- Background noise
- Quiet and TV
- Music Streaming
Newer Product Available
Oticon Real is not the latest model from the brand. We recommend that you research the newer 2024 release, Oticon Intent.
Oticon's "Open" Sound Philosophy
Oticon is the second most popular hearing aid brand (after Phonak). The brand has built a fanbase around its “open” sound philosophy. While Phonak hearing aids tend to quiet background noise and focus on voices, Oticon lets in a fuller soundscape.
To manage the more open soundscape without degrading speech clarity, Oticon captured a massive library of everyday sounds (over 12 million) and used those recordings to train its hearing aids.
The result is an onboard deep neural network that makes intelligent decisions about what sounds you should hear—pretty cool stuff.
If you like hearing more birds, nature, and other life sounds, Oticon is a compelling option.
New 2023 Upgrades
In February 2023, Oticon released a new flagship product called Oticon Real. The update replaces Oticon’s previous flagship Oticon More.
Oticon Real improves on the previous generation (Oticon More) in three meaningful ways:
- Sudden Sound Stabilizer quickly reduces the sound of loud noises like doorbells, dogs barking, or dishes clanging. According to Oticon, these improvements reduce listening effort by 22% in challenging situations.
- Wind and Handling Stabilizer reduces wind noise and the sound of your hair or hand when it touches your hearing aids.
- Like most leading brands, Oticon allows remote updates from your audiologist (after an initial in-person visit). Until now, wearers needed to download a separate app for remote appointments. Oticon has now combined this feature into its main app. Nice touch!
Oticon Real comes in three technology levels.
Real 1 has the most robust features for complex environments like restaurants and travel.
Real 2 has robust features but loses a few more sophisticated options for handling background noise.
Real 3 is Oticon's budget option which is best for those who live a quieter lifestyle or spend time in small groups.
Only Available in Styles Behind The Ear
Note that Oticon Real is only available in styles that sit behind the ear. If you choose to get a custom-molded hearing aid (which fits inside the canal instead of behind the ear), you'll want to look at Oticon’s Oticon Own.
- Very respected product with millions of happy wearers
- More open sound quality than other top brands
- Easy-to-use app
- Better management of loud or intrusive sounds
- Available in both rechargeable and non-rechargeable models
- Requires in-person care (no direct-to-consumer option)
- More expensive compared to Telehealth and OTC options
- The app is simple but offers less independent customization than other leading brands
- Oticon Real is a fully customizable, prescription hearing aid appropriate for mild-severe hearing loss
- If you have severe hearing loss, your care provider may fit you with a custom earmold to reduce feedback
- If you have profound hearing loss, you may be a better fit for Oticon Xceed
- Oticon Real is a prescription device fit and programmed by a professional
- After an initial fitting, you can connect with your care provider remotely through the Oticon app
- Oticon Real comes with a brand new operating system (released in 2023). Real uses Oticon's deep neural network to sort background noise from speech. Many users describe Oticon's sound quality as "relaxed", "natural" and "comfortable."
- Oticon Real is a very comfortable product with a wide-variety of possible earmolds, domes and fits. Oticon Real sits behind your ear with a receiver (speaker) inside the ear
- Oticon Real hearing aids sit behind the ear
- Small RIC hearing aid with slightly rounded edges (not as boxy as Widex, less rounded than Phonak)
- Real comes in 9 colors including chroma beige, silver grey, silver, terracotta, chestnut brown, steel grey, diamond black, olive green, and hear pink
- Real comes with rechargeable or disposable battery options
- The rechargeable version of Oticon Real gets 24 hours of power on a single charge
- The disposable version of Oticon Real uses a 312 battery which (lasts 7-10 days)
- Oticon Real allows Bluetooth streaming, music listening, and phone calls across all models. iPhone users can take calls hands-free, while Android users must keep their phones close to pick up outbound audio.
- Oticon Real uses Apple's MFI connection and Android's ASHA connection to stream content through Bluetooth
- Oticon Real is reasonably easy to handle but does require the wearer to place the hearing aid behind their ear and insert the receiver into the ear (consistent across all behind-the-ear styles)
- Push buttons available: double push-button
- Oticon Real is water resistant with an IP rating of 68
- This hearing aid can withstand dust and water submersion in one meter of water for up to 30 minutes
- Remote care: included in the new Oticon Companion app
- Customization: volume, program change, streaming sound quality (treble/bass), SpeechBooster
- Tinnitus masking: your hearing care provider can create a tinnitus masking program
- Find my hearing aid: available in the app
- Health tracking: not available
Pricing
The national average price for Oticon Real 1 hearing aids is around $7,200 per pair.
Our research indicates that the best pricing and care packages are currently available through ZipHearing. ZipHearing offers a pair of Oticon Real 1 hearing aids with one year of unlimited care for $4,798 per pair.
Process
ZipHearing will match you with a local clinic near your zip code and pre-negotiate a lower price (typically 25% less than the national average).
Fill out the form on this page to get matched with a local clinic.
Our readers are consistently happy with ZipHearing's offering and give the company 97% 5-star ratings on Trustpilot.
Oticon Real comes in several technology levels. Each device looks identical from the outside, but on the inside, each technology jump offers more sophisticated sound processing and special features. In general, wearers opt for the top technology they can reasonably afford.
The key differences between Oticon Real 1, 2, and 3 mostly come down to background noise management.
Oticon Real 1
- 10 dB of background noise suppression
- 24 programming bands
- 64 sound processing channels
Oticon Real 2
- 6 dB of background noise suppression
- 20 programming bands
- 48 sound processing channels
Oticon Real 3
- 6 dB of background noise suppression
- 18 programming bands
- 47 sound processing channels
Review Oticon's full feature matrix here.
Read our full guide to choosing a technology level here 👈
What people are saying:
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