I have had Oticon OPNs for 5 years (and the Intiga before that) and am now trialing the Intents. Last year I briefly demoed the new Reals and thought the improvement was significant but financially couldn’t do it. Now, with the Intents, I immediately heard an improvement in speech clarity. I have used them around in stores and on errands but I haven’t had a chance to try them in a really noisy environment yet but this weekend will do so.
I have noticed improvements in the handling of sudden loud noises (the dog barking) and annoying noises (water running while doing dishes). My kids sometimes mumble and I can understand them much better, when they are in the same room or across the house.
The Intents stream directly to my phone (a Moto phone that I think uses BT LE) which is new, before now I have had to use the streamer to stream and didn’t bother with it. It’s not great for my phone battery but hearing phone calls with both ears, especially work calls with clients, is worth it.
I enjoy music, both pop and classical, and take violin and cello lessons as an adult. I immediately noticed a big change, not for the better, in the sound of the Music program at my music lessons and also just listening to the radio. After a quick look online, seeing the complaints about the new Music program, I changed the EQ a bit and it is much improved.
All in all, the improvement is so significant that I almost feel like it’s cheating. I can hear clearly and understand so much better with the Intents compared to the OPN or no hearing aids (I don’t always wear them around the house).
They’re expensive, and my current OPNs work fine. But the Intents are such an improvement I’m going to figure out how to afford them.