
Hearing aid uses neural network to mimic brain functions
Offered as the first hearing aid to allow users to hear all relevant sounds, the Oticon More from Oticon breaks with the tradition of simply allowing users to hear better from one direction, thanks to an on-board Deep Neural Network which is trained to support the brain to process sound in a more natural way. The Oticon More utilizes the intelligent capabilities of a Deep Neural Network to mimic the way the brain functions by handling sounds based on the experience and training it has received.
“Through years of innovation, research and collaboration with leading research institutions around the world, Oticon has built unique knowledge and understanding of how the brain perceives sound,” says Mark Collins, Sales and Marketing Director, Oticon. “Contrary to common belief, research has demonstrated that the brain needs access to all sounds in the environment to function optimally. By applying this knowledge to hearing technology, we enable hearing aid users to enjoy more complete sound landscapes and simply get more out of life when they use our products which can have significant positive effects on their health and well-being.”
The Deep Neural Network in Oticon More is a unique and dedicated hearing aid solution, developed for real-time operation in everyday life. Based on the company’s extensive sound processing experience, the Deep Neural Network has been trained with 12 million sound scenes from real life. This optimizes the way Oticon More makes sounds more distinct by working seamlessly across varying listening environments with unparalleled precision and clarity, while ensuring that the sound is comfortable for the user.
With this integrated intelligence, Oticon More has learned to recognize sounds from around the world, their details, and how they should ideally sound to optimally support the brain. Oticon More is powered by an entirely new chipset, Polaris, which powers the technologies in the hearing aid with more speed, precision and capacity than the company has ever provided before and is powerful enough to constantly run the trained DNN.
Polaris boasts an eightfold increase in memory and twice the processing power compared to the previous generation chipset from Oticon. The all-new platform features seven processing cores, and due to its unique architecture, delivers superior processing capabilities while also optimizing power consumption.
In addition to superior audiological performance, Oticon More features state-of-the-art direct streaming from both iOS and compatible Android devices and is prepared for the next generation of connectivity based on the upcoming Bluetooth LE Audio standard. Oticon More also includes the internet connectivity and the Oticon ON app which gives its users access to convenient, personalized control of their hearing aids on their smartphones and provides convenient online hearing aftercare with remote access to hearing care professionals. The hearing aid is available in a rechargeable style, which provides a full day of battery life (including streaming) from a three-hour charge.
