Oticon More "deep neural network" processing: Does it WORK?

Who has attacked you? Me? I don’t understand. And I don’t give advice. I only share my personal experience, ask questions, and - occasionally - offer alternative interpretation of certain facts.

I join @gkumar in wishing you good luck.

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I haven’t seen where you have been attacking either, all any of us can do is explain our individual experiences. We are all different and that being we all have different experiences, likes and dislikes.

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While all of the back and forth in this conversation has been about whether the Oticon More lives up to its billing, I think it’s worth noting that Oticon isn’t the only company using aArtificial Intelligence in its hearing aids. Widex, Starkey, Philips, Audibel, and Whisper have all come out with hearing aids using AI in the past year. And Whisper does in fact say that it’s “brain” does in fact learn your listening environment and improve the longer you wear it.

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Yeah Chuck, tis all open to conjecture…… No one will know if they like a hearing aid, until they try it! I have yet to see 2 audiograms that are identical, you get similar, but I have never seen one that is the same, they are unique to the individual. This uniqueness is perhaps exacerbated by our own little foibles, preferences or perhaps biased opinions. For instance, you probably wouldn’t ask a “Punk Rock” lover if he liked “Country & Western”, you would most likely get a mouthful of abuse? Similarly if you asked a “Country & Western”, if they liked “Punk”, you might want to switch off your aids :joy: :upside_down_face: :rofl: So all types of sound, tone, bass, music, voice, are also a unique preference to the individual, coupled with your unique audiogram, then it is little wonder why opinions might be polarized…. This is perhaps “Why” some folks are downright obstinate, in their fellow HOH opinions, the sound I love from my hearing aid, you may hate or dislike intensely! And also perhaps why some AuD’s have a hard time fitting certain clients, no matter how well a hearing aid is fitted, you might not adapt to the way it sounds…… My 2 cents worth, cheers Kev :wink:

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You make my point perfectly. I absolutely agree.

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Well put, @kevels55. I agree with @cvkemp Chuck, too!

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If my remarks were misinterpreted I apologize. The comment struck me as accusatory. My Audi by the way specializes in hyperacusis and I have the utmost trust and confidence in her.

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I never got the impression that anyone in this thread made any claim that Oticon is the only AI HA in town anyway.

With regard to your last statement about the Whisper brain actually doing the self learning, I would take issue with it. Below are a couple of screenshots from their web site that has “marketing-speak” about continuous improvement. I think the language they use is very ambivalent here.

In the first screenshot, my interpretation of their continuous improvements is via the regular software upgrades (as part of their subscription model). They never explicitly said that their brain unit does self learning.

Same with the second screenshot, they only said that they’re constantly refining …(blah blah blah)… This can easily be interpreted as refining in their labs. They never explicit say that their brain unit continuously learns and improves on its own.

Those are the only 2 marketing items I could find on their website about continuous improvement. But if you have some other info from them that actually said that their brain is self learning, I’d be interested to read up on it some more if you can share it.


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@billgem: There are just SO many digital devices today that AI and Machine Learning are ubiquitous. It would be difficult to imagine how any product as sophisticated as a digital hearing instrument could be developed without some form of AI being involved in the process.

Furthermore, to the best of my knowledge, nobody on this Forum has intimated that Oticon was alone in using those technologies in their HAs.

I would argue that it’s HOW Oticon is using the technology that diferentiates it from the competitors you’ve mentioned.

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@Neville: Just as an addendum to our previous conversation about my new moulds/receiver wires:

15 business days and counting, and our “regional” Oticon lab in Ontario still has not returned my 100dB receivers to me.

[And this with nary a status report on the delivery date exception. I have no idea how many HAs are processed by their lab in a week, so my expectations regarding notification of delay may well be unreasonable.]

FYI

Another Report on the Oticon Canada Slow Boat to China

17 business days and still no receivers, still no delay notice to my audiologist!

BUT - here’s how a really good audiology clinic responds:

  1. The front desk person notices that my receivers still are not in and tells the office manager;
  2. The office manager calls the Oticon Lab in Ontario and gets a BS answer about the cause of the delay and expected ship date;
  3. The office manager apprises my audiologist of the unresponsiveness of the Oticon lab;
  4. My audiologist - who also finds Oticon’s work delay and customer notification process to be unacceptable - spontaneously puts in a call to the Oticon representative in order to look after me and to get some answers.

The front desk person calls me to say that all of them at my small clinic are disappointed and concerned that I’m having to go so long without my proper hearing getup!

I’m not happy with the service Oticon Canada is giving, but I couldn’t be happier with the customer service being afforded me by my audiology clinic.

Oticon may not have a seat at the table the next time I’m choosing hearing aids, but my current audiologist will have one!

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Sorry you having the delays. I have been discussing my ear molds with my audiologist, I am still having minor slipping of my left ear mold and now my right ear mold is slipping. At May convenience I will go in and meet with the clinic hearing aid technician and get new impressions and then new skeleton ear molds for both ears. My Audiologist says they are still getting a ten day or less turnaround on ear molds and aids repair from the New Jersey Oticon lab.

Thanks, Chuck, @cvkemp. :frowning: I’m sorry too, because these 85dB receivers I’ve been wearing for the past 3 weeks have the correct wire length, but they don’t give me great comprehension because the HAs are fitted/tuned for 100dB receivers. Close, but no cigar!

The USVA is probably the single largest volume dispenser of Oticon HAs in the world, so you can be sure that Demant allocates a lot of resources to keeping them happy.

Our Canadian market is only 1/10 of the size, at best. My biggest issue is that it would cost very little for Oticon Canada to say "Due to higher-than-normal demand, lab turnaround times for custom moulds, electronic repairs, testing and calibration may be longer than is usually the norm. Please bear with us, and call 1-888-1234 if you require further information."

Yes, to do this would cost something, but probably just a pittance as a percentage of the grossly inflated prices we pay for top-drawer hearing instruments.

My VAC agent doesn’t get involved in stuff like this. It’s assumed that my audiologist of choice will be my advocate for the resolution of customer service issues like mine.

That’s why I’m so pleased with my audiologist - the entire staff has picked up the ball without my having to ask

Yes my Audiologist with the Oticon reps help made the decision to go the the 105db receivers for me even though the 100s would have worked. As you know the 105s are molded into the ear molds, and Oticon has two versions of the 100s one can be used with non acrylic ear molds and the other requires the acrylic ear molds. My Audiologist said for me to come by the clinic and have the impressions done then he will have my ear molds mailed to me. Replacing them is easy. I did it on my left one already.

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Isn’t it insane that the New Jersey office is really in close proximity to Ontario, and yet you are screwed by International Politics!
That is a sad state of affairs, Spudster, and we may be losing our Chief Oticonian in the process, as well!

I also find it hard to believe the Oticon facilility does not stock the 100dB receivers. They are the same ones as the OPN, OPN S series.
I mentioned the VAMC in Long Beach, CA stocks receivers locally for walk-in repairs.

I can’t see why a mfg would not have a proportional stock of common parts on hand.
Receivers are probably the most common failure point.

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@flashb1024: Stock isn’t the issue - I sent my receivers back for longer wires and new moulds.

If the receivers are molded into the ear molds I don’t think they can be reused.

I dunno how it works, Chuck, but they told me they had to send my old receivers back to the lab. And they did. On July 13th.

I can change the wires separately from the receivers.

You are absolutely correct, Chuck, I totally missed that.
My new molds are also of the sealed receiver type.

So, they can’t 3D print a new set of molds with the longer wires, and put new receivers in going on 3 weeks?
Something smells rotten in Denmark, oops, i mean Canada!

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