Oticon announced that all of the miniRITE/RITE and miniBTE/BTE instrument styles for the Oticon Agil, Intiga, Acto, Ino, Chili, Sumo, and Safari families are now IP57 certified as dust and water resistant. No alterations were made to the hearing aids’ designs to meet the certification and testing requirements.

“Our hearing instruments have always been robustly designed to meet the challenges of active lives and everyday activities,” said Oticon president Peer Lauritsen. “Oticon BTE- and RITE-style instruments use intelligent mechanical design including barriers to prevent water, dust, and debris from getting inside the instruments. Additionally, the hearing instruments are nanocoated to repel water. All of these factors are reasons why Oticon hearing devices perform so well in IP testing.”

The IP Code or Ingress Protection Rating classifies and rates the degree of protection provided against intrusion of solid objects (dust) and water in mechanical casings with electrical enclosures. IP ratings are made up of two digits, representing protection levels for dust and water.

Lauritsen also noted that Oticon still recommends that users not wear their hearing devices when swimming, diving, or bathing, and that users should follow normal care procedures should their instruments get excessively wet and temporarily stop working.

For more information on Oticon hearing instruments, visit www.oticonusa.com.

SOURCE: Oticon