Oticon, Somerset, NJ, has introduced its new Inium Sense, a sound processing platform that powers the company’s new Alta2, Nera2, and Ria2 hearing aids in its Performance Line of hearing instruments. The company reports that Inium Sense increases the real-time processing capabilities of its BrainHearing™ technologies by 30% to deliver a purer sound signal for the brain to decode, resulting in a more natural listening experience.

According to Oticon’s announcement, the Inium Sense feedback shield and Voice Aligned Compression (VAC+) with Soft Speech Booster allow Performance Line hearing aid users to gain up to 20% improvement in soft speech understanding and an enhanced ability to hear soft speech without turning up the volume. The company says a new feature, Tinnitus SoundSupport™, is also available in select Performance Line instruments to provide personalized support for patients living with tinnitus.

“Oticon BrainHearing technologies give hearing care professionals a powerful way to remind patients that hearing care is health care,” said Oticon President Peer Lauritsen. “When consumers understand that hearing happens in the brain and has the potential to impact overall health, including cognitive function, hearing instrument choice becomes a healthcare-driven decision instead of a lifestyle or technology choice. With the new Inium Sense platform, our next generation BrainHearing technologies give consumers even more reasons to choose Oticon hearing solutions.”

The new Voice Aligned Compression (VAC+) fitting rationale with Soft Speech Booster is said to improve the audibility of soft sounds. The company reports that Inium Sense offers a range of sound preferences, such as soft sound perception, to provide a more personalized first-time fit and less fine-tuning to facilitate patient acceptance and long-term satisfaction.

The integrated Tinnitus SoundSupport with user-friendly fitting software is intended to enable practitioners to customize settings to patients’ needs, says the company. Built-in ocean and broadband sounds are designed to ease the effects of tinnitus. More sounds can be accessed through the new Oticon Tinnitus App, which is available for free download on the App Store. Oticon also offers practitioners counseling and support tools for tinnitus treatment management.

More information about the Inium Sense and the Alta2, Nera2, and Ria2 Performance Line solutions may be found on the Oticon website.

Source: Oticon