Everything You Need to Know about the ReSound OMNIA Hearing Aids – An Independent Review by Patients and Audiologists

11/06/2022 | Hearing Aids, News, Patient Resources

We fit 55 trusted patients with OMNIA 961 hearing aids for one week. Here’s what they said

On August 25, 2022, global hearing aid manufacturer ReSound announced their much-anticipated new hearing devices, the ReSound OMNIA.

There was a lot of excitement around this launch, with the manufacturer claiming that this was a big leap forward in hearing technology, and it had a lot of hearing professionals across our industry very excited.

In response, the Holland Hearing Center team put this new technology to the test to see if it truly did perform as promised, as our policy is always that we simply cannot recommend hearing aid technology until we have trusted feedback from our own patients.

We invited 55 trusted patients to evaluate the ReSound OMNIA hearing aids for 7+ days and asked them to carefully monitor the difference in performance compared to their existing hearing aids (that were between 2-5 years old).

What’s So Special about the ReSound OMNIA?

ReSound claims that the OMNIA hearing aid performs better in noisy environments than any other hearing aid they’ve made, claiming they deliver a 150% improvement in speech understanding compared to existing hearing technology on the market.

ReSound also says its OMNIA hearing aids include “own voice perception,” which enhances the sound of the wearer’s voice so it sounds more natural.

To create this improved hearing technology, the ReSound OMNIA hears 360 sound and processes and directs it faster, and then it beamforms the sound very precisely to clarify speech further.

As with other ReSound hearing aids, OMNIA can also stream from most electronic devices to the hearing aids, is compatible with ReSound Smart3D App’s “Check My Fit” feature, and offers rechargeable (up to 30 hours of use on one charge) and zinc-air battery-operated models.

What Was Our Patients’ Feedback on ReSound OMNIA Devices?

As with any trial, it’s important that we had a large group of local people to fairly share their feedback, and we invited 55 of our long-standing trusted patients to take part in this unique experiment.

They ranged in age, and all of them had different hearing requirements at different seasons of life to ensure that this evaluation would allow us to understand how this new technology performs in a variety of social, home, and work environments.

Following a minimum of seven days wearing the ReSound OMNIA devices, they all completed an in-depth feedback form.

Their ReSound OMNIA reviews were as follows: 

  • 48% reported a significant improvement
  • 25% reported a moderate improvement
  • 27% reported no discernible improvement compared to what they are currently wearing

Let’s dive a little deeper.

Out of those who rated a significant improvement, here were some of their responses.

  • “My ability to hear well and understand in groups greatly increased.”
  • “These have a more clear and clean sound to them compared to my older devices.”
  • “Better understanding in a noisy work environment.”
  • “Physically more comfortable fit.”
  • “All-around improvement in my day-to-day routine.”

Out of those who rated a moderate improvement, their responses were more arbitrary.

  • “I noticed an improvement in sound quality, but hearing in noisy places was about the same.”
  • “I heard more things behind me than in front of me.”
  • “More crisp sound but still not able to pick up conversations in a group.”
  • “They kept falling out, but the sound was excellent.”
  • “These are about the same as my old hearing aids.”
  • “Maybe a bit better under some circumstances. Really good in others. Not what I expected at Bible study. Good in groups of family.”
  • “Somewhat better with some inside noise.”

Out of those who rated no discernible improvement, their responses were quite similar.

  • “No difference at all.”
  • “A little clearer but not much.”
  • “No difference.”

Looking at the Facts

We always feel that a combination of testing and patient feedback gives us the best idea of what any hearing aid can do, so we randomly selected a small group from our main testing group to complete objective measures using QuickSIN, which is a test to determine understanding in noise.

Both the OMNIAs and the patients’ older model hearing aids were programmed with two common programs:

  1. All-Around – an automatic all-around program to use everyday
  2. Noise – a program used for help in understanding within strenuous background noise

There was no familiarization of a word list; a new word list was used for each program being evaluated.

With our QuickSIN group, here are the notable objective differences between the patients’ older model hearing aids and the ReSound OMNIA.

From the significant improvement group

(% understanding in noise)

 

Patient #1

Old Devices ReSound OMNIA
All-Around Program: 18%
All-Around Program: 34%
Noise Program: 42% Noise Program: 46%

 

Patient #2

Old Devices ReSound OMNIA
All-Around Program: 78% All-Around Program: 78%
Noise Program: 78%
Noise Program: 90%

 

Patient #3

Old Devices ReSound OMNIA
All-Around Program: 74% All-Around Program: 78%
Noise Program: 74% Noise Program: 98%

 

From the moderate improvement group

 

Patient #4

Old Devices    ReSound OMNIA
All-Around Program: 54% All-Around Program: 81%
Noise Program: 22% Noise Program: 46%

 

Patient #5

Old Devices ReSound OMNIA
All-Around Program: 26% All-Around Program: 56%
Noise Program: 46% Noise Program: 66%

 

Patient #6

Old Devices ReSound OMNIA
All-Around Program: 42% All-Around Program: 66%
Noise Program: 34% Noise Program: 42%

 

Would you or a loved one like to try the ReSound OMNIA hearing aids and decide for yourself if this might be the right fit for you? Schedule an appointment.

Would You like to Evaluate the ReSound OMNIA Devices?

With 73% of patients reporting that these devices are better than existing hearing technology, which in many of the experiments was only one to two generations behind, it was a very positive experiment that taught us a lot about this new technology.

If speech in noise is a challenge that you are currently facing, then the ReSound OMNIA may be right for you. We’d be happy to let you try the devices and give us your full ReSound OMNIA review! 

 We’re always on the lookout for innovative new products in our industry, and our reviews are as concise and clear as possible to help you get the most out of your hearing care technology. I also reviewed the Jabra Enhance Plus hearing aids recently – take a look at our review here. 

The first step is to evaluate this technology for yourself to experience the difference and see if they’re right for you.

If you would like to try out the ReSound OMNIA, call us at (325) 437-4730 to schedule a demonstration.

We look forward to hearing from you.

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Dr. Kelsi Mangrem AU.D, FAAA

Dr. Kelsi Mangrem received her Bachelor of Science degree in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, as well as her Doctorate of Audiology from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC). Whether a patient, employee, or industry colleague, the philosophy of service to others resonates throughout her character.

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