Oticon Medical has released what they claim is “the world’s first fully digital, programmable bone anchored power processor.” The system has received FDA clearance and will benefit most people with serious hearing loss from ear canal and middle ear issues, as well as for those with single sided deafness.
Ponto Pro Power is designed for children and adults with conductive or mixed hearing losses up to 55 dB HL. The new sound processor is built on Oticon’s advanced RISE sound processing platform and offers innovative features that aim to deliver the two benefits most requested by power users — enhanced speech intelligibility and reduced feedback. The sleek, ergonomically designed Ponto Pro Power is the newest addition to Oticon Medical’s expanding portfolio of bone anchored hearing solutions designed to give physicians and hearing care professionals more choice in a healthcare arena with growing patient demand.
Speech Guard, the feature that revolutionized air conduction hearing aids, is now available in Ponto Pro Power and other Ponto system processors. The unique amplification technique is designed to maintain linear processing as much as possible and, by instantaneously responding to rapidly occurring environmental sound, produce less distortion than traditional compression systems.
The power processor’s Automatic Multiband Adaptive Directionality system automatically switches between three directional modes — enhanced omnidirectional, split directionality and full-directionality modes — depending on which is optimum for the user’s sound environment. In the unique split directionality mode, Ponto Pro Power enables power users to benefit from directionality in more situations by applying a combination of full and omni directionality to enhance speech in noise without losing power in the low frequencies.
Ponto Pro Power’s unique two-stage Feedback Manager system helps power users to overcome everyday challenges such as audibility and feedback. It reduces the potential for unexpected feedback and allows full use of the volume control with far less risk of irritating whistling sounds.
Speech Guard, the feature that revolutionized air conduction hearing aids, is now available in Ponto Pro Power and other Ponto system processors. The unique amplification technique is designed to maintain linear processing as much as possible and, by instantaneously responding to rapidly occurring environmental sound, produce less distortion than traditional compression systems.
Similar to all processors in the Ponto System, Ponto Pro Power features an easy-to-operate computer fitting platform, Genie Medical 2011.1, to facilitate a more precise match between patient and sound processor. In addition to Feedback Manager, the fitting platform includes BC In-situ Audiometry to enable practitioners to measure individual BC hearing thresholds directly via the sound processor. The goal is to increase accuracy and reduce the need for fine tuning and verification measurements.
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