The evolution of VAC+
Voice Aligned Compression (VAC+) is Oticon’s proprietary hearing aid fitting rationale, developed alongside Oticon’s hearing aid hardware and signal processing technologies. This consistent co-development allows for seamless integration with key features related to noise suppression, feedback prevention, open sound processing, and handling of sudden sounds.
Designed to prioritise natural sound quality, comfort, and ease of adaptation, VAC+ maximises audibility while minimising the risk of distortion or discomfort. It supports a wide range of audiometric profiles, including steeply sloping and asymmetrical losses, and is compatible with modern acoustic coupling solutions such as open fittings.
Key milestones from 2004 to 2024
The following summary of the history of VAC+, from 2004 to 2024, shows how ongoing adjustments of the algorithm have been optimised to make the most of consistent developments with Oticon's hearing aids.
Benefits of a fitting rationale made for Oticon’s technology
Clinical evidence
To better understand the potential to demonstrate benefits of VAC+ comparatively, a pilot study was conducted on new hearing aid users to compare both quantitative and qualitative results of hearing aid fittings with VAC+, to a generic fitting rationale (NAL-NL2). Participants reported a 25% improvement in their subjective overall hearing experience with VAC+ compared to NAL-NL2, and speech intelligibility index scores at 50 dB SPL, showed a statistically significant improvement for VAC+ compared to NAL-NL2.
Precise sound adjustments with VAC+
VAC+ provides unique handles in Oticon Genie 2. The Brightness Perception tool allows for adjusting the high-frequency gain in a convenient way, and the soft sound perception tool allows for unique adjustment of the soft compression threshold.