Selective attention refers to the brain’s natural ability to prioritize and organize sounds. It is important for social interactions as it allows us to focus on our conversation partner’s voice, monitor our surroundings and switch our attention when necessary. The new Oticon Opn S is the first hearing aid proven to enhance selective attention and support the brain’s natural way of organizing sound.
Benefits of Oticon Opn S
The Oticon Opn S has been proven to provide:
- Increased speech understanding equivalent to normal hearing in noisy environments.
- Reduced listening effort so it’s easier to stay involved in the conversation.
- Improved opportunity to participate in even the liveliest social events.
What the Research Shows
Researchers used a new EEG testing method to objectively measure how the brain organizes sounds when wearing the Oticon Opn S hearing aid. For the test, researchers placed electrodes on the subject’s head in order to measure brain activity in response to speech and noise. The readings indicated how well the brain organized sound signals while wearing the devices.
The test was repeated twice: once with the OpenSound Navigator switched on, then again with it switched off. There was one primary speaker that the wearer focused on, a secondary speaker they ignored and babble noise in the background they attempted to suppress.
The test was designed to mimic real-life conversations in noisy environments, like Southern Brewing Company.
Results
The tests revealed that the OpenSound Navigator in the Opn S devices significantly improved the ability to organize sounds and enhanced selective attention.
With OpenSound Navigator off, the speaker in focus stood out but was still hard to distinguish from the secondary speaker and background babble. This is because the strength of the EEG signals was similar.
With OpenSound Navigator on, the signal of the speaker in focus increased by 10%, making it easier to follow along with what they were saying. The signal of the secondary speaker increased by 95%, making it easier to distinguish from the background babble. The signal of the background babble decreased by 50%, allowing the two speech signals to stand out even more. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call ENT of Athens today.