SOMERSET, NEW JERSEY — Oticon Inc has announced the launch of the new Oticon Opn Play, a hearing aid designed with the developmental needs of growing children in mind. Building on the success of the Oticon Opn hearing aids, the new Opn Play brings the advanced sound processing capabilities of the new Velox S™ platform to children of all ages.
The open sound experience provided by the Opn Play platform enables children to better hear and learn from the world around them. Additionally, improved feedback performance helps eliminate annoying feedback before it starts, without reducing sound quality.
Opn Play: Keeping children connected to the world
The Oticon Opn Play is Internet-enabled and connects seamlessly with smartphones, tablets, and other electronics that children interact with on a daily basis, including in the classroom.
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 hearing aids.
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.
“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… 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.”
–Laura Shiplett, AuD, Director of Oticon Pediatrics
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.
Variety 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 day1 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.
1Lithium-ion battery performance varies depending upon hearing loss, lifestyle and streaming behavior.
Source: Oticon
