Oticon Intent user review

I’m looking forward to my Oticon Intent trial. I imagine I’ll need a new hearing test, then the 2-week yada yada as the Intents come in to the clinic and the audi sets them up.

One thing I can’t find anywhere online is a Feature list (such as the one here for Phonak). It would be good to know what custom programs I could set up on the Intents. Is “Speech in Loud Noise” no longer even needed with the 12dB SNR for speech?

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As I can see, some people here have Oticon Intent yet. So my question to Intent users - have you any control for Auracast networks with Intent? If yes - where do you can see it - in Companion app or in phone Bluetooth control?

I have Speech in Noise and MyMusic but don’t use them. I just use General. There are a few programs available just as they were for the More, Real and so on.

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Not yet. Auracast is still relatively new and not been introduced here in the UK yet… this will take time before it’s widely adopted.

OK! Thanks for sharing. That is pretty impressive if you don’t need either Speech in Noise or MyMusic, cuz it would reflect the ability of Oticon to deliver on 2 KEY areas for me: hearing in noise places and enjoying natural-sounding music. Hope that’s the case.

The Oticon website should have plenty of information that you’re looking for. Below is the product matrix comparing the 4 tiers and which features they have or don’t have.

The second screenshot below is a list of built-in programs Oticon offers. As you can see, there’s a Speech in Noise program in there. If your HCP sets up the General program to have the same parameters as they’re set in the built-in Speech in Noise program, then it should function the same as the Speech in Noise program when you’re in a noisy environment, and it should function as the normal program when you’re in simpler easier environments.

The only thing that might be slightly different is if the built-in Speech in Noise program generates slightly different gain curves compared to the General program. Usually the SIN program may tend to have a slightly higher gain curves than the General program to give you a slight volume boost for better understanding.

So it’s really up to you. If you prefer to just not mess around with having to switch programs, just have your General program sets with the same parameter values as the SiN program and the aid will adjust the noise attenuation to the appropriate level that matches with the environment that you’re in so that you can just “set it and forget it”. But if you prefer to have a slight boost in the gain curves that the SiN program gives you, and don’t mind to have to manually switch between different programs yourself every time you go in and out of different environments, then by all means add a SiN program separately from the General program and do your manual switching.

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I had to use speech in noise program today in my networking event with my Intent 1. It made quite a difference to focus on the person in front of me.

I feel there’s still adjustments that needs to be done to my general program as I didn,t have to do this with my OPN S1.

Did you notice whether the response to movement is different with Speech in Noise versus General?

I did not notice. Both programs have the sensors activated.

OK!!! Exactly and precisely what I was looking for. How come I did a Google search on “Oticon Intent 1 Features” and never got to this page? AHHHH, forget it. Now I’ve got it, and many thanks to you for posting it here! :+1:

It sounds like the default program would be similar to mine with the Phonak Lumity Life’s AutoSense. This also is supposed to enable a “Speech in Loud Noise” setting without my having to go to the dedicated program. But neither really helps a whole lot in noisy situations. Which is probably the #1 reason why I want to try out the Oticon Intent 1.

I’m kind of surprised that the Programs have so much emphasis on T-coil this and that! I thought that was a technology that’s been replaced with programs dedicated to doing what the T-coil helped with: hearing better on the phone and in theatres and lecture halls.

Do you know if the Intent 1 has AutoPhone? That would be like the Acoustic Phone I have on my Phonaks. If I put my aids into that program, I can hear any phone call on any kind of phone stereophonically - it’s almost as good as streaming.

Well, I’ve got a running list of questions for the audi when I get in for my trial fitting. I SURE hope she is adept at setting up this new model for someone with my kind of hearing profile.

My other concern is that I really should be wearing custom molds with these aids, and I’ve yet to find a material to use that I’m not allergic to, along with my ear canals swelling up and down during the day.

Thanks again for posting the Features & Programs. I’ll have to study these so I’m conversant for the fitting.

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The general program, if left at its default value, might not have used as aggressive settings as the SiN program to begin with in the Neural Noise reduction max value settings. On top of that, its gain curve is not slightly boosted like the SiN program is.

Below is an example of my default settings for General and SiN on the Intent 1 in simulation:

The first screenshot below is the General program MoreSound Intelligence screen:

The next screenshot below is the SiN program’s MoreSound Intelligence screen:

You can see that the General program, for my personal hearing loss, defaults with 0 dB NNS for Easy and 8 dB NNS for Difficult. But the SiN program defaults to 2 dB NNS for Easy and 10 dB NNS for Difficult. Also note that it’s not even the max available of 6 dB NNS for Easy and 12 dB NNS for Difficult for the Intent tier 1. So there’s even more room for Neural Noise Suppression improvement left on the table and is not used in my scenario. So in this case, if I allow Genie 2 pick out these default values, my Intent 1 is only performing at the Intent 2 level and I could have saved money buying the Intent 2 instead if I want. But of course I can just change my default settings to the max Neural Noise Suppression value to get the most out of what I pay the Intent 1 for.

Also note that in the General Program, the Easy Classification is Very Simple, Simple and Moderate, while its Difficult Classification is Complex and Very Complex. On the other hand, in the SiN program, the Moderate scenario gets moved to the Difficult Classification, signifying that you need more help in SiN than in General.

So if you want your General program to perform as well the SiN program, you should mirror the parameter settings in the SiN program to make the Neural Noise Suppression as well as the Environmental Classification more aggressive like how the SiN program has it.

Beside these settings, the other difference is in the gain curves in the Fine Tuning section. The SiN program has its gain curves slightly boosted compared to the General gain curves, to help you hear everything a little bit louder to begin with. So let’s say that you match the parameters of the SiN program in your General program, if you can just leave the General program gain curves alone but when you’re in noisy difficult environments, you can just increase the volume 1 click up (2 dB gain) if you feel the need to hear louder, and it should roughly match the SiN gain curve slight boost anyway.

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Perhaps the feature set for Intent is an order of magnitude more complicted due to the 4D sensor, SNR and DNN? I also anticipate a very invovled and difficult setup for me cuz I absolutely never go with the REM results for my optimum hearing setup. Audiologists are always stupefied at how much I push back and work with them to adjust the settings till I can actually comprehend speech and enjoy music. It’s significantly different than all the parameters from hearing test and REM would end up with. :unamused:

The Oticon OPN has an AutoPhone feature that allows you to use the coil used for NFMI (near field magnetic induction) communication between the 2 hearing aids as a pseudo tcoil. But since the OPN, the More and Real and Intent all have Tcoil built into them already, so this AutoPhone feature in the OPN is no longer needed.

But I suspect this is probably different than the Phonak AutoPhone feature you’re asking about. I don’t know enough about this Phonak AutoPhone feature, but I would guess probably not for the Oticon aids.

What do you tend to change? And louder or softer?

Of course I know about it. But Auracast network management must appear somewhere in smartphone or app settings, even with empty network list?

Hm. I don’t have T-coil in my Phonaks cuz I didn’t want that limiting my options for a phone. I thought T-coil required magnetics in the phone’s receiver. I’m no engineer, but that seems like a technology from the '70s? Do even cell phones of today have some kind of T-coil electronics built in?

There was a discussion on Phonak’s Acoustic Phone vs Duo Phone here, but don’t quiz me on it!

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I typically add more bass to my settings, and take the higher frequencies down just a JOT. I can’t stand the harsh, almost physically painful high frequencies that REM says I should have.

I also tend to have my default volume (gain) boosted up a couple notches, cuz the initial default leaves me straining a bit to hear. But I can’t have gain up too much, cuz with my hearing loss, I’d run into the MPO vs gain WALL. Not a lot of wiggle room for me. That alone is exacerbated by my using the softer, double-dome tips on my speakers.

I really should dig out the firm silicone custom mold made for my Lumity Lifes and maybe trying wearing them for a night. I tried using them for just a few days when I first got my Lifes … but my ear canals had like RED, painful, burning sensation from that material. I wish there was a material that would be non-reactive to my ears. I haven’t found anything that works other than the looser-fitting double domes.

Maybe but not on my iPhone 15 Pro so far… maybe check out the other posts on this forum that go into more detail with regards to Auracast.

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Look into hard acrylic. Oticon use hard acrylic material for their custom moulds and so far, I have had no issues with them.

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I’ve tried both the clear and pink-tinted hard acrylic … and ended up with raging otitis within a week.

Maybe I could ask about titanium? That’s about the only material left … EXCEPT for the flesh-colored plastic. If they still do custom molds with that, it’s an option I’m thinking. For a good 25 yrs that’s all I wore - either ITE or CIE custom molds made of that material. It’s ugly as a bandaid tho.