Pioneering hearing aid programme for music lovers receives coveted CES 2022 award honours
For the sixth consecutive year, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), which organises the popular annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in the US, has recognised Oticon for its work in developing life-changing hearing aid technology.
Oticon MyMusic, a dedicated music programme made to help people with hearing loss rediscover their love of music, has been named a CES 2022 Innovation Awards Honouree in the Software and Mobile Apps category.
A new feature of Oticon More hearing aids, Oticon MyMusic delivers crystal clear sound quality for live and streamed music. Using specially designed music-orientated signal processing strategies, Oticon MyMusic captures the complex dynamics of music. As a result, individuals with hearing loss can enjoy their favourite music in all its nuances.
“I have been a professional musician for my entire adult life, so I know excellent sound quality when I hear it,” said Bryan Hitt, a drummer for REO Speedwagon and a user of Oticon More’s MyMusic programme. “Oticon MyMusic delivers an entirely new music listening experience. Because the programme is designed and equalised especially for music, it brings out the best in music. With it, I have confidence that my hearing aids will pick up every note whether I’m at a live concert or streaming music.”
Music has a larger dynamic and frequency range than speech. Music also differs widely across instrument types, ensemble and compositional styles. Historically, hearing aids have used the same sound processing for speech as for music, causing some of the musical nuance to be lost.
Oticon MyMusic introduces an innovative tailor-made music-orientated signal processing programme to capture and preserve music’s natural dynamics.
“Oticon MyMusic helps people with hearing loss to hear music clearly and enjoy the music they love,” added Thomas Behrens, Chief of Audiology at Oticon. “With this new, ground-breaking programme, we are bringing music back to life, fully restoring one of the greatest and most universal aural pleasures for people with hearing loss. We are delighted that the CES awards panel recognise the significance of this hearing aid development and the impact it can have on a person’s life.”
In a whitepaper about the MyMusic programme – submitted as clinical evidence for the hearing aid innovation – the results showed that it was rated 72 percent higher than the previous Oticon music programme, on average.
23 participants took part in the clinical trial and represented a wide range of hearing impairments. Each participant rated their preference in a blind and randomised setup where they listened to the sound recordings using headphones.