Oticon Xceed

Oticon introduced Xceed behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids in August 2019 for people with severe-to-profound hearing loss. Xceed is the world’s most powerful hearing aid. Powered by the Velox S platform with BrainHearing technology, Xceed can supply 146 dB SPL and 87 dB full-on gain—in other words, a lot of volume—while offering several “industry firsts” tailored to the unique needs of people with more severe hearing losses. Xceed is available starting at around $5,000 per pair.

Oticon is one of the world's leading hearing aid manufacturers and the flagship brand of the Denmark-based Demant, the world's second-largest hearing aid group, which also includes Beltone, Philips, and Bernafon under its corporate umbrella. The Velox S platform in Xceed is Oticon's older technology that has been superseded by the Polaris and Polaris R platform, the latter of which now powers the Oticon Real hearing aid. That doesn't mean it's not good; it just means Xceed doesn't have some of the newer "state-of-the-art" improvements found in Real.

Oticon Xceed is available in two behind-the-ear (BTE) styles: super power (BTE SP, 110) and ultra power (BTE UP, 120). They also come in 3 technology levels (Xceed 1, 2, and 3, with 1 being the highest). You can view a comparison of the models and technology levels at the bottom of this page. There are also Oticon Xceed Play hearing aids specially tailored for younger users with severe-to-profound hearing loss.

The BTE SP uses a Size 13 disposable battery, while the more powerful BTE UP uses a larger 675 battery. Both models include a telecoil so you can tap into broadcasts from loop induction systems where available.

The new design with push buttons for each control makes it easy to adjust the volume and up to 4 programs, and these complement the controls found in the Companion app. Xceed comes in 7 different colors to match your skin tone or hair color and are IP68 rated, meaning it provides the highest ingress protection (IP) level against moisture and dirt/debris.

Traditional power hearing aids do not always give access to all speakers with their directional microphones; instead, they focus only on the person in front of you. Oticon Xceed is designed to change this by opening the world around you. Xceed reportedly provides access to all speech and relevant sounds and differentiates speech from noise in the process.

It does this partly by using Oticon’s proprietary OpenSound Navigator (OSN), which provides more access to speech and less listening effort, and the aid also employs Oticon’s OpenSound Optimizer that delivers optimal volume (gain) with reduced risk of feedback or whistling from the device—a common hurdle with power hearing aids. An independent study shows that OSN technology in Xceed improves speech clarity by 10%, reduces listening effort by 10%, and increases short-term recall by 15% for patients with severe-to-profound hearing loss.

Helping power users gain access to a connected world, Xceed uses its 2.4 GHz Bluetooth low-energy technology to connect directly to iPhones and Apple tablets. You can stream your favorite music and TV sound directly to both ears and enjoy hands-free phone calls with iPhones. Android phone users will need the ConnectClip accessory to do this. The Oticon Companion app allows you to control volume, change programs, access an equalizer for audio streaming, monitor battery levels, and even find your hearing aids if you've misplaced them.