Oticon, Inc. Helps Hearing Care Professionals Increase User Satisfaction with LACE Auditory Training Software Offer

New users of Oticon hearing instruments will now have access to proven auditory training software designed to enhance listening and speech recognition skills. Oticon, Inc. will provide Neurotone, Inc.'s LACE (Listening and Communication Enhancement) interactive aural training software to hearing care professionals as part of a special offer to benefit patients who choose Oticon hearing solutions.

LACE enables practitioners to supplement clinic-based counseling quickly, easily and cost-efficiently with customized web-based aural rehabilitation. The interactive computerized training program is designed for home use and is easy to use, adaptable to individual listening levels and suitable for all computer users from novice to expert.

"We share a strong desire with practitioners to create an optimal experience for the patient," says Peer Lauritsen , president of Oticon, Inc. "Skilled audiolgical care and counsel are critical to user satisfaction. With LACE, practitioners have an additional tool to help them convert new users into satisfied hearing aid wearers."

Oticon sees the LACE program as a way to facilitate proactive patient care that is practical and efficient for both hearing care professionals and users. The experience of Terence Limb, AuD, CCC-A, ABA, FAAA of Evergreen Hearing Care with offices in Redmond, Bellevue and Kirkland, WA, underscores the success of this approach: "We began using LACE several months ago to provide benefit to our patients that goes beyond hearing instrument technology. Our protocol is to provide the LACE disk at the time of the initial consultation. In doing so, we hope to desensitize patients to the increased ambient noise levels that they will be experiencing with amplification as well as help with their comprehension of speech in noise. From those patients who have completed the LACE program, we have had nothing but positive responses about improvements in functional communication and improved confidence with communication ability."

The interactive and adaptive tasks that comprise the LACE program are divided into three main categories: Degraded Speech, addressing hearing skills in noisy environments and when listening to fast-paced speech; Cognitive Skills, focusing on short and long term memory training and faster sound processing; and Communication Strategies, improving performance in a variety of typical communication scenarios. Neurotone reports that the LACE software program has helped thousands of people increase their listening and communication skills by over 30 percent.

"Neurotone is proud to be working with Oticon in the important area of aural rehabilitation," states Gerry Kearby, CEO and co-founder of Neurotone, Inc. "We welcome the opportunity to work with Oticon to provide a proven auditory training system that will enhance Oticon's users' experience with their new hearings instruments."

For more information about Oticon and the LACE program offer, contact Randi Pogash at rpp@oticonusa.com.

Visit www.oticonusa.com for more information or the Oticon Web Channel on Audiology Online at www.audiologyonline.com/channels/oticon.asp