Comparing Oticon Intent hearing aids with Oticon Real hearing aids

Comparing Oticon Intent hearing aids with Oticon Real

What's the difference between the two?

Compare Intent with Real

Oticon launched Oticon Intent in February 2024, just one year after the release of Oticon Real hearing aids.  We compare both the Intent vs Real miniRITE models in our comparison table below, but in this article, we also delve into what has stayed the same, what has changed and what are the advantages of opting for the latest offering from Oticon.

Sensor and directionality technology

Intent brought the new 4D sensor technology to the table allowing these hearing aids to learn from your head and body movements and adapt your soundscape accordingly so you can gain from better speech understanding in noise.  For example, Oticon claims that premium hearing is more than just sound, understanding the wearer is also an important part of someone's listening experience. 

This is because different hearing loss levels need unique support, so even though two people with hearing loss can be in the same listening environment, they both need their hearing aids to work differently.  In theory, Intent understands your listening intention, therefore you will benefit from truly personalised hearing that deals with your distinct requirements.

Oticon Real doesn't have this advanced sensor and directional technology, its main focus, at launch, was solving key pains for hearing aid wearers. Such as sudden, disruptive, and uncomfortable sounds, which unsurprisingly, are what most users are bothered by. 

However, this does mean that the directionality of Real is no different from the other hearing aid brands out there and arguably not as good as potentially the Signia Pure IX or Resound Nexia ranges.

The upgrades

The upgrades seen in Oticon Intent, such as the new Sirius processing chip and Deep Neural Network 2.0 (DNN) all contribute to better sound quality, speech clarity, and efficiency in noise suppression.  For example, improved preservation of original sound which gives you a reduction in cue losses for both noise and speech. 

Intent also raised the bar in frequency response from 80 Hz to 10 kHz.  Theoretically, this should mean you'll benefit from a richer sound experience than you would with Oticon Real.

The new MoreSound intelligence technology and next-generation MoreSound Amplifier 3.0 in Intent are said to offer a reduced base noise along with better high-frequency response and dynamic range when compared to Real.  Arguably, this could rival Starkey Genesis AI in these areas.

Oticon Real introduced one of the best feedback suppression algorithms, however, Intent develops this further with an even smarter algorithm to control feedback - all made possible without compromising on speech understanding or sound quality.

Sound-to-noise ratio

Oticon Intent also brought a 1 to 5 dB increase in SNR, which means, when compared to Oticon Real, you should understand speech 5 dB better and benefit from (along with the 4D sensor technology):

• 10 % better listening comfort
• 10% better sound quality
• 13% better nuance in the soundscape
• 15% better speech understanding
• 35% better access to speech cues

Other features that might tempt you when comparing Oticon Intent with Real

• The 13 battery means there is around 33% more charge on the go versus Real
• New smaller miniRITE than Oticon Real
• Intent is Bluetooth LE Audio and Auracast future-proof

Conclusion

If you have already invested in Oticon Real, it wouldn't make sense to now upgrade to Intent - especially since Real is only a year old.  Wait a bit longer, Real is still a really good aid and both the wind cancellation and sudden sound control are some of the best in the industry. 

However, if you are looking to upgrade your existing aids, Intent is definitely worth considering.  It has pretty much closed a lot of gaps in Oticon Real and is going to make a real difference when hearing in challenging environments.

The 4D technology goes beyond just hearing, as it adapts sound processing according to your unique listening needs to support you better in communication and engagement.  The MoreSound technology will also give you access to a more accurate interpretation of sound in the brain, a richer representation of your environment, and a bigger scope of all sounds.  

If you are tempted....

There are a few things to consider when looking at Oticon Intent's performance levels.  The 4D speech enhancer is only available in levels 1 and 2.  Therefore, if speech understanding is important to you - look to these levels.

Spatial balance, the feature that will give you the most capability in challenging listening environments is only available in level 1.  

The neural noise suppression continues to drop after level 1 (12 dB) as you go down the performance levels.  If you work in a noisy environment or your biggest challenge is hearing through the noise - level 1 would be the best performance for you.

All levels include advanced Bluetooth technology and both wind and sudden noise cancellation but the last level, level 4, is missing the tap control feature.  For a breakdown of important features and benefits of both ranges, take a look at the comparison chart below.