In 2021, Oticon, Inc changed hearing care with the introduction of Oticon More, “the first hearing solution built on the groundbreaking Polaris platform.” Now, Oticon announces the expansion of the potential of Polaris to its newest portfolio of solutions to “offer more patients a life full of sound.”  The addition of two new miniBTE solutions helps give hearing care professionals “the ability to meet the diverse needs and preferences of more patients with the superior sound quality of Oticon More,” according to the company. For patients who want the power of Polaris in an essential solution, new Oticon Zircon “brings the open sound experience to the essential hearing aid category for the first time.” New Oticon Play PX is another first – “the first pediatric hearing aid with an on-board Deep Neural Network that has learned the way children learn, through experience.”

“At Oticon, we never stop pushing the boundaries of what is possible, whether we are continuing to build on our BrainHearing philosophy or expanding the potential of Polaris to new families and styles,” said Oticon President Gary Rosenblum. “Polaris is the backbone of our newest solutions, offering more speed, precision, and capacity to help even more patients enjoy a life full of sound.” 

Oticon More New Styles, New Evidence – More Reasons to Choose

The Oticon More family continues to expand with two new discreet miniBTEs that offer the sound quality of Oticon More and the option of rechargeable or non-rechargeable styles. The miniBTE R uses reliable lithium-ion batteries for a full day of battery life*, including streaming, after just 3.5 hours of charging. The miniBTE T uses disposable zinc air batteries.

Previous studies have proven how Oticon More provides clearer information to the brain – delivering 30% more sound and increasing speech understanding by yet another 15%.** The most recent evidence used an advanced pupillometry test methodology and more complex tasks to show Oticon More reduces sustained listening effort by an astounding 30%.*** 

“The study approach of the newest evidence aligns to real-life scenarios proving that MoreSound Intelligence reduced sustained listening effort in realistic situations,” said Virginia Ramachandran, AuD, PhD, Head of Audiology for Oticon, Inc.

Oticon Zircon – Open Sound Experience in an Essential Solution

Oticon Zircon – also powered by the Polaris platform – brings the open sound experience to the essential hearing aid category. Using OpenSound Navigator, Speech Guard, and SuperShield, this hearing aid builds on Oticon’s BrainHearing philosophy to provide “a superb listening experience for people with hearing loss, even in noisy environments+.” Featuring 2.4GHz Bluetooth low-energy technology, Oticon Zircon offers a range of connectivity options and a choice of rechargeable and non-rechargeable styles, performance levels, and fitting ranges.

Oticon Play PX – Life-changing Technology Unleashes the Magic of Childhood

Designed specifically for children, Oticon Play PX is “the world’s first pediatric hearing aid with an on-board Deep Neural Network.” According to Oticon, the new hearing solution was trained on 12 million real-life sound scenes and learned to recognize sounds through experience, the way children’s brains do naturally. Available in rechargeable and non-rechargeable styles and compatible with a range of connectivity options for enhanced learning and communication.

2-Way Hands-Free for iPhone and iPad

Users of Oticon hearing aids built on the Polaris platform can now enjoy hands-free communication using their iPhone and iPad+++. Oticon More and the new Oticon Zircon and Oticon Play PX support the new two-way, hands-free communication.  The hearing aids can be used as a headset so users can speak hands-free on phone or video calls. The 2-way hands-free communication is available for existing Oticon More hearing aids via a firmware update made by the hearing care professional.  Oticon More, Oticon Zircon, and Oticon Play PX are also compatible with the new Android protocol for Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids (ASHA), making it possible to stream directly from select Android mobile devices++.

For more information on the newest additions to the Oticon More family, visit: https://www.oticon.com/professionals/brainhearing-technology/more-technology.  Learn more about Oticon Zircon and Oticon Play PX at: https://www.oticon.com/professionals.

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

** Compared to Oticon Opn S. Santurette S, Ng EHN, Jensen JJ, Loong BMK. Oticon More clinical evidence. Oticon White Paper. https://wdh02.azureedge.net/-/media/oticon-us/main/download-center—myoticon—product-literature/whitepapers/15500-0635—oticon-more-clinical-evidence-whitepaper.pdf?rev=59D5&la=en. Published 2020.

*** Nielsen RM, Ng EHN. Oticon More new evidence: Reducing sustained listening effort. Oticon White Paper. https://wdh01.azureedge.net/-/media/oticon/main/pdf/master/whitepaper/243369uk_wp_pupillometry_evidence_on_more.pdf?la=en&rev=0B5E&hash=E6E8B6E3A6D533B81376D1D3935585A3. Published 2022.

+ OpenSound Navigator and Speech Guard are only available in Zircon 1.

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

+++ Bi-directional streaming for certified Made for iPhone hearing devices is available with iPhone 11 or later, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation and 4th generation), iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation and 2nd generation), iPad Air (4th generation), and iPad mini (6th generation), with software updates iOS 15.2 and iPadOS 15.2 or later.

Android, Google Play, and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.

Source: Oticon

Image: Oticon