Question
Please explain the concept of Open Ear Acoustics?
Answer
Occlusion and feedback are a constant source of irritation for users and hearing care professionals. For many hearing aid users, it is an unfortunate side-effect, but not for those who wear Oticon hearing aids with OpenEar Acoustics™. OpenEar Acoustics enables increased vent size - without feedback. In addition to reducing or eliminating occlusion, this system preserves the important characteristics of more natural hearing, making it easier for first time users to adapt to their new hearing aids. OpenEar Acoustics™ is made possible by the patented Dynamic Feedback Cancellation system, short processing time and low frequency gain compensation, permitting substantially larger venting. Special horn shaped "collection vents" further maximize the vent effectiveness. The result is an extremely effective system for reducing occlusion, without annoying feedback. The vent size in a hearing instrument makes a difference. According to a recent study, a vent needs to be at least 2.4mm to be fully effective in reducing occlusion for most people. In addition to OpenEar Acosutics
Oticon's intelligent Dynamic Feedback Cancellation system monitors and analyzes the input and output signals, and utilizes an adaptive phase cancellation system to remove feedback, without affecting audibility. Traditional feedback management systems reduce gain, which compromises audibility and speech intelligibility.
OpenEar Acoustics™ is ONLY available in Oticon hearing instruments including: Syncro, Adapto, Gaia and Atlas Plus. These families provide you with 4 different levels of technology to address the needs of your users. You can learn about these product families more by visiting www.oticonusa.com.
Donald J. Schum, Ph.D./CCC-A
Vice President,
Audiology & Professional Relations
Oticon, New Jersey
