New Oticon Real Hearing Aid with Polaris R Chip Platform Improves Clarity and Protects Against Disruptive Sounds

Oticon has announced the launch of its latest flagship hearing aid, Oticon Real™, which runs on the company’s new Polaris R™ chip platform and features its RealSound™ technology. Oticon Real—a hearing aid that picks up where its predecessor Oticon More™ left off— is designed to give users a full spectrum of sounds in different environments.

It also features new technology that guards against sudden disruptive signals, such as wind noise and when your hearing aids get jostled while manually adjusting them or when your glasses, hat/scarf, or facemask rubs against the devices. Oticon Real has been designed to provide a more comfortable and sharper perception of sound in the real world.

HearingTracker Audiologist Matthew Allsop explains the biggest advantages of Oticon Real. Closed captions are available on this video. If you are using a mobile phone, please enable captions clicking on the gear icon.

“More than 7 out of 10 hearing aid users are challenged by disruptive sounds,* making it difficult to stay sharp and focused, especially when engaged in conversation,” said Oticon President Gary Rosenblum in a press statement. “By protecting users from disruptive sounds, Oticon Real significantly reduces listening effort in the presence of sudden sounds so patients can stay comfortable and focused. Oticon Real represents the next step in BrainHearing™ technology, providing access to all relevant sounds with outstanding detail, clarity, and balance.”

Designed for slight to profound hearing loss (16-95 dBHL), Oticon Real is currently offered in miniRITE (receiver-in-the-ear) and miniBTE (behind-the-ear) rechargeable and disposable size 312 battery models, all with telecoils and in 3 technology levels.

The rechargeable miniRITE/BTE versions should give you a full day of battery life with a full charge, while the size 312 disposable battery versions should last just under a week before a battery change is required, although this depends on the use of the aid and how often audio streaming is employed.

They feature Bluetooth^® Low Energy (LE) technology with an extensive range of connectivity options, including hands-free calls on select iPhone^® and iPad^®** and seamless connection to most Android devices.^†

The new Oticon Companion app (see below) is the main control interface, but Real also comes with a manual push-button control for turning the aid on/off (miniRITE R), volume control, mute, and changing up to 4 programs that can be established by the hearing care professional (HCP).

Special features of Oticon Real

Because we hear with the brain, Real also incorporates Oticon’s BrainHearing™ design philosophy to give the brain enhanced detail, clarity, and balance in sound, so comfort is increased and listening fatigue is decreased. Real uses the Oticon’s onboard Deep Neural Network (DNN) system trained to identify 12 million real-life sounds and optimize listening, making sounds more distinct across varying listening environments.

The new RealSound™ technology, powered by the new Polaris R chip platform, features additional detectors for fast and precise processing of disruptive sounds and wind, as well as handling noise. Oticon specifically highlights two new innovations made possible with this technology: SuddenSound Stabilizer and the Wind & Handling Stabilizer.

SuddenSound Stabilizer

Oticon’s SuddenSound Stabilizer, using the new detectors in DNN, monitors the sound environment and adapts amplification to keep both soft and loud sudden sounds available, balanced, and comfortable. According to Oticon, it reduces listening effort by 22% in the presence of sudden sounds^†† and can handle more than 500,000 sudden sounds during a typical day—instantly reducing and releasing gain as the sounds occur without compromising comfort or access to speech. The ultimate goal of the new SuddenSound Stabilizer is to detect soft, loud, and sudden sounds and make them audible but not uncomfortable or distractingly loud.

Wind & Handling Stabilizer

The new Wind & Handling Stabilizer protects against uncomfortable wind and handling noise. Whether users are on the golf course, the beach, or on a walk, wind can cause unpleasant sounds in a hearing aid. Handling sounds like hands, hair, glasses, or a facemask touching the hearing aid microphones can also create ruffling or muffled sounds.  Unlike traditional hearing aids that allow wind and handling noise to enter both microphones, Oticon Real selects the microphone with the cleanest sound input, reducing this disruptive sound from entering the system. Oticon says this double-patented technology detects and cleans up wind, handling it at a rate of 500 times per second.

The Oticon Real family (miniRITE R, miniRITE T, miniBTE R, and miniBTE T) is available in 3 performance levels and 9 color options, including a new olive green option for the miniRITE R. The new devices are IP68 rated—the industry gold standard for hearing aids.

The miniRITE R and miniBTE R each come with two different options for chargers: the Desktop Charger or the SmartCharger.

Oticon Real also offers tinnitus SoundSupport targeted to licensed hearing care professionals familiar with the evaluation and treatment of tinnitus and hearing loss, as part of a complete tinnitus support program.

New Oticon Companion App

The Oticon Companion app is the new, all-in-one solution that allows patients to easily control and personalize their hearing aids. It offers the support users need to easily control and personalize their hearing aids, find their hearing aids if lost, manage their connected devices, and receive remote counseling when needed.

SpeechBooster can be used to reduce background noise and enhance speech when in conversation and the streaming equalizer is applied to create a personalized listening experience (streaming equalizer available for all Oticon Bluetooth hearing aids except Oticon Opn™ and Oticon Siya™).

The app can also be used to handle wireless accessories paired with their hearing aids and control multiple TV Adapters or devices, such as Oticon EduMic or ConnectClip which can be used both for streaming and as a remote microphone.

The Companion App is compatible with all Oticon Bluetooth hearing aids. It works with iPhone/iPad/IPod touch iOS 15 or later and most Android devices that support Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids (ASHA). For Android devices that don’t support ASHA or for those using other hearing aids, ConnectClip may be needed to stream sound from the smartphone to the hearing aids. See updates in the Oticon hearing aid compatibility guide for details.

For more details, please visit the Oticon website.