Oticon introduces Oticon More

Press Releases
#1

Oticon More™ Is The World’s First Hearing Aid To Let You Hear All Relevant Sounds Thanks To An On-board Deep Neural Network

Oticon has completely reinvented the way a hearing aid works! The new Oticon More hearing aid is the world’s first to give you access to ALL the sound you need to hear naturally, and it does this while still delivering a comfortable listening experience. Rather than simply focusing on speech, Oticon More™ lets you hear so much more, in a way that helps the auditory center in your brain interpret more of the sounds you are listening to. Oticon More™ has been trained to help your brain, the main tool for hearing, make sense of sound with 12 million ‘real-life’ sound scenes to ensure a sound experience like never before.

Copenhagen, Denmark, November 30th, 2020 – Hearing aid manufacturer, Oticon, has today announced the launch of the new, revolutionary Oticon More™ hearing aids. Introducing an entirely new way to support hearing loss, Oticon More is the world’s first hearing aid to let you hear all you need thanks to a Deep Neural Network (DNN) which supports your brain to work in the most natural and effective way. Your brain plays the most essential part in your hearing process, so it is vital that it is supported in the right way. Oticon More™ is breaking the mold to be the first hearing aid to provide your brain with access to all of the relevant sounds it needs, while ensuring sound remains comfortable. Oticon More™ is trained specifically to make it easier for you to handle a full sound scene, even in the really complex listening environments, such as a crowded party or a busy restaurant. Less limited by your hearing loss, you can enjoy life much more.

Oticon More™ mimics how your brain works

Oticon More™ is the next level in the evolution of advanced hearing aid technology. It signals a completely new understanding of how your brain works and the best possible way to help you hear. Introducing a new, intelligent Deep Neural Network (DNN) technology, which has been trained with 12 million sound scenes based on real-life sounds, Oticon More™ can recognize all the sounds of the world, their details, and how they should ideally sound. Oticon is the first hearing aid company to train an on-board DNN with sounds recorded outside of the lab, radically transforming the information your hearing aids help you to hear with. Oticon More™ continuously and automatically provides you with the optimal sound you need in any given situation, and it does all this while ensuring you are not overwhelmed by all the sounds around you.

“It is time for a new perspective in hearing care, and Oticon More is the solution,” says Ole Asboe Jørgensen, President, Oticon brand, Global. “We have long advocated the need to support the brain through hearing technology, and as a consequence, we have pioneered many technologies that are already helping our users to lead fuller lives. We understand that it is essential to give your brain as much sound information as possible in order to hear properly, which our recent research into how the brain works to handle sound confirms, clearly demonstrating that the brain needs access to a full sound scene in order to focus well. Hearing aids should, put simply, help you to hear all you need, and comfortably. By limiting what you can hear to just a single person speaking for example, which most hearing aids do, your brain is forced to work harder in an unnatural way, and you can be cut off from other conversations around you. By helping the brain to process sound in the most natural way, we will better help reduce the health and life problems associated with untreated hearing loss, which almost all stem from the impact hearing loss has on the brain and the lack of social interaction as a result of it being too difficult to take part. We are so proud to be inventing hearing technology that will shape the hearing aids of tomorrow, and leading the way with the new, extraordinary Oticon More.”

Enjoy next-generation connectivity

Oticon More™ works in harmony with modern technology to deliver features that can benefit you in your everyday life:

  • Made for iPhone and compatible with modern Android devices*, you can stream music, phone calls and more directly to your hearing aids from your smartphone.

  • Take control of your hearing aids on your smartphone via the app, Oticon ON Connect with your Hearing Care Professional remotely via your phone for convenient online hearing aftercare (hearing aid adjustments etc.) with Oticon RemoteCare.

  • No battery changes. With rechargeable batteries you can plug in your hearing aid in the evening and be fully charged for the next day after you have had a good night’s sleep. If you need to hear for longer, a super quick 30-minute charge will provide you with a six-hour power boost.

  • Enjoy the benefits of internet connectivity.

  • Access the IFTTT network to create life enhancing recipes with Smart devices, such as Alexa, doorbells, lighting and even a kettle.

  • With Oticon’s handy accessories you can stream sound directly from your TV and other Bluetooth compatible devices.

To discover more about how Oticon More™ hearing aids help keep your brain healthy while letting you hear more, visit: https://www.oticon.global/hearing-aid-users/hearing-aids/products/more

The new Oticon More™ will be made available from mid-December. Local availability will vary. Please check your local Oticon website or with your hearing care professional

*for the full list, please check: https://www.oticon.global/hearing-aid-users/support/faq/compatibility

About Oticon

500 million people worldwide suffer from hearing loss. The majority are over the age of 50 while eight percent are under the age of 18. Oticon’s vision is to create a world where people are no longer limited by hearing loss. A world where hearing aids fit seamlessly into life and help people realise their full potential, while avoiding the health consequences of hearing loss. Oticon develops and manufactures hearing aids for both adults and children and supports every kind of hearing loss from mild to profound and we pride ourselves on developing some of the most innovative hearing aids in the market. Headquartered in Denmark, we are a global company and part of Demant with more than 15,000 employees and revenues of over DKK 14 billion. Changing technology. Changing conventions. Changing lives. Oticon – Life-changing hearing technology. www.oticon.global

more

Admin edit from @AbramBaileyAuD: Provided link to HT’s product page for More. Note: Original link was redirecting to US home page, not More page.

4 Likes
LE Audio and the Future of Hearing
#2

Demant announces launch of new flagship hearing aids

30.11.2020 07:59:31 CET | Demant A/S | Investor News

  • Introducing Oticon More™ – the world’s first hearing aid with on-board Deep Neural Network

  • Oticon More features iOS and Android™ connectivity and is prepared for Bluetooth® LE Audio

  • New flagship hearing aids soon rolling out from Philips Hearing Solutions, Bernafon and Sonic

Greater Copenhagen, Denmark – Today, Demant, a global leader in hearing healthcare, is announcing the launch of new groundbreaking hearing aid technology in all its four hearing aid brands, Oticon, Philips Hearing Solutions, Bernafon and Sonic. The launch of new innovative hearing solutions strongly supports Demant’s purpose of delivering life-changing hearing health to people living with hearing loss. The new products will be launched in all major markets in the coming months and support millions of people in enjoying life to the fullest.

Years of research and innovation

Oticon is launching the new, revolutionary Oticon More, which is the world’s first hearing aid that allows users to hear all relevant sounds thanks to an on-board Deep Neural Network. Oticon More is powered by an entirely new chipset, Polaris™, boasting an eightfold increase in memory and twice the processing power compared to the previous generation, Velox S™. The all-new Polaris platform features seven processing cores, and due to its unique architecture, the 28 nanometer chipset delivers superior processing capabilities while optimising power consumption.

“Through years of innovation, research and collaboration with leading research institutions around the world, Oticon has built unique knowledge and understanding of how the brain perceives sound. Contrary to common belief, it is now established that the brain needs access to all sounds in the environment to function optimally. By applying this knowledge to hearing technology, we enable the hearing aid users to enjoy more complete sound landscapes and simply get more out of life when they use our products,” says Søren Nielsen, President and CEO of Demant.

In 2016, Oticon presented a paradigm shift in hearing care with Oticon Opn™, which, for the first time ever, allowed users to get access to all speakers in the sound landscape to allow for better understanding and participation. This groundbreaking approach is fundamentally different from what traditional hearing aids do, as they apply directionality and only focus on the speaker in front, while suppressing all other sounds. Then, in 2019, the paradigm was further developed with the breakthrough feedback prevention system of Oticon Opn S™.

Access to all relevant sounds now made possible

With Oticon More, Oticon is now taking the next big step on its BrainHearing™ journey by introducing the world’s first purpose-built hearing aid platform with an on-board Deep Neural Network. Oticon More utilises the intelligent capabilities of a Deep Neural Network to mimic the way the brain functions. It handles sounds based on the experience and training it has received. The Deep Neural Network in Oticon More is so much more than standard AI software – it is a unique and dedicated hearing aid solution, developed for real-time operation in everyday life.

Based on our vast sound processing experience, we have trained the Deep Neural Network with 12 million sound scenes from real life. This optimises the way Oticon More makes sounds more distinct by working seamlessly across varying listening environments with unparalleled precision and clarity, while ensuring that the sound is comfortable for the user. With this integrated intelligence, Oticon More has learned to recognise all types of sounds, their details, and how they should ideally sound to optimally support the brain. As a result, Oticon More delivers 30% more information to the brain than Oticon Opn S, while reducing the listening effort of the user and improving speech understanding by 15%.

“Delivering breakthrough innovation and hearing care that improve the lives of people with hearing loss is what we are all about at Demant. It makes me proud that we are ready to launch the next generation of hearing aids that use deep learning, the most powerful of the AI techniques, to optimise hearing aid performance. Not only does it improve the brain’s hearing function, it also enables users to hear more with less effort, so they can enjoy and keep taking part in everyday life,” says Søren Nielsen, President & CEO of Demant.

In addition to superior audiological performance, Oticon More features state-of-the-art direct streaming from both iOS and compatible Android devices using the ASHA (Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids) protocol and is prepared for the next generation of connectivity based on the upcoming Bluetooth LE Audio standard. This new, groundbreaking innovation from Oticon will be available in a miniRITE rechargeable style, in three upper price points and at four different power levels.

New flagship hearing aid families in all brands

Philips Hearing Solutions will soon launch the next generation of Philips HearLink™ hearing aids. Featuring AI sound technology, the new hearing aid family will bring a significant change in hearing aid technology. It is developed to enable hearing aid users to connect with friends, family and colleagues, which is essential in order to live a social and active life. Philips HearLink is rechargeable, is able to stream directly from iOS and compatible Android devices and it is prepared for the coming Bluetooth LE Audio standard.

Bernafon and Sonic will also launch new hearing aids in the coming months. Specifically, Bernafon will introduce Bernafon Alpha that features Hybrid Technology™, including a revolutionary approach to signal processing that always chooses the most optimal performance based on a precise analysis of the listening situation. Sonic will introduce Sonic Radiant, which comes with technology that actively finds, filters and fine-tunes sound so that the user can make the most of every moment. Both products feature direct streaming from iOS and compatible Android devices and are prepared for the coming Bluetooth LE Audio standard.

Multi-brand launch

Over the coming weeks and months, the new flagship hearing aid families of our four hearing aid brands will be launched in all major markets. The products will be available in a range of price points and power levels – all based on the powerful miniRITE rechargeable style, which is built on state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery technology. Starting today, our sales organisations will host a series of local launch events, conduct training sessions and launch marketing campaigns.

About Demant A/S

Demant is a world-leading hearing healthcare group that offers solutions and services to help people with hearing loss connect with the world around them. In every aspect, from hearing devices, hearing implants, diagnostics to audio and video solutions and hearing care all over the world, Demant is active and engaged. Our innovative technologies and knowhow help improve people’s health and hear-ing. We create life-changing differences through hearing health.

3 Likes
#3

Very interesting and impressive to scale this down to a hearing aid.
I wonder how representative the audio sample sets are for international sound scenes? Are they sampled in Denmark/Europe?

#4

Still no current and widely available direct Bluetooth connections without the need for Asha protocols available.

#5

Interesting to announce that all Demant products will be getting a new model, including Phillips which suggests Costco’s Phillips model will soon be replaced. I didn’t read every word but I scanned for a release date and did not see anything mentioned. So questions I have:

  1. When will the Oticon More be available?
  2. Clarifying Bluetooth compatibility would be nice. My guess is that it will be Made for iPhone and ASHA compatible from the start, but will be upgradeable to Bluetooth 5.2/LE Audio at sometime in the future.
    This is good news, but I hope this isn’t “vaporware.” Oticon promised the ConnectClip for over a year before it actually became available.
2 Likes
#6

It is supposed to be available very soon. In terms of Bluetooth compatibility, from what we were told, it’s Made for iPhone and ASHA compatible as you guessed, so that’s only the very latest Android models.

#7

Thanks. I read more carefully. The closest thing to a release date is “in the coming months.” Doesn’t sound like they’re too sure at this point in time.

#8

In October they said late 2020, so it should be soon:

1 Like
#9

In February they said by mid 2020 so it’s drifting quite a lot. Covid probably isn’t helping.

That sounds reasonable. I think ASHA was first released via a firmware update to an existing GE Resound model.

1 Like
#10

Is it possible to see ASHA for OPN S via a firmware update? It seems that OPN S will be abandoned from now on. This is not fair, especially for the latest models that are only a year and 3 months old.

#11

OPN S getting a firmware update for ASHA seems feasible. Seems like I remember hearing something quite some back that this was coming. Oticon PR seems to have a reputation for being way out ahead of production.

#12

It looks like the Oticon website has nothing on the Oticon More yet. The links displayed in the announcement simply takes you to Oticon.com and no material on the More can be found there.

#14

If anyone gets these aids, I’d be interested in

1 How well they work (most important)

  1. How much they cost (so if they do what this ad says, I can save my pennies)

Thanks
Bob

#15

This press release mentions availability in mid December

The new Oticon More™ will be made available from mid-December. Local availability will vary. Please check your local Oticon website or with your hearing care professional.

#16

Seriously - “Oticon More mimics how your brain works”. That’s pretty deep. So two questions I have are - Will all Oticon aids be made with the Oticon More platform going forward? Of just certain aids? Also will the the Oticon More use both chargeable and disposable batteries? Not much info released so far.

#17

I don’t think anybody is going to get them soon as there is not a release date yet. Cost range is easier to predict. For their (Oticon’s) most advanced model (More 1?), it will likely be in the $6000-$7000 range from full service audiologists) Might get it down to ~$4000 with more limited services.

#18

My guess is that all higher end Demant aids will be made with the Polaris platform (that’s the chipset) I’m also guessing that the Velox S platform will continue to be used in lower line aids. I’m also GUESSING that Oticon will retain a different approach to noise processing than their other brands (Sonic, Bernafon and Phillips) but who knows?!

#19

Oticon More mimics how your brain works

That’s awesome, if your brain works as an average one.

However if you need big SNR (anything above 4-5 IMO), I seriously doubt this will be better experience. Or any open paradigm.

If you need higher SNR, you need that additional help in filtering sounds because your brain cannot do it.

Now, we can argue if having aids like this is better and you can push your brain with them and train your brain to need lower SNR or it’s not possible to change SNR needs, and in that case, it won’t be helpful nor training but useless.
No clue if SNR can really go down with training and what type of training will help more - all sounds in or something more targeted. @Neville do you have any clues about it?

#20

I “liked” this quote.

1 Like
#21

A lot of vagueness shrouded around the “Deep Neural Network” buzzword. I’d like to see a whitepaper on it to understand better how they decide to “optimize” and “balance” the sounds in their 12 million plus sound scenes.

1 Like