resound | omnia | 5 Hearing Aid

ReSound OMNIA - Love the everyday details in life

Released in September 2022 on the back of their already successfull ONE model, the Resound Omnia is the latest version with some very important improvements. Available in receiver in canal format only the Omnia is said to help users automatically listen to who and what they want and surround themselves with what they love. there i a clear focus on improving sound epxeriences for users with the Omnia. We will explain below.

Features of the Product

As stated above Resound have further improved their technology to provide best sound quality to users with minimal effort required. Below we will list some of the feature improvements they have made that trumps their previous platform.

Organic Hearing

Organic Hearing is and industry first. The idea behind Organic hearing is that it gives the user significantly better understanding in noisy and challenging environments, whislt keeping the sound natural and clear.

Resound sum up Organic hearing in 3 Phrases: Sounds Natural, Fells Natural, Connects you Naturally.

Sounds Natural

Emulating the natural hearing process and the natural ways the user listens as closely as possible, helping the brain to hear as nature intended.

• Helping people focus on conversations and locate sounds all around them in the noisiest situations.
• Using each unique ear shape to collect sound inside the ear to deliver a more natural hearing experience.

It does this by using and incorporating the following features:

• Warp Processing

• E2E Bilateral compression

• Spatial Sense

• Natural Directionality

• All Access Directionality

• Environmental Optimizer

• Ultra Focus

Feels Natural

Adapts organically to the person for the best wearing comfort all day long, with ease of use.

• Minimising physical effort with easy rechargeability and all-weatherproof designs.
• Enhancing comfort with ergonomic hearing aids that fit the user’s ears and life.

Connects you Naturally

Inspired by the way users intuitively interact with people and devices in their daily lives.

• Hearing music and taking calls from your favourite devices, just like with wireless earbuds.
• Personalisation via our popular app and remote care from hearing care professionals, anywhere.

It does this via:

• 2.4 GHz Bluetooth connectivity

• MFi and Androi streaming

• Hands-free calls for iPhone and iPad

• ReSound Smart 3D app

• Crystal clear and easier calls with M&RIE

• Remote assistance

All Access Directionality

'Greater Hearing in any Environment'. This is the headline for All Access Directionality. Simply put it mimics the natural way the ear pics up sound. It gives a full soundscape and your brain decided what it would like to hear rather than the hearing aids dictating what they think you should hear. All Access Directionality will adjust the sound to the surroundings, automatically, and in real time. This allows the user to concentrate on what they are listening to, not the unwanted sounds around them. Resound claim All Access Directionality gives 30% better hearing in noise than the previous Legacy product range.

Ultra Focus

Enabling great one-to-one conversations in the most challenging environments and giving 30% better speech understanding in the noisiest of environments. The consensus here is to give the user the best conversation possible, directly in front of them. Ultra-focus will allow you to cut through the background noise without losing the awareness of the sounds and environment around you. This facility can be controlled via a program that can be adjusted on the hearing aid pushbutton, or the mobile app. 

Warp Processing

Warp processing is a way that sound is processed by the hearing aid. The idea is to emulate the way the unaided ear analyses the frequencies of incoming sound and categorises them into distinct pitches. It does this by decoding the frequencies and intensities of sounds in a nonlinear way. The same way the ear does. Warp processing is particularly important in capturing an accurate assessment of the environment. With a short processing delay and smooth frequency response, this feature provides patients with a clear, balanced sound quality that is virtually distortion free.

Spatial Sense

Replaces spatial cues that are disrupted due to hearing aid placement behind the ear and the effects of wide dynamic range compression. This will give the user the benefit of vivid spatial awareness with exceptional sound quality. Taken directly from Resound 'Spatial Sense is a combination of two algorithms. The first is a pinna restoration algorithm. It reproduces the monaural spectral cues of the open ear that are disrupted by positioning the hearing aid microphone outside of the pinna. The second algorithm preserves the Interaural Level Difference (ILD), which is the natural difference in the levels of sound reaching each ear that are caused by the head shadow. This is an important binaural localization cue that can be disrupted by Wide Dynamic Range Compression'.

Wind Guard

Wind Guard accurately detects wind and reduces it, to enable the user to receive a natural sounding experience, with soft wind awareness in the background and minimal impact on audibility of other sounds in the environment. Wind Guard automatically monitors the presence of wind using the dual microphone system and turbulence caused by wind is uniquely identifiable because it is uncorrelated at the two microphones. It then adaptively reduces the gain to the same level before the wind was detected.

DFS Digital Feedback Suppression

When feedback is detected, a phase-inverted signal is applied, which cancels out the whistling. Resounds DFS applies two individual control systems that work together to provide maximum comfort with feedback-free hearing. It has six different modes:

• Static Control - The system analyses the calibration signal during fitting and neutralizes feedback with a static control signal. This counts for the unchanging contributors to feedback such as venting, ear geometry, and hearing aid components.

• Dynamic Control - The dynamic control system includes two parts. One is a dynamic filter that changes to eliminate feedback via phase cancellation when wearing the hearing aids. In extreme situations where the feedback cancellation may be overwhelmed, dynamic gain restoration layers on top to ensure comfortable listening.

• Dual Stabilizer II DFS with Whistle Control - Feedback suppression system follows the same principle as the DFS Ultra, but with simpler algorithms.

• Auto DFS - This DFS option learns the feedback path of the individual to efficiently cancel feedback. Whistle Control is not built into Auto DFS.

• Whistle Control - As part of the dynamic control system, Whistle Control is used only in extreme cases, when DSF alone cannot cancel feedback completely. In such cases, it lowers the gain to the prescribed level of frequencies affected by feedback until feedback is eliminated.

• Music Mode - Music is typically difficult for feedback cancellation systems to process, as it is difficult to distinguish true feedback from other tonal input sounds. Music Mode uses the same processing as DFS Ultra II, but slows down feedback cancellation to ensure that tonal sounds are not adversely affected. Rich sound quality for music is preserved.

Build Quality 

This hasn’t really changed from their previous range of hearing aids. The Omnia comes with and ip68 rated dust and moisture resistant casing, with enhanced moisture protection on the receiver. The use gauze style filters for maximum protection against wax and dust getting into the receiver electronics. The hearing aids are back by a 5-year manufacturer’s warranty should anything happen to your Omnia product.

Rechargeability

The Resound Omnia comes with a more powerful built in Li-ion power cell meaning that the user can expect to receive 30 hours’ worth of usage off a full charge. It has two types of charger:

• Standard - Uses a cable to plug in to provide fast reliable charging

• Premium - A mobile power bank that charges your hearing aids on the go (no cable needed)

Charging times are as follows:

• 3 Hours- 30 hours of usage including bluetooth streaming

• 1.5 Hours - 18 Hours of usage including bluetooth streaming

• 0.5 Hours - 8 Hours of usage including bluetooth streaming.

Streaming Facilities

The Omnia contains GN Resound's patented made for Iphone technology. They were the first to offer it and it is still regarded as one of the best streaming facilities on the market. Containing 2.4 GHz bluetooth technology they will stream seamlessly to any iPhone iOS device above iPhone 5. They have the Resound Smart 3D app which can be downloaded for both Apple and Android devices which will allow the user the ability to change their hearing aid volume, programs, find the hearing aid, save a favourite setting etc. It is the most comprehensive app on the market and fantastic for those users who love to get the full benefit from their Resound hearing aid.

Please visit this link to make sure your phone is compatible: https://www.resound.com/en-gb/help/compatibility

Hearing Aid Styles / Colours

The Omnia range comes in varying different styles:

Microphone & Receiver in the Canal (M&RIE):

• 312 Battery operated is the smallest (M&RIE) in the Quattro range. Fully wireless and 2.4 GHz compatible.

• Rechargeable version, which is slightly larger but has the integrated Li-ion power cell for full 24-hour use. Fully wireless and 2.4 GHz compatible.

UK Hearing's GN Reound Omnia 5 Technology Star Rating:

Wind Noise Reduction - ***

Natural Sound Experience - ***

Improved Speech Understanding - ***

Automatic Sound Adjustment - ***