High frequency hearing loss has prevented Tony from hearing specific consonants sounds: “s, f, sh, th, t, k”. Oticon Opn™ – a breakthrough in handling multiple speakers in noisy environments It’s time for people with hearing loss to reclaim situations once lost *Le Goff and Beck 2017, Oticon whitepaper We put Oticon Opn to the test in a realistic environment mimicking a conversation between four people in a noisy restaurant. The results show how Oticon Opn significantly outperforms traditional directionality for speech understanding from the speaker in front, and is on par with narrow directionality, while remaining open to all relevant surrounding sounds. Additionally, Oticon Opn vastly outperforms them both for understanding speech coming from the sides.* That is the difference between being in the conversation or not – to be in or out of life. Visit oticon.ca/opn-evidence to learn more about the results. Groundbreaking test results prove Oticon Opn outperforms competing technologies Now 50 clinics in BC 1.877.606.6671 nexgenhearing.com Colin VanBergen M.Sc. Aud, RAUD Owner NexGen Hearing, Kelowna BC The Opn 1 hearing aids are essentially micro-comput- ers that far surpass the processing capabilities of most desktop computers. Its processor chip is 50 times faster than anything Oticon has ever built. The new Velox platform is a 11-core processor which allows the hearing aid to execute 500 million instructions per second and 1,200 million operations per second. It uses 64 frequency channels for higher signal and fre- quency resolution, fundamental to providing superior sound fidelity.  Brain hearing technology With the extreme improvement in processing power, the Opn hearing aid no longer needs to focus the device on sounds from the front in order to reduce background noise. Opn is able to separate speech from noise and lets the listener focus on what’s important. The Opn works in harmony with the brain to process sounds exceptionally fast. Based on data from independent research centres which com- pared the Opn to Oticon’s previous top-of-the-line hearing aid, Oticon is boasting that the Opn is 30% better for speech understanding in noise, reduces listening effort by 20%, and allows the listener to remember 20% more of their conversations.  On top of the improvements in background noise re- duction, these hearing aids are also part of the newer generation of discreet hearing aids that allow for direct wireless streaming from iPhones, iPads, and TVs. The iPhone can also be used as a remote control for hearing aids. Now Mr. Parsons can enjoy a much improved lifestyle! A hearing assessment for Tony Parsons —as told by Colin VanBergen, M.Sc. Aud, RAUD After a comprehensive assessment, it turns out that Tony’s wife wasn’t mumbling. He has a high frequency sensorineural hearing loss in both of his ears. It is of a mild degree on his left side, but there is a severe degree of loss on the right side. This high frequency hearing loss has prevented him from hearing specific consonants sounds:  “s, f, sh, th, t, k”. He is still hearing people, but quite often finds that it sounds like they are ‘mum- bling.’ Tony also has frequent difficulties understanding people when in a group situation or in a noisy restaurant. It’s likely that his hearing ability has been deteriorating very slowly and gradually over many years. This has resulted in a lack of awareness regarding the amount of hearing that Tony has lost. While his wife has been commenting to him for many years about his hearing difficulties, he hasn’t felt that it had deteriorated enough to be concerned about. Since the initial consultation and referral to an ENT specialist, Tony has now been fitted with Oticon Opn™  1 hearing aids. There are two primary functions to these advanced hearing aids that spe- cifically address the problems that most hearing impaired people experience. The first function is to increase clarity (reduce ‘mumbling’) by amplifying the high frequency consonants that Tony is unable to hear without the hearing aids. The second function is to reduce as much background noise as possible when Tony is in a noisy setting. While hearing aids have been quite good at improving the clarity of speech in quiet situations, they have always struggled to help people hearing better in noisy settings. The Opn 1 hearing aids have made significant strides in allowing people to maintain active and social life- styles. These hearing aids are specifically designed to enhance speech while at the same time reduce more background noise than other hearing aids. 7 | HEARING TODAY