SOMERSET, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oticon, Inc. sets a new standard in child hearing care with today’s launch of Oticon Opn Play™, a hearing aid designed specifically with the developmental needs of growing children in mind. Building on the success of Oticon Opn™, Opn Play brings the advanced sound processing capabilities of its new Velox S™ platform to children of all ages, from infants to teens.
Opn Play redefines hearing care for children by giving them access to 360 degrees of sound. This open sound experience enables children to better hear and learn from the world around them, which is critical to their overall development. Even in the noisiest environments with multiple speakers, Opn Play delivers optimal sound quality and improved speech understanding, creating better listening conditions to meet the daily challenges of growing up.
Notably, Opn Play eliminates hearing aid feedback, an especially irritating and distracting whistle sound that children hear when something or someone comes too close to their hearing aid, like when they wear a hat or helmet to play sports. Opn Play hearing aids are able to prevent feedback before it occurs, without compromising sound quality, so children can play free of any unpleasant interruptions.
Keeping children connected to the world
Oticon Opn Play is Internet-enabled and connects seamlessly with smartphones, tablets, and other electronics that children interact with on a daily basis. Internet connectivity is especially important in the classroom to ensure children are fully tuned in to the learning environment.
A Bluetooth receiver in Opn Play enables the hearing aids to seamlessly connect with Oticon ConnectClip, a small wireless microphone that can be worn by a parent, teacher or other speaker. When distance or background noise becomes an issue, ConnectClip can help a child hear what a speaker is saying by delivering the speaker’s voice directly through the Opn Play hearing aids. This can be especially useful when in the car, at the playground, or on the playing field.
The Bluetooth connectivity of Opn Play also lets parents, teachers, and other caregivers adjust children’s hearing aid volume and program or check the battery status from a smartphone through the Oticon ON app. The convenience of being able to monitor and control a child’s hearing aids ensures they won’t miss out on any life experiences.
In addition, one Opn Play style includes compatibility with Oticon’s Amigo FM system, which is essential in the classroom. The system transmits the teacher’s voice via an FM microphone directly to a clip-on receiver on the child’s Opn Play instrument, significantly improving the child’s ability to hear and focus on lessons.
“It was important to us to create a hearing aid that really lets kids be kids and gives them the ability to participate freely in all the activities they love. We achieved this goal with Opn Play,” said Laura Shiplett, AuD, Director of Oticon Pediatrics. “Opn Play opens children up to a 360-degree sound experience like never before, without reducing the sounds that are important to their incidental learning and development. With Opn Play, parents don’t have to worry about their child being isolated from the world.”
Range of colors, styles, and a rechargeable solution
Oticon Opn Play comes in 12 colors and four styles that are suited to a child’s specific hearing needs and personal preferences: miniRITE, miniRITE R with a rechargeable battery solution, miniRITE T with a telecoil, and BTE PP (Plus Power), which is the most versatile and robust hearing aid in the Opn Play family. The latter three styles have an LED light that indicates if the battery is functioning properly.
The rechargeable lithium-ion solution, part of the Opn Play miniRITE R, eliminates the hassle of handling and replacing batteries every few days and offers market-leading charging capabilities. The battery is charged for a full day* in three hours and, when in a time crunch, a 30-minute charge provides six hours of power—ideal for a child’s after school activity or sporting event.
For more information on Oticon Opn Play hearing aids, visit http://www.oticon.com/opn-play
*Lithium-ion battery performance varies depending upon hearing loss, lifestyle and streaming behavior.
About Oticon
Oticon is one of the most innovative hearing device manufacturers with more than 110 years of experience putting the needs of people with hearing loss first. Oticon has spearheaded a number of technological breakthroughs, which have made a significant difference for people with hearing loss. Oticon’s “brain first” audiological focus recognizes that speech understanding and comprehension are cognitive processes that happen in the brain. Oticon’s innovative BrainHearing™ technology is helping to provide better hearing with less effort by giving the brain the clearest, purest sound signals to decode. Oticon designs and manufactures hearing solutions for adults and specialized pediatric instruments. People First is Oticon’s strongest and most valued commitment to empower people to communicate freely, interact naturally and participate actively. For more information visit www.oticon.com.
