• Exquisite speech understanding in noise
• The cognitive efforts necessary to understand speech are significantly reduced, leaving more mental energy to reflect, remember and respond
• Audio through wireless technology is improved for open fittings and enhanced with 3D listening
• New audiological concepts: Speech Guard, Spatial Sound 2.0 and Connect [+]
• New RISE II processing platform with twice the calculation power of RISE
• New very cosmetically attractive miniRITE style – 30% smaller than Epoq
• New Power CIC allowing users with severe hearing losses to be fitted with a very small custom solution
• Highly flexible RITE speaker solution covering mild to severe losses with the same instrument
• Two ranges: Oticon Agil and Oticon Agil Pro
• Most comprehensive style and fitting range launched in one brand: RITE/RITE Power, BTE/BTE Power, CIC/CIC Power and other custom styles and fitting options
• Fully ConnectLine-compatible

Three new audiological concepts in Oticon Agil are designed to preserve the natural characteristics of speech, while enriching the sound quality to enable the brain to use fewer of its resources for listening purposes. As a result, the end-user should have more residual energy for other important tasks such as full social interaction.Spatial Sound 2.0 maintains natural acoustic cues, which the brain needs to organise the sound environment. Speech Guard preserves the fine modulation and details of the signal even in environments where sound levels change rapidly or where audibility of soft sounds would be a challenge to conventional compression systems. Connect [+] enhances the perception of bass or low frequencies by adding depth and spatial quality, while the user listens to streamed music.

“With Oticon Agil, we have virtually improved all the advanced features already available in Oticon Epoq. Our almost three years of everyday experience with wireless audiology and connectivity has given us valuable insights enabling us to bring forward a significantly better hearing solution. For 

William Demant Holding, I expect Oticon Agil to be a important driver of growth and market share gains,” says Niels Jacobsen, President & CEO of William Demant Holding.

PurTone Hearing Centers of Arizona looks forward to offering the Oticon Agil line of hearing aid solutions to our loyal friends and patrons.

See full story at:

 http://www.demant.com/eprise/main/Demant/_Announcements/General/10-02-01_UK.pdf

“We learned about exciting new trends that are impacting hearing care now and will undoubtedly shape the technology, tools and knowledge that we will use to improve the future for people with hearing loss,” stated Mr. Maznio. 

Mr. Silva points to wireless connectivity as one trend that has immediate potential for Arizona.  “Today, many advanced technology hearing solutions feature Bluetooth wireless capabilities,” he explained.  “We can now offer a plug-and-play system that takes full advantage of the wireless potential of hearing instruments — enabling a simple, high fidelity connection to any TV or landline phone with sound streaming directly through the hearing instruments.  Users enjoy high quality audio-listening at their own preferred volume and without the delay experienced with off-the-shelf Bluetooth transmitters.”

PurTone Hearing Centers is one of the first hearing care practices in the U.S. to offer the new Oticon ConnectLine™ plug-and-play system which includes both a TV Adaptor and Phone Adaptor.  The small, modern adaptors fit discreetly into any home setting.

 “With the ConnectLine solutions, we open the door for more natural personal communication and more freedom for people with hearing loss,” said Mr. Silva.  “ConnectLine gives us an early look at how much the newest trends in hearing care will transform everyday experiences for people with hearing loss.”

For more information about hearing health and the new ConnectLine system, contact PurTone Hearing Centers at 1-888-614-4327 (HEAR) or visit http://www.ArizonaHears.com.

(AP) German police said an elderly man was so annoyed at hearing the same serenade over and over that he called authorities to report his neighbors, only to discover the culprit was a musical greeting card on his own windowsill. Police said Tuesday the 82-year-old from Goslar in central Germany told officers he was sick of the music, which would come at irregular intervals and at all hours.

Upon further investigation, police found the musical greeting card on his windowsill, where occasional breezes opened the card just enough to play an irritating tune.

Police said the retiree was happy to find out his neighbors weren’t trying to annoy him.

Original article found at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/05/05/ap/strange/main4992917.shtml

 When making choices about any important addition to your life, you need to first consider what best meets your needs and then, what your budget will allow.  This is the case whether you are choosing a new flat screen television, a digital camera or a hearing device.  For people with hearing loss, the choice just became easier with the introduction of a new selection of attractively priced hearing devices called Vigo from leading hearing aid manufacturer Oticon.

 “Advanced technology hearing devices that provide superior speech understanding and sound quality are the most sought-after option by patients looking for optimal hearing solutions,” explains Edward Maznio of PurTone Hearing Centers in Phoenix, Arizona. “For some patients, the solutions with the most desirable features were often out of their price range. Now with Vigo, we can offer our patients hearing solutions with the advanced features they want at an attractive price point.”

Edward Maznio points to new Oticon Vigo and Vigo Pro hearing devices that offer a combination of high-end features, sound quality and discrete style choices previously found only in the premium price range. 

 “Even a few months ago, I would not have been able to offer my price-minded patients the features and benefits these new hearing devices deliver at a very attractive price point,” says Mr. Maznio. “It demonstrates the willingness of manufacturers to constantly look for new and innovative ways to design products that meet the individual demands of our patients – in this case an affordable solution with the benefits only advanced technology can provide.”

Vigo Pro’s “engine” is a tiny yet powerful processor that uses the latest hearing technology to ensure that Vigo Pro’s premium features work intelligently together.  The result: an easy listening experience with instant and effortless speech understanding.

The new hearing solutions also feature a highly advanced noise management system including voice-detection technology called “VoiceFinder”. By zeroing in on speech with great accuracy, even in the most challenging listening situations such as noisy restaurants or social gatherings, VoiceFinder automatically reduces unwanted and distracting background noise without reducing the volume of speech. 

“Vigo Pro actually ‘remembers’ a person’s volume preferences in different sound environments and automatically adjusts to specific situations making it easy to use and ensuring patient comfort,” Edward Maznio explains.

Vigo and Vigo Pro are available in a full range of discreet styles and attractive colors. For more information about hearing health and the new mid-priced hearing solutions, contact Edward Maznio at PurTone Hearing Aid Centers at 1-888-614-HEAR (4327) or visit www.ArizonaHears.com.  PurTone has offices in Chandler, Goodyear, Lake Havasu City, Peoria, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Surprise, and Yuma, Arizona.

          In March of this year the Better Hearing Institute (BHI) completed an extensive study on 44,000 households, which demonstrated that untreated hearing loss has a significant impact on earnings, as much as $23,000 per year on average, depending on severity of hearing loss.  Use of hearing devices was shown to mitigate the effects of income loss on average by 50%.   Additionally, getting a hearing instrument at a younger age may also help reduce the chance of losing income.

          Many think of hearing loss as something that happens mainly to older people, but research has shown that two out of three people with hearing loss are below retirement age.  Most people with this problem are in the prime of life, including one out of six baby boomers (ages 41-59) and one out of 14 “Gen Xers” (ages 29-40).

          Since only one out of four Americans with hearing problems are getting treatment, it is important that we teach the general public about the consequences of untreated hearing loss on job performance.  Even people with mild hearing loss, who may miss a consonant here or a word there, may lose income if they can’t completely grasp the latest news at the water cooler or a phone message from the boss.

          Many people are embarrassed to admit they have hearing problems and might need hearing instruments, experts say.  Some incorrectly think a hearing device will make them seem odd or less able to do the job than their co-workers.  The truth is the modern devices, such as those featured at PurTone Hearing Centers, are not visible to the untrained eye.

          “If you seem out of touch because you can’t hear very well, you will be much more noticeable than you would be with a modern hearing device in your ear,” says Dr. Sergei Kochkin, the BHI’s executive director.  In the workplace, he points out, good communication skills are essential, particularly when it comes to understanding what customers and co-workers want.

          Other research shows that untreated hearing problems disrupt family life, hamper emotional intimacy and increase the chances of psychological problems.

          To learn more about ways to prevent or treat hearing loss, call 1-888-614-HEAR, visit www.ArizonaHears.com or drop by a PurTone Hearing Center near you.  The Better Hearing Institute can be visited at www.betterhearing.org.

Take Sound to a New Dimension for People with Hearing Loss

“Most people don’t realize that we hear in three-dimensions,” stated Edward Maznio of PurTone Hearing Centers in Phoenix.  “The ability to hear in 3-D allows us to identify where sounds are coming from when someone calls to us or the direction of an approaching car.”  The ability to localize sound is possible because two ears communicating with each other send a single message to that the brain that enable the brain to “see” where a sound is coming from.

Until now, people with hearing loss who rely on traditional hearing aids were at a significant disadvantage when it came localizing sound.  “Traditional hearing aids process sound independently.  The right ear hears sound from the right side, the left ear from the left side and each independently sends sound information to the brain,” explains Edward Maznio.  “How accurately the brain is able to ‘see’ the location of the sounds is dependent on the quality of information it receives from each hearing device.”  The result is often difficulty understanding conversation or localizing where a sound is coming from, especially in noisy situations like restaurants and social gatherings — a frustration that motivates many people to seek help from a hearing care professional. 

A new hearing aid system, called Oticon Epoq, is changing the way sound is processed through hearing instruments. Epoq’s breakthrough wireless digital technology enables two hearing aids for the first time to work together to process sound, similar to the way the brain receives input from two ears to deliver the best sound picture.  According to Mr. Maznio, this real-time wireless connectivity with voices and other sounds in the immediate listening environment provides accurate, three-dimensional auditory information that enhances users’ awareness of where sounds are coming from.  This spatial awareness is essential to better hearing in all environments, but especially those with surrounding conversations going on, such as in crowds or restaurants.

“Two Epoq hearing aids ’talk’ to each other, working as a single system and sending the brain information that it can more accurately interpret,” explains Edward Maznio.  ”The result is a richly dimensionalized sound that is clearer and more comfortable.”

Added Benefits

Epoq’s wireless connectivity also enables people with hearing loss, for the first time, to experience easy access to the world of electronically transmitted sounds from Bluetooth-enabled phones and other popular electronic devices such as MP3 players and computers.  With the addition of Epoq’s sleek companion device called a Streamer, Epoq becomes the equivalent of a hands-free intelligent headset without having to attach bulky devices or wires to the hearing instrument.

Epoq is available in a range of discrete and comfortable styles.  The wearable Epoq Streamer which allows for effortless audio streaming from devices such as mobile phones, personal computers, and GPS systems, is available in black and white.

For information about hearing loss and the new Epoq, contact PurTone Hearing Aid Centers at 1-888-614-4327 or visit www.ArizonaHears.com.  Oticon can be visited at www.OticonUSA.com for more hearing aid options.