Adapto - The First Hearing Aid That Understands People - Oticon

Adapto - The First Hearing Aid
That Understands People

2
Welcome to the world of Adapto
Imagine a hearing aid that understands
you - your personality, lifestyle, dreams
and aspirations. What qualities would it
need to possess to fulfil such a promise?
It would have to adapt quickly to your
surroundings, to make the art of listening
and communicating - in any situation
- a pleasure rather than a burden.
It would have to support your needs and
capabilities. Bring you closer to the
people you care about, so that together,
you can get the very best out of life.
It would also have to protect you - so
that you can achieve your goals without
wasting precious energy, and hear
clearly without having to sacrifice the
quieter moments throughout the day.
After years of intense research, Oticon
has developed a hearing aid that offers
all of these things and more. Its name is
Adapto, and it is the most intelligent
digital instrument we have ever made.
Specific, practical improvements
Over the years, numerous discussions
with hearing aid users have yielded
many valuable suggestions. Topping the
list of desired practical improvements
are better speech understanding, higher
comfort, less feedback and more natural
sound quality.
With Adapto our goal has been to provide
significant improvements in each of
these areas in a single hearing aid. This
book provides insight into the company
behind Adapto, the technology that
makes this solution unique, and the
specific benefits this revolutionary new
product offers.
This book is split into two sections. The
first section provides general information,
while the second section offers
more technical-oriented explanations.
We hope you enjoy reading it and
welcome you to the world of Adapto!
100% digital
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Oticon - a company founded on people
For almost a century Oticon has pursued
a crystal clear vision: to help people live
the life they want, with the hearing they
have. This uncompromising focus on the
needs of the user has been a legacy
handed down, first from father to son,
and then from one generation of employees
to the next.
Oticon did not begin life as a commercial
enterprise only. When Hans Demant
founded this Danish company in 1904, it
was for a particular reason: his wife was
hearing impaired, and he was
determined to help her and others with
similar problems lead a better life. It is
this determination that has made Oticon
what it is today: one of the world’s
leading hearing care manufacturers with
representatives in over 100 countries.
Each hearing impaired person has
unique goals, aspirations and capabilities,
and with every new solution we
design, we do our utmost to meet these
needs. Whether our solutions are for
mild to moderate hearing losses, or for
severe to profound losses, our starting
point remains the same: we put people
first.
People first
Solutions based on research
At Oticon we believe that the more we
can discover about how hearing aids
should function, the more beneficial we
can make them in real life. That’s why
we created our own independent research
unit, Eriksholm Research Centre.
The work performed at Eriksholm -
which involves scientists, audiologists
and hearing-impaired volunteers - helps
us transform research into practical
solutions that meet the expectations of
new generations of users. In the 80s and
90s this work culminated in the introduction
of MultiFocus - the world’s first
fully automatic hearing aid, and
DigiFocus - the world’s first 100% digital
ear-worn instrument.
Over the past five years we have made
new technological and scientific
breakthroughs, which have enabled us
to become even more ambitious. Consequently,
we can now deal with some of
the more challenging aspects of hearing
loss and hearing aid use that, until now,
have been particularly difficult to
address.
Our latest achievement - Adapto - is
unique in more ways than one. We call it
‘the first hearing aid that understands
people’, because it responds actively and
intelligently to your needs and capabilities.
It strengthens your ability to hear
and adjust to various types of sounds,
and makes using hearing aids a more
natural, more pleasurable experience.
4 5

How can Adapto change your life?
Three things make Adapto special. Firstly, it provides maximum speech
understanding without comprising on comfort. Secondly, it makes your voice
sound more natural and eliminates the whistling noises that have always been
an unfortunate side effect of wearing hearing aids.And finally, it matches your
lifestyle and the way you personally perceive and process sound.
Adapto achieves these objectives through three revolutionary innovations: the
VoiceFinder, OpenEar Acoustics, and Client Focused Fitting. Let’s look at the
benefits of these, one by one.
Voicefinder
More Speech
Of all the sounds in our environment,
the one guaranteed to capture our
attention is speech. It’s our primary form
of communication, and we rely on it to
function optimally, both professionally
and socially.
When you’re around other people, you
want to be absolutely confident that you
don’t miss a thing. You don’t want to
miss a child calling. You don’t want to
miss vital words in sentences. And you
don’t want to have to ask people to
repeat themselves.
That’s why Adapto is programmed to
automatically detect - and protect -
speech, using a unique digital system
called the VoiceFinder.
In much the same way as the human
brain, the VoiceFinder constantly monitors
your environment. As soon as it
detects the presence of speech it makes
millions of subtle adjustments to make
words come through clearly. So you
have a much better chance of catching
the start of a new conversation or an
important message - even in noisy
places.
Less Fatigue
Although it’s important to be able to
understand speech, it’s a process that
demands a lot of effort. Consequently,
whenever you experience periods of
quiet, it’s important to relax and rest your
brain so that you’re ready to concentrate
again as soon as people start talking.
The VoiceFinder helps you do this.
When no one is speaking it smoothly
switches to a more comfortable setting -
rather like tinted sunglasses that automatically
darken as the light increases.
With Adapto, the noisier it becomes, the
harder the VoiceFinder works to protect
you from annoyance and fatigue.
So what does this dual functionality
ultimately offer? At the end of each day
you will have heard and understood
more, and you will be less tired from the
constant bombardment of irrelevant
noise. Put the two together and the total
is plain to see: a better quality of life.
Not only for you, but also for your family
and friends.
Read more about
the VoiceFinder on page 22.
6 7

OpenEar Acoustics
Excellent, natural sound quality
Whenever you wear hearing aids many
body-transmitted sounds - such as your
own voice, or chewing - may sound
unnatural and unpleasantly loud, as if
you were speaking from inside a barrel.
This effect is known as occlusion, and it
happens because sounds get trapped
inside your ear canal.
The only way to remedy occlusion is to
keep the ear canal open. The problem
with this approach, however, is that the
amplified sound can leak out of the ear
and back into the microphone again in
an endless loop. The technical term for
this is ‘acoustic feedback’, and it can
cause very annoying whistling sounds.
In the past, plugging up the ear was the
only way to provide sufficient amplification
without causing feedback - and
hearing aid users had no other option
but to live with the unpleasant side
effects. But this situation has completely
changed, thanks to the groundbreaking
technology in Adapto.
Far fewer side effects!
After years of research and testing,
Oticon has perfected a powerful new
anti-feedback solution that lets you hear
clearly with far fewer side effects.
Based on very advanced digital signal
processing, this super-sensitive system
constantly monitors whether feedback is
likely to occur, so that it can be cancelled
out even before it’s heard.
Consider the potential benefits! Depending
on the size of your ear canal, you too
might be able to wear an instrument
with larger vents. And what a difference
you’ll find they make: your ears will be
better ventilated, those chewing sounds
will diminish, and your own voice will
seem more natural.
And if your hearing aid should move
slightly when you’re chewing, brushing
your hair, giving someone a hug, or talking
on the phone, you’ll no longer have
to worry. Feedback will be eliminated
long before it becomes a problem.
Read more about
OpenEar Acoustics on page 24.
8 9

Client Focused Fitting
A hearing aid as individual as you are
Although two people can have exactly
the same hearing loss, their perception
of sound may differ greatly. And since
their personalities and lifestyles also
differ, so will their expectations regarding
hearing aids.
Adapto is designed to take these differences
into account.
Adapto’s Client Focused Fitting software
addresses more than just your hearing
loss. It considers your personal requirements
too. All you have to do is discuss
your priorities with your hearing care
provider, and he or she will combine the
information with the data from your
audiogram.
Once your personal parameters are
plotted in, Adapto automatically recommends
the most appropriate levels of
amplification. So you can feel confident
in your hearing and much happier in
yourself!
Reflecting your Personality
At the start of the fitting your hearing
care provider may ask you a few personal
questions. About the way you live,
your previous experience with hearing
aids, and the various types of listening
environments you encounter during
the day. He or she will then take the
appropriate steps to ensure that Adapto
reflects these aspects of your life, so that
it performs to perfection for many years
to come.
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A choice of styles and colours
Adapto fits all kinds of hearing losses, from mild to severe. It
is available in a wide variety of styles and colours, from the
virtually invisible Completely-in-the-Canal version to attractive
Behind-the-Ear models. Depending on your ear size and
hearing loss your hearing care professional will recommend
the most appropriate solution.
Completely in the Canal
(CIC)
Virtually invisible in most
ears, the CIC is ideal for
appearance-conscious
users.
MiniCanal (MIC)
Almost as invisible as the
CIC, the MiniCanal uses a
slightly larger battery for
longer battery life.
In-the Canal (ITC)
A highly cosmetic solution,
the ITC allows more venting
options than the CIC and
MiniCanal.
In-the-Ear (ITE)
In-the-Ear models fit within
the outer portion of the ear,
making them easier to
handle.
Behind-the-Ear (BTE)
BTE models are classic and
well proven. They come in
a variety of colours to
match your skin or hair.
Professional
hearing care
Adapto is only fitted by highly trained
hearing care professionals who know
how to get the best out of this very
advanced hearing aid.
While you sit listening, your hearing
care provider will use a sophisticated,
computerized fitting system designed by
Oticon to customize the fitting. It doesn’t
take long to calculate the basic settings,
and if fine-tuning adjustments should be
required, the system offers plenty of
ways to further accommodate your personal
perception of sounds.
When you leave the clinic you’ll be off
to a great start, wearing professionally
fitted instruments that promise the best
possible practical benefit - plus maximum
enjoyment of life!
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What users are saying about Adapto
Mary Anne Fisher
About family life...
“Before I was fitted with
Adapto, I had a really
difficult time listening to
my grandson. A lot of
times I told him that he had to come up
to me and talk face to face, so that I
could understand what he was saying.
And now I don’t need to do that. I can
hear what he says - even if I’m driving in
the car and he’s in the back seat and I
have no way of seeing what he is saying
- I can still hear him.”
About life in the classroom...
“When I made a commitment to go back
to school, I realized that I needed to do
something about my hearing, which is
what drove me to get my hearing tested.
The difference is marvellous - I can hear
everybody in the classroom, including
soft-spoken people. I’ve taken computer
classes and I can even hear over the
computer noise. I was wearing a hearing
aid before, but Adapto has just made it
more natural.”
Barry Pirtle
About socializing
with others...
“I’ve always had difficulty
hearing other people, even
at the same table with me
in a restaurant. But the few times I’ve
eaten in a restaurant since I got Adapto,
I’ve found that it’s much different. I can
hear everybody talk individually. I feel
like I can carry on a conversation with
them without a problem. These hearing
aids cut down on the background noise
and allow me to hear their speech.”
About life at the end of the day...
“Adapto has definitely allowed me to be
more relaxed at the end of each day.
They’re not a strain on me in any way.
The constant sounds I would get from
other hearing aids - it’s not there with
Adapto. It cuts down on those extra
sounds in the background - the ones that
are not important - and leaves me feeling
much more at peace at the end of the day
than before.”
Michael Busichio
About what other
people say...
“A question that often
comes up is ‘How long
did it take you to get used
to the hearing aids?’ I read a book one
time and it said you should wear hearing
aids for 10 minutes one day and 20 minutes
next day and if you have a problem,
see a psychiatrist. What a lot of bunk
that was! With the Adapto hearing aids I
had no trouble whatsoever. When they
put those hearing aids in my ears everything
changed. They felt natural. And
they felt comfortable.”
About how it can change your life...
“Some of my friends have asked, ‘Mike -
was it worth spending the money for a
hearing aid? What advantages have you
really had?’ Well, it has completely
changed my life. When I sit around with
people who have hearing problems and I
listen to the things they do to hear, I only
look back at what I did myself. It’s so
much easier to put a couple of hearing
aids - Adapto hearing aids - in your ears.
You’ll feel so much better and your life
will be a lot easier and happier.”
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16
Hearing and hearing loss
Middle ear bones
Stapes
Cochlea
Eardrum
The path of sound in a healthy ear
The healthy ear is a precisely tuned
system with a sensitivity and range that
easily outperforms the most elaborate
sound system ever made. It can capture a
world of sound that varies dramatically
from moment to moment, and make it
meaningful to the brain.
The process begins in the outer and
middle sections of the ear, starting with
the eardrum. As soon as sound waves
enter the ear, the eardrum vibrates.
This causes the middle ear bones (the
ossicles) to vibrate, which produces a
wave-like motion of the fluids in the
inner ear (cochlea).
As the vibrations progress, they meet
thousands of tiny hair cells whose movements
are transformed into electronic
impulses in the hearing nerve leading to
the brain. It is the precise location and
timing of these ‘firings’ that enables the
brain to determine the level, pitch and
duration of the incoming sound.
When your hearing
deteriorates
The ear contains many intricate mechanisms,
and a breakdown in any of these
can cause hearing difficulties. The two
main types of hearing impairment are
conductive hearing loss and sensorineural
hearing loss.
Conductive hearing loss is most often
caused by problems in the outer or
middle ear, which prevents vibrations
from reaching the nerve cells in the
inner ear. This can usually be treated
through surgery, medication or with a
hearing aid.
Sensorineural hearing loss is the most
common type, and it happens when
some of the delicate hair cells inside the
cochlea get damaged. When this happens,
they lose their ability to transform
sound vibrations into electrical signals.
This condition is normally due to the
Sound level
Loud
Normal hearing
Tones
Low frequencies High frequencies
Soft
Inaudible
Audible
Comfortable
Loud
Uncomfortably loud
The hearing threshold
The uncomfortable level
The two graphs show the
hearing profiles for both a
person with normal hearing and
a hearing-impaired person. Low
frequencies (such as male
voices) are to the left and high
frequencies (such as childrens’
voices) to the right.The soft
sounds are toward the top and
the louder sounds are toward
the bottom.
Sound level
natural process of ageing - and once it
has set in, it is almost always permanent.
Impaired hearing
Tones
Low frequencies High frequencies
Soft
Inaudible
The hearing threshold
Loud
Audible
Comfortable
Loud
Uncomfortably loud
The uncomfortable level
Compared to the normal
hearing profile, you will see that
the impaired hearing profile has
a greater inaudible light blue
zone because soft sounds for
this individual are below
threshold.And the blue zone of
audible, comfortable sound is
smaller.
17

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Hearing and hearing loss
significantly
better speech
understanding
Puretone Speech signal
Compared to a pure tone signal, the speech signal is far more complicated
How speech gets lost
Since the nature of hearing loss varies
from person to person, so does their
ability to process complex sounds - like
speech. Speech is far more intricate than
the pure tone signals you might listen to
during a hearing test. People produce
between five and ten different speech
sounds every second, each of which can
have many different components.
Words are composed of strong, low
frequency vowels and weaker, high frequency
consonants. If the consonants are
to come through clearly, each individual
frequency needs its own amplification.
Just turning up the volume to make all
sounds louder is not the answer, as this
only makes loud sounds uncomfortably
loud.
What you need is a system capable of
balancing the loud and soft sounds, so
both the vowels and the consonants
remain intact. Although this may sound
simple, it requires a highly complex
form of processing that only the most
advanced digital technology can master.
Getting used to new sounds
Digital hearing aids can provide a world
of richer sound. But like most people,
you’ll need time to adjust to the change.
Many sounds will have become
unfamiliar - like the ticking of a clock,
the rustling of leaves or the hum of a
refrigerator - and your brain will have to
learn to identify each one and either
focus on it or filter it out.
Studies conducted by independent
researchers have revealed that, where
speech understanding is concerned, the
longer people wear their instruments,
the more skilful they become at inter-
preting what is said. If you too are prepared
to make an effort, you’ll find the
reward well worth the wait!
Of course, with Adapto, the entire
acclimatization process becomes easier.
Like other users, you’ll discover that -
with a hearing aid designed to deliver
both speech understanding and comfort -
getting used to life with digital instruments
is far less demanding than you
might think.
19

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What makes digital unbeatable?
Most people associate ‘digital sound’,
with the crisp, clear sound quality of
Compact Disc players. When CD-players
were introduced they swiftly superseded
traditional, analogue record players. In
the mid-90s, thanks to developments in
miniaturization technology, hearing aids
went digital too.
Just like CD players, digital hearing aids
provide infinitely clearer sound quality.
But unlike CD players, which are
programmed only to reproduce sound
exactly as it is recorded, digital instru-
ments continuously modify the signal to
match your individual hearing profile.
So the sound picture you receive will
always be clear and harmonic.
Revolutionary
developments in
processing
One of Adapto’s most revolutionary
features, the VoiceFinder, is based on a
concept called Voice Activation.
Currently, many advanced electronics
companies are developing voiceactivated
devices - from mobile phones
to robots - but this is the first time the
concept has been applied in a hearing
aid.
Another unique development is
Adapto’s Dynamic Feedback Cancellation
system, which serves a very important
purpose: by effectively eliminating
feedback it enables Adapto to be fitted
with much larger vents than conventional
hearing aids, for a more natural
perception of sound.
A low power, powerful chip
Oticon uses today’s most sophisticated,
low-voltage chip technology to pack
enormous processing power into a very
small chip.
Thus, Adapto delivers optimal performance
with only minimal wear on
batteries.
The Adapto chip is
three times smaller
than its predecessors.
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22
Sound pressure level (dB)
The vision behind the VoiceFinder...
80
60
40
20
0
0
1000
Speech is dominated
by powerful
vowels. The graph
shows the
harmonics of the
vowel “a”.
2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000
Frequency (Hz)
Automatic detection of speech
The human brain has an amazing ability
to automatically detect and prioritize
speech, and tune out unwanted background
noise. Since most hard-of-hearing
people have lost this capability, Oticon
has used the latest digital processing
techniques to incorporate it in a hearing
aid. The result is an effective speech
detection system called the VoiceFinder.
The VoiceFinder captures speech by
hunting for certain patterns in the sound
signal. Speech is dominated by powerful
vowels, which have very unique characteristics.
They consist of a fundamental
tone plus a number of harmonics that
appear in the frequencies above this tone.
These modulations occur synchronously
i.e. at the same time and over a certain
time period.
It is the unique pattern and timing of the
modulations that enable the VoiceFinder
to verify with great certainty that speech
is actually present.
A reliable transition to comfort
The VoiceFinder uses a highly efficient
processor that filters all incoming
signals. Even in noisy situations, it is
able to accurately detect the presence of
speech. As soon as a speech pattern
appears, the VoiceFinder sends a message
to the processing system, telling it
to amplify those parts of the signal that
need enhancing.
When speech recedes and only noise is
present (the hallmark of which is a much
faster type of modulation) the system
automatically switches to a more
comfortable mode. This instigates a new
set of pre-determined adjustments to the
overall volume settings.
During the switch from speech mode to
comfort mode there is a built-in transi-
Speech detection
The VoiceFinder accurately analyzes the sound.
If the VoiceFinder detects harmonic structure
and synchronous energy, then speech is present.
Input signal
Microphone
The hearing aid picks
up the sound
tion time of up to ten seconds. This
helps to ensure that speech has completely
receded before the change is
made.
Speech mode
When speech is detected, the
VoiceFinder instantly provides
maximum speech understanding
Comfort mode
When speech is not present,
the VoiceFinder automatically
switches into a more comfortable
listening mode
23

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The concept of OpenEar Acoustics...
New solution to well-known problem
When a hearing aid or earmould blocks
the ear canal it can generate a number of
undesirable side effects: your voice may
sound distorted, you might experience
discomfort when chewing, and your ears
can feel warm due to the lack of ventilation.
The best way to avoid these side effects
is to fit hearing aids with larger vents.
Until now, this has been virtually
impossible - because the larger the vent,
the greater the risk of acoustic feedback
and leakage of high-frequency sound.
To support as large a vent as possible
Adapto is equipped with a highly
advanced digital anti-feedback system
called Dynamic Feedback Cancellation.
Instead of reacting only in instances
where slight occurrences of feedback
might occur, this system reacts actively
and continuously in a wide variety of
situations and to a host of different
sounds.
A no-compromise
anti-feedback system
Adapto’s digital Dynamic Feedback
Cancellation (DFC) system is constantly
on the alert, comparing the signal entering
the microphone to the amplified
signal. If feedback appears imminent,
this system reacts extremely quickly,
sending a counter signal to cancel it out.
Unlike other, static feedback reduction
methods, the DFC system doesn’t reduce
volume. So you get optimum audibility
and speech understanding in all kinds of
situations - whether your hearing aid
moves out of position for some reason,
or whether you instigate a sudden
change by picking up a phone or brushing
your hair etc.
It is the sheer power and efficiency of
this system that makes it possible, for
the very first time, to introduce instruments
with larger vents. Behind-the-Ear
instruments can be made with open
earmoulds, while In-the-Ear styles have
built-in larger vents.
Conventional venting
OpenEar Acoustics
Trapped sound
Large vent for more
natural sound
25

Tried and tested - in daily life
Sound
quality
Conversation
in traffic
Conversation
in bus
Conversation
in quiet
Bus/car
driving
Conversation
at party
Comfort
Traffic
Music
TV
Party
Feedback
Sudden
sound
Own voice
Telecoil
Adapto much better
Adapto somewhat better
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
No difference
Own somewhat better
Own much better
Like every other Oticon instrument,
Adapto has been tried and tested by
people of all ages. One of the most recent
clinical tests involved 61 hearing
impaired people from many walks of
life. Most of them were already fitted
with quality digital instruments, and all
of them were satisfied users.
During this 3-week experiment, the test
subjects evaluated the performance of
Adapto and overwhelmingly, 95% of
them wanted to stay with this new instrument.
Their main reasons were better
comfort, better speech perception, and
better sound quality. Other reasons included
less feedback and better own
voice.
Proven results
The results of this study prove that as a
concept, Adapto works very well and is
accepted immediately. The overall
results indicate that:
OpenEar Acoustics gives a more
natural perception of own voice and
less feedback
VoiceFinder provides optimal speech
understanding and comfort - even in
difficult everyday listening situations
Client Focused Fitting ensures
immediate acceptance, and very little
fine tuning is needed
Another interesting observation was that
most people found Adapto so comfortable
that they wore them for longer
periods compared to their old instruments.
Since they experienced less
fatigue and annoyance with Adapto, it
seemed quite natural for them to want to
wear it more.
26 27
Listening
comfort
Speech
clarity
0
Very poor
Adapto
5
Acceptable
10
Very good
Own digital Own non-digital
Adapto
Own HI
0%
50%
Hearing Instrument Usage
> 8 h 4-8 h < 4 h
100%

906 43 710 01/09.01 Printed in Denmark

www.oticon.com
We believe that it takes more
than technology and audiology
to create the best hearing instruments.
That’s why we put the
individual needs and wishes of
hearing impaired people first in
our development of new hearing
care solutions.