigator

Allowing the brain to decide where to focus sound, OpenSound Navigator gives you the ability to hear a full landscape of sound. It means on a busy street you’ll hear the sound of cars, your footsteps, and the person’s voice you’re walking next to, but their voice will be the most amplified. This upgraded feature is available on the Oticon Opn S, Oticon Xceed, and Oticon Opn.

Velox S

Available with the Oticon’s Opn S hearing aids, the Velox S platform includes sensitive detectors that pick up changes in the acoustic environment you’re in at a rate of 56,000 times per second. It also includes feedback management and an option for rechargeable batteries.

OpenSound Optimizer

Hanging its hat on “no feedback” results, the OpenSound Optimizer provides up to six decibels of additional sound gain and 30 percent more speech cues to the brain. Working in sync with OpenSound Navigator, the two systems work together to provide clearer sound in noisy environments on the Oticon Opn S hearing aid.

Oticon Hearing Aids - Styles and Devices

Compared to Widex hearing aids and ReSound products, Oticon has similar prices. Just a reminder: Oticon doesn’t list prices online, so you’ll need to visit a local Oticon partner to learn how much these hearing aids cost. The devices are catered to people who have mild to profound hearing loss and desire top-of-the-line hearing support. Oticon also offers a hearing aid specifically designed for individuals with one-sided hearing loss. If you’re looking for simplified offerings or lower prices on hearing aids, Oticon is probably not the best fit. You may want to check out Eargo’s hearing aids for straightforward, budget-friendly options that can be purchased online.

Oticon offers several styles of hearing aids depending on whether you prefer BTE or in-the-ear (ITE) support. ITE aids have several variations, which we have outlined below. They are best for those who want discreet support and have mild to severe hearing loss. ITE aids are not ideal for older adults who have trouble with small devices or with dementia. Because they are so small, it can be difficult to adjust and remove the hearing aids. BTE ear styles are easy to adjust and best for those with mild to severe loss. Your hearing care professional can help you choose the ideal style for your needs and ear anatomy. We’ll cover some of Oticon’s most popular hearing aids.

Below we’ll cover some of Oticon’s popular hearing aid families. Each family is designed for a certain type of hearing loss and comes with its unique features. You’ll find that each type comes in a variety of styles, colors, and sizes.

Oticon Real

Oticon’s Real hearing aids represent a technological advancement over Oticon’s discontinued More line. These hearing aids are built with Oticon’s RealSound technology to provide superior speech clarity, fuller access to sound, and less listening effort.
Real hearing aids come equipped with a Wind & Handling Stabilizer that reduces unwanted noise in windy environments. In addition to making speech clearer in windy conditions, the stabilizer reduces the distracting noises caused when glasses, hair, or facemask elastics touch your hearing aids.
Real hearing aids can be used as a wireless headset for hands-free calling with select iOS devices. You can also use them to stream audio directly from iPhones, iPads, and select Android devices. Unlike More, Real hearing aids can be completely managed through one, rather than two, Oticon apps.
Real hearing aids are available in miniRITE and miniBTE styles. There are rechargeable and traditional battery options for each.

Oticon Intent

As the name implies, Oticon Intent hearing aids are equipped with user-intent sensors that intuit and prioritize important sounds. This improves your ability to have conversations in very challenging listening environments, like stadiums and conference halls. Intent hearing aids respond to head movements. This not only provides heightened speech clarity, it also enables an easy conversational flow in group situations.

Intent’s advanced features include Oticon’s second-generation Deep Neural Network (DNN). DNN has been trained on millions of sound environments to identify and separate important sounds from background noise.

Intent is Oticon’s smallest miniRITE hearing aid to date. Like Oticon Real, Oticon Intent features hands-free calling, easy streaming from smart devices, and all-around customizations and real-time hearing aid adjustments through the Opticon Companion app.

Oticon Xceed

Available in two styles and seven different colors to match hair color and skin tone, the Oticon Xceed makes BTE hearing aids discreet. This powerful hearing aid is ideal if you experience severe to profound hearing loss. They provide optimal sound differentiation, giving you a full spectrum of the sound environment you’re in and the ability to focus on various speakers while still hearing other sounds around you.

The Oticon Xceed also connects to your Apple devices through Bluetooth technology, making streaming sound from your favorite TV shows and music platforms simple. The hearing aids can also be controlled on your smartphone with the Oticon ON App. The two styles, Xceed SP and Xceed UP are both water and dust-resistant, great for wearers who spend a lot of time outdoors.

Oticon Zircon

Oticon Zircon

Oticon’s Zircon line of hearing aids uses BrainHearing™ technology and OpenSound Navigator processing technology to deliver easy-to-comprehend, crystal-clear speech. These technologies work in unison to reduce unwanted sounds at very fast speeds, so the noise level around you won’t escalate, even between words.
These hearing aids come in chargeable and nonchargeable miniRITE and miniBTE options. They’re compatible with Oticon CROS, for single-sided deafness.

Oticon CROS

For those who have single-sided deafness, the Oticon CROS provides a superb solution. By placing the hearing aid into the ear with poorer hearing, the device picks up sound coming into that ear and transmits it into the ear you can hear from. This TwinLink technology puts an end to the constant struggle of only being able to hear on one side. The hearing device is also equipped with Oticon’s OpenSound Navigator.

Oticon Own

The Oticon Own™ line of in-the-ear hearing aids use Deep Neural Network technology to deliver natural sound in a discreet variety of ITE styles. According to Oticon, these custom-made hearing aids are indiscernible to the eye in nine out of 10 people’s ears.

Like the other Oticon hearing aids we’ve discussed, Own hearing aids use BrainHearing technology™ to provide the brain with more access to sound. This provides a highly personalized listening experience to the wearer, plus enhances the brain’s ability to process incoming sounds naturally.

Add-On Features

There are a few add-on features for Oticon’s hearing aids if you want to customize your hearing experience even further. Below, we’ll cover some of our favorites.

Oticon Rechargeable Base Station

• ConnectClip: Hands-free phone calls are easy with the ConnectClip. It turns your hearing aids into a wireless headset, providing a seamless sound connection to your favorite technology. The ConnectClip also functions as a very directional remote microphone and basic remote control.
• Oticon Companion App: Oticon’s newest app is an all-in-one solution for iOS and Android device users. It replaced the ON App for iOS devices. This app perfectly pairs your smartphone with your hearing aids to provide discreet and convenient control. You can use it to adjust volume, listen to your television or other smart devices, and find your hearing aids if you ever lose track of them.
• Tinnitus SoundSupport: Ten percent of U.S. adults experience tinnitus each year.4 Oticon’s Tinnitus SoundSupport provides relief through soothing sounds and music.

How to Purchase Oticon Hearing Aids

Since Oticon partners with hearing centers across the country to provide hearing aids to older adults, the first step you’ll need to take is to visit their website to locate a hearing clinic near you. By reading through this guide and browsing the Oticon website, you may already have an idea of which hearing aid you’d like to try. Upon your initial visit to the hearing clinic, a licensed professional will conduct a hearing test and partner with you to determine which Oticon hearing aid will be best for your lifestyle and hearing loss. Next, they will order your hearing aid and upon its arrival make sure it fits well and provide you with any accessories or cleaning tools you’ll need. You’ll make routine trips to the hearing center to make adjustments and maintenance as needed.

Remember that visits to a hearing clinic may add extra expenses to the cost of your hearing aids. Other providers on the market allow you to purchase hearing aids and consult with professionals completely online to alleviate some of those costs. If you’re on a tight budget, or you’d rather order hearing aids online and get them sent directly to you, consider MDHearingAid’s products. However, if you want a hearing aid that’s completely customized to your needs, and you’d prefer to consult with a professional in person to address any underlying issues linked to your hearing loss, Oticon is the better choice.

Final Thoughts on Oticon

Backed by decades of research, Oticon is an international industry leader with many customizable hearing aids to choose from. With devices for mild to profound hearing loss and a wide variety of styles, fits, and designs, you’re sure to find one that meets your needs. Though the hearing aids err on the pricey side at upwards of $3,500 per hearing aid, your purchase includes invaluable professional support from a licensed hearing expert. Investing in Oticon hearing aids doesn’t just provide you with elite devices, but also innovative technology and personalized care. Head over to this year’s Oticon review for our hands-on experience with the provider.