It’s time for a change
For too long, there’s been a problematic trend in the industry that prioritizes speech using aggressive noise reduction. Most of today’s AI-driven noise reduction systems have only reinforced this issue. But for truly natural, effortless hearing, the brain needs it all. Without both speech and context it can’t make sense of what it hears.
Modern hearing aid technology must adapt to deliver – and a crucial new scientific insight reveals precisely why.
It all starts with the brain
At Oticon, our technology is guided by the principle that we hear with our brain, not just our ears. We call this philosophy BrainHearing.
This unique approach is what inspires us to discover new secrets about the brain, fueling technology that can successfully challenge industry conventions – and more importantly, deliver life-changing benefits to hearing aid users.
A natural balance point
New research has revealed that there’s an ideal combination between speech and contextual sounds – a unique balance point – where the brain actually works best.
Intriguingly, this point is not fixed. It is constantly changing in real time, from environment to environment, and is different from person to person.
In other words: the brain needs both clear speech and contextual sounds, each preserved in the right proportion.
Closer to natural hearing
When the brain has access to a fuller, richer sound input of both speech and context, it can operate significantly closer to natural hearing. Research shows it even boosts brain performance by up to 40%.*
The result is a hearing experience that’s more immersive, more effortless, and more connected to the listener’s environment.
References
*Ng et al. (2026). Putting hearing in the right context – New insights in BrainHearing™. Oticon Whitepaper.
Imagery may be AI-generated or enhanced.