Name: Oticon Intent
Brand: Oticon
Price: 2898 USD

I Fitted 100s of Oticon Intent Hearing Aids... This Detailed Review Shows My Findings

HearingTracker Audiologist Matthew Allsop provides an overview of the Oticon Intent hearing aid.

Intent is the latest flagship hearing aid from Oticon, the world's second-largest manufacturer of hearing aids. Launched in February 2024, Intent impressed us with its exceptional performance during testing in the HearAdvisor lab with a 4.9 out of 5 tuned score (i.e., after adjustments from an audiologist) and a 4.4 HearingTracker score for overall features that include factors like battery life, comfort, and design.

Intent features a fully redesigned exterior and a new processing chip, which Oticon claims enhances speech clarity in background noise through improved Deep Neural Network ("DNN 2.0") technology. It also includes More Sound Intelligence 3.0 for better noise reduction and introduces 4D sensor technology for adaptive sound settings based on the wearer's movement and environment, aiming for improved speech comprehension.

Advanced AI technology in new processing chip

Oticon's commitment to innovation is evident in the Intent's internal features, powered by the new Sirius chip. This upgrade enhances the hearing aid's ability to provide clearer speech in noisy environments through advancements in Deep Neural Network technology (DNN 2.0) and Oticon's MoreSound Intelligence 3.0.

A form of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), Oticon's original DNN technology was built using enriched learning from over 12 million sound inputs during its training phase. The new DNN 2.0 expands on this number and includes even more diverse listening situations. The overall goal is to allow the hearing aid to work similarly to the brain, enabling more accurate representations of sound and better access to speech in noisy situations.

According to Oticon, MoreSound Intelligence 3.0 offers up to 12 dB noise suppression, improving your ability to engage in conversations in challenging settings. Oticon claims that these features can result in accessing 35% more speech cues, offering a significant boost in clarity and conversation quality.

It might be worth noting that Oticon has integrated its DNN system inside the Sirius chip, similar to how Starkey Edge AI has an integrated DNN system. Starkey maintains that this integration can be advantageous relative to fast processing, battery life, and other factors. In contrast, both Phonak Infinio Sphere and ReSound Vivia have separate dedicated chips that do their DNN processing. Is this really a significant difference? At this time, HearingTracker doesn't really have any data to prove it one way or another.

New 4D Sensor technology

A standout feature of the Oticon Intent is its 4D Sensor technology. Oticon claims this innovation makes Intent the world's first hearing aid to adapt settings based on conversational activity, head and body movement, and environmental noise. This technology promises to enhance speech comprehension by 15% in dynamic environments, such as restaurants, by tailoring the hearing aid's response to the wearer's specific needs in different scenarios.

Observations on Intent when used in various listening situations

Jon noted the performance of Oticon Intent in some specific situations that can be very challenging for any hearing aids.

Windy day at the park with my son: I didn’t notice much wind noise. I also appreciated that I set the hearing aids to Aware. This made me feel like I could hear more sounds of nature: wind in the leaves, birds singing, etc. It made me feel not as closed off to what’s around me.

Dinner at a noisy restaurant: I was able to follow about 95% of the conversation. I turned on the Speech Booster feature in the app, and this did provide some improvements and helped reduce the background noise substantially.

Monster jam: This was loud! The hearing aids didn’t distort the sound, and I didn't feel like I needed to turn down the hearing aids. The default (i.e., maximum power output) settings worked well to protect my hearing. Note that I didn’t listen with the hearing aids after I realized my sound level meter app displayed levels of about 100 dB. This prompted me to put on my custom musician earplugs.

Daughter’s color guard performance in a large, reverberant gymnasium: It was still hard to understand lyrics in the music—but that’s expected based on the acoustics of the gym. I didn’t have trouble understanding the speech of the people sitting next to me. I used the app's MyMusic for the performances and the Speech Booster during the breaks.

Very loud constant fan: We had some water damage in the bathroom just off our main bedroom. Because of this, we had a loud fan drying out this room, making it difficult to hear the TV. Too much noise reduction in hearing aids can lead to the masking of high frequencies. Without Intent's noise reduction, sounds were muffled; I couldn’t understand the TV. Although turning on Intent's noise reduction didn't result in the dramatic effect I'd hoped for, some sound clarity from the TV returned, which means I had the ability to hear some of those higher frequencies. I turned on the Speech Enhancer in the app and increased the volume by 2, which provided additional benefit for TV listening in this situation.

Suitability and Technology Levels

The Oticon Intent is designed to accommodate a wide range of hearing losses, offering interchangeable receivers to match different levels of hearing impairment. With four technology levels available, from Intent 1 to Intent 4 (with 1 being the most advanced tier), users can select the option that best meets their needs and preferences.