WARNING DISCONTINUED Newer Oticon Models Available
2023 Update: This hearing aid range has now been discontinued. View latest Oticon hearing aids here
March 2019 Update: The Oticon Opn 1 and the rest of the Opn range have been superseded by the OpnS range. The direct replacement for this aid is the Oticon Opn S 2. This only applies to the behind the ear models, for the custom in-ear models the original Opn 1 is still the current model.
June 2017 Update: The range has been expanded. There are now new rechargeable options, additional "Tinnitus SoundSupport" software as standard to help to relieve tinnitus and "power plus" models for the severe to profoundly deaf.
Jan 2017 Update: The "Just one new hearing aid" statement below is now incorrect, 6 months after the Opn1 came out they have brought out two lower spec versions, the Opn2 and Opn3.
The Oticon Opn range has distinctive key features which have exceeded expectations when it comes to performance. The new approach to delivering better hearing with minimal effort has been named BrainHearing - making hearing aids more in unison with the brain's natural functions.
The three levels of BrainHearing apply to all three variations of the Opn; level one being the most advanced and applying to Opn 1, whereas level three being a more basic variation applying to Opn 3.
Oticon has developed the Opn 2 hearing aid range on five fundamental factors of quality hearing. These are:
The Opn 2 hearing aid is an upper mid-range hearing aid that provides effortless hearing at a smaller cost. In comparison to the Opn 1, the Opn 2 is still a highly advanced hearing aid. The OpenSound Navigator (as explained under Opn 1 ), removes 5db of background noise from the current environment compared to the 9db the Opn 1 removes. The extra 4db of background noise reduction could be beneficial if you're regularly in a noisy environment.
The other key features of the Opn 2 hearing aids are:
The Spatial Sound LX
This feature also differs compared to the model you are interested in. Opn 2 and Opn 3 both have two sound estimators whereas the Opn1 contains four. The main benefit from more sound estimators is it gives a more precise spatial awareness of where the sound is coming from. Again, depending on your routine and everyday living will depend if this imperative to have the Opn 1.
The YouMatic LX
This software controls the level of performance that the OpenSound Navigator delivers. The amount of control depends on the amount of configured personalisation settings the hearing aid has. Fitting in the same pattern with this range of hearing aids, the Opn 1 allows more control using three configurations, Opn 2 contains two, Opn 3 contains one.
Again, this is not a deciding factor when choosing a model of the Opn range that is best suited to your needs, but before making that decision, consider your routine, how often are you going to be faced with noisy, fast-changing surroundings?
Call us free on 0800 567 7621 to speak with one of our audiologists about the Oticon Opn hearing aid range and what it could do for you and your hearing.
**Please note, there will be an additional surcharge of £125 if we are pairing a single hearing aid with an existing aid bought from another company where we are taking over the aftercare responsibilities and looking after both hearing aids**
Paul Harrison is an audiology expert at Hearing Aid UK, with over 20 years of audiology experience and a member of the British Society of Hearing Aid Audiologists Council (BSHAA) between 2015 - 2020.
Do not spend hundreds of pounds without getting a second opinion from us.
If you are looking at this page then it is likely that an audiologist has suggested that you purchase this particular hearing aid, so is this the best model for you?
In general, any audiologist will always be recommending to you the model that best suits your needs. Here is a useful check list to make sure that is the case.
If in doubt, feel free to give us a call. That's what we're here for.
If you have a significant hearing loss in both ears, you should be wearing two hearing aids. Here are the audiological reasons why:
Localisation. The brain decodes information from both ears and compares and contrasts them. By analysing the miniscule time delays as well as the difference in loudness of each sound reaching the ears, the person is able to accurately locate a sound source. Simply put, if you have better hearing on one side than the other, you can't accurately tell what direction sounds are coming from.
Less amplification required. A phenomena known as “binaural summation” means that the hearing aids can be set at a lower and more natural volume setting than than if you wore only one hearing aid.
Head shadow effect. High frequencies, the part of your hearing that gives clarity and meaning to speech sounds, cannot bend around your head. Only low frequencies can. Therefore if someone is talking on your unaided side you are likely to hear that they are speaking, but be unable to tell what they have said.
Noise reduction. The brain has it’s own built in noise reduction which is only really effective when it is receiving information from both ears. If only one ear is aided, even with the best hearing aid in the world, it will be difficult for you to hear in background noise as your brain is trying to retain all of the sounds (including background noise) rather than filtering it out.
Sound quality. We are designed to hear in stereo. Only hearing from one side sounds a lot less natural to us.
For most people, the main benefit of a rechargeable hearing aid is simple convenience. We are used to plugging in our phones and other devices overnight for them to charge up.
For anybody with poor dexterity or issues with their fingers, having a rechargeable aid makes a huge difference as normal hearing aid batteries are quite small and some people find them fiddly to change.
One downside is that if you forget to charge your hearing aid, then it is a problem that can't be instantly fixed. For most a 30 minute charge will get you at least two or three hours of hearing, but if you are the type of person who is likely to forget to plug them in regularly then you're probably better off with standard batteries.
Rechargeable aids are also a little bit bigger and are only available in behind the ear models.
Finally, just like with a mobile phone, the amount of charge you get on day one is not going to be the same as you get a few years down the line. Be sure to ask what the policy is with the manufacturer warranty when it comes to replacing the battery.
For most people, the answer is yes. But it's never that simple.
The majority of hearing problems affect the high frequencies a lot more than the low ones. Therefore open fitting hearing aids sound a lot more natural and ones that block your ears up can make your own voice sound like you are talking with your head in a bucket. Therefore in-ear aids tend to be less natural.
However the true answer is we can't tell until we have had a look in your ears to assess the size of your ear canal, and until we have tested your hearing to see which frequencies are being affected.
People with wider ear canals tend to have more flexibility, also there are open fitting modular CIC hearing aids now that do not block your ears.
There is also the age old rule to consider, that a hearing aid will not help you if it's sat in the drawer gathering dust. If the only hearing aid you would be happy wearing is one that people can't see, then that's what you should get.
Most people can adapt to any type of hearing aid, as long as they know what to expect. Have an honest conversation with your audiologist as to what your needs are.
Generally speaking, six or more. Unless it's none at all.
The number of channels a hearing aid has is often a simplistic way an audiologist will use to explain why one hearing aid is better than another, but channels are complex and it is really not that straightforward.
Hearing aids amplify sounds of different frequencies by different amounts. Most people have lost more high frequencies than low and therefore need more amplification in the high frequencies. The range of sounds you hear are split into frequency bands or channels and the hearing aids are set to provide the right amount of hearing at each frequency level.
Less than six channels and this cannot be done with much accuracy, so six is the magic number. However, a six channel aid is typically very basic with few other features and is suitable only for hearing a single speaker in a quiet room. The number of channels is not what you should be looking at, it's more the rest of the technology that comes with them.
As a final note, different manufacturers have different approaches. One method is not necessarily better than any other. For example some manufacturers have as many as 64 channels in their top aids. Most tend to have between 17 and 20. One manufacturer has no channels at all.
Hearing aids are easily lost, misplaced or damaged and typically are one of the most expensive personal possessions an individual can own. We offer hearing aid warranty cover for £80 per year per aid. Find out more here
All our audiologists use the very latest technology and provide the full range of tests to accurately measure your hearing for free. Find out about what we offer all our customers here
Hearing Aid UK offers all their customers free home visiting services and home visits for hearing aids - Including hearing tests, fittings, maintenance, check-ups and much more in the comfort of your own home and at your convenience. Find out more information here
Here, at Hearing Aid UK, we are dedicated to offering low hearing aid prices. We achieve this by having no head office and low marketing costs. Our hearing aid prices are amongst the lowest you will find anywhere in the world.
When we refer to a product as 'Latest Launch', we mean it is the latest to be released on the market.
When we refer to a product as 'New', we mean that the product is the newest hearing aid model on the market.
When we refer to a product as 'Superseded', we mean that there is a newer range available which replaces and improves on this product.
When we refer to a product as an 'Older Model', we mean that it is has been superseded by at least two more recent hearing aid ranges.