“Selective attention” refers to the brain’s natural ability to prioritize and organize sounds. This skill is essential for social interactions because it helps us focus on our conversation partner’s voice, scan our surroundings and switch our attention when necessary. The new Oticon Opn S hearing aid is the first that is proven to enhance selective attention and support the brain’s natural ability to organize sound. We review more about this hearing aid below.
What the Research Shows
In their study, researchers utilized EEG testing methods to objectively measure how the brain organizes sound when wearing Oticon Opn S, which includes an OpenSound Navigator feature. In order to do this, they placed electrodes on a subject’s head to measure their brain activity in response to speech and noise. The readings indicated how well sound signals were organized in the brain while wearing the devices.
The purpose of the test was to mimic real-life conversations in noisy environments like Wooden City; there was one primary speaker that the subject focused on, a secondary speaker they ignored and babble noise they suppressed.
The test was repeated two times, once with OpenSound Navigator on and again with it off.
Results
The results of the test confirmed that OpenSound Navigator in the Opn S devices significantly improved the ability to organize sounds and enhanced the wearer’s selective attention.
With the OpenSound Navigator on, the signal of the speaker in focus increased by 10%, making it easier for the wearer to follow along with what was said. The signal of the secondary speaker increased by 95%, making it easier to distinguish from background babble. The sound of the background babble decreased by 50%, allowing the two speech signals to stand out.
In contrast, with the OpenSound Navigator off, the speaker in focus stood out, but it was difficult to distinguish from the secondary speaker and background babble because the strength of the EEG signals was similar between these sounds.
Other Benefits of the 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.
To learn more about hearing aids or to schedule an appointment, call Columbia Hearing Centers today.