Oticon Siya ITE Review

Oticon is one of the premier hearing aid brands on the market and is known for its advanced technology, innovative thinking, and wide variety of options. The first electronic hearing aid that Oticon manufactured was also the first electronic hearing aid to hit the market from a hearing aid company. They have remained at the forefront of hearing aid sales, innovation, and technology ever since.

The Oticon Siya is an “essential” line of hearing aids which means they will be the least expensive In-The-Ear (ITE) style hearing aid Oticon offers. Oticon’s current top selling technology is called BrainHearing and has helped to keep Oticon as one of the better hearing aid manufacturers. The Siya also uses a powerful processing chip along with the powerful Velox platform which means the processing speeds are 50 times greater than previous models and some of the best on the hearing aid market. With the combination of technological features, the small size, and the ability to easily connect to any other Bluetooth enabled device, the Siya line of hearing aids is a great solution for anyone looking for great quality at a great price.

Things to Consider Before Buying

The Siya line of hearing aids are Oticon’s lower cost option of ITE hearing aids and come in 5 styles, multiple colors, and 2 technology levels with the Siya 2 being the more technologically advanced than the Siya 1. Siya hearing aids are Oticon’s first “essential” line of ITE to offer easy wireless connectivity with low energy consumption to almost any modern smartphone. This is important because almost everyone today carries a smartphone with them all the time, and the more connected your hearing aids can be to your smartphone, the easier it will be for you. Siya is considered an “essential” line of hearing aids for Oticon which means it is less expensive than their OPN or Xceed line of devices, but they still have a lot of Oticon’s most popular technology. They may lack some of the features that you find in the more expensive hearing aids, but you still get BrainHearing, Bluetooth, the ability to connect to accessories, the On App, and much more. If you are looking for a low-profile, discreet hearing aid with great features that will not break your bank, the Oticon Siya is a great place to start.

Pros

  • A very discreet hearing aid option so that people may not even notice you are wearing them.
  • Being an “essential” line for Oticon means they are less expensive but they still feature much of the same technology and many of the same features as other lines.
  • BrainHearing technology.
  • Connect seamlessly to almost any smartphone or Bluetooth enabled device. 
  • 2.4 GHz Bluetooth low energy technology means that even when you are streaming from other devices you do not waste too much of your battery.
  • Uses Oticon’s popular “Velox” platform.
  • Multiband Adaptive Directionality.
  • Great speech clarity and processing speeds fast enough so that there is no delay.
  • The If This Then That (IFTTT) feature, also known as the “Internet of Things,” allows your Siya hearing aid to connect to and communicate with other things in your home.
  • You can choose between 5 different styles and multiple colors.
  • Solutions available whether your have mild or profound hearing loss and anything in between.

Cons

  • The OPN S by Oticon is moderately more expensive but has their highest end features.
  • There is not a rechargeable option.
  • There are no BTE options either, you would have to move to the Oticon Ruby if you prefer these styles.

Features & Benefits 

  • Design/type of hearing aid

Oticon Siya hearing aids are all ITE hearing aids with no Behind-The-Ear (BTE) options. Oticon began producing the “Ruby” line of hearing aids to take over as the “essential” line of BTE hearing aids. Oticon Siya hearing aids come in each of the following styles from the most to the least discreet:

  • Invisible In the Canal (IIC)
  • Completely In the Canal (CIC)
  • In The Canal (ITC)
  • In The Ear Half Shell (ITE HS)
  • In The Ear Full Shell (ITE FS)
  • Fit and Wearability

With the 5 styles listed above, there is an option for anyone who is looking for an ITE hearing aid. The IIC and CIC devices are great for discretion but can be difficult to get in and out or adjust. The ITC, HS, and FS styles are more user-friendly but they are also not as discreet. There are custom options as well that you should discuss with your audiologist so that you can make sure you are getting the best fit possible and all of the features that you need for your level of hearing loss.

  • Performance

One of the biggest downsides of the Oticon Siya is that there is no rechargeable option. While many of the styles feature 2.4 GHz Bluetooth low energy technology, and because of that last a long time compared to other disposable battery hearing aids, the lack of a rechargeable hearing aid limits the Siya’s appeal. 

It is important to note that with both the performance and sound quality features, you should look at the “On App” section to learn about all the Oticon Siya has to offer.

  • Sound quality
    • Directionality

The Siya line of hearing aids features multiband adaptive directionality so that it analyzes the sound environment up to 100 times per second. After each time, the focus of the microphones is changed to reflect the sound environment allowing the hearer to decide which sound/speech is most important and the hearing aid reacts to that.

  • Speech Rescue LX

Speech rescue, including a soft speech booster, shifts the frequencies of the speech around you to one that you are experiencing the lowest amount of hearing loss.

  • Noise cancellation

Reduces background noises so that you can hear the things that you want to hear, specifically speech and those noises that are happening directly in front of you. The processing speed allows it to even reduce the noise that you can hear in-between words.

Reduces feedback over time as the device learns when feedback is most common, in the Siya 2 it stops feedback before it even starts.

Changes the frequencies of the sounds that come in that are out of your hearing range to frequencies within your hearing range.

  • Streaming

While the lack of a rechargeable option is the Siya’s biggest negative, the streaming capabilities of the device is probably their biggest positive. You get in-stereo sound when streaming music and high end sound quality when streaming any audio from televisions to tablets and anything in between. You can also stream for longer because of the low energy technology.

  • Accessories
    • ConnectClip

Oticon Xceed hearing aids are iPhone compatible, but with the ConnectClip you can connect to any smartphone with Bluetooth capability.

  • TV Adapter

Stream the audio from your television directly to your earpieces and you can even adjust your personal television volume without messing with anyone else.

  • Hearing Aid Charger 

There is a rechargeable option with the Ruby family of hearing aids, and the charger that comes with it uses inductive charging technology. That means that there are no “connections” that have to be contacted for the charging to happen, simply place the hearing aids on the charger and 3 hours later you have a full charge goof for 20 hours of listening time or more.

  • Remote Control

A remote control will connect directly to your hearing aids so that you can adjust volume, settings, etc. with a discreet handheld device.

Unique Perks and Features

  • Bluetooth connectivity

These are iPhone ready devices that connect to an iPhone with Bluetooth technology. You can make hands-free calls, listen to streaming audio and video, and tap into any feature that the iPhone offers. You can also connect to many Android phones but some smartphones require either an accessory or an app to connect. 2.4 GHz Bluetooth low energy technology means that even when you are streaming from other devices you do not waste too much of your battery. 

  • Oticon ON App
  • BrainHearing

BrainHearing is the basis for most Oticon hearing aids right now and was developed to help with speech clarity, reduced listening effort, and improved short-term recall. This new technology hinges on the idea that, “your ears collect sound, but it is your brain that understands it.” Oticon believes that when your brain does not receive enough sound information, you will not understand what people are saying or what is going on around you. BrainHearing technology takes into account the brain’s role in hearing while remaining focused on what the ear does as well.

One of the key pieces of technology that came from BrainHearing is called a deep neural network (DNN). A DNN is a type of machine learning that mimics the way the brain works, and Oticon was able to apply this to their hearing aids. Oticon hearing aid DNNs are trained with millions and millions of real-life sound scenes such as restaurants, sporting events, classroom lectures, train stations, etc. The DNN then attempted to identify and balance each sound in each sound scene, and through a system of trial and error, DNNs learned how to process sound correctly and to prioritize the most important sounds to you in a given environment.

  • Personalization/Customization/Adjustments

Your audiologist can really help you personalize and customize your Oticon Siya hearing aid. From custom ear molds to personalized sound settings, an expert in the field of audiology will make your hearing aids work optimally for your situation. The majority of audiologists will also help you throughout the life of your hearing aids to make adjustments to the fit and settings of your device. With the ON app, your audiologist can even make remote changes to your device so that you may not even have to go into the office.

Oticon Siya hearing aids can mask tinnitus by balancing or canceling the ringing sound in your ear with a more pleasing soundscape such as ocean noises, music, relaxation guides, etc.

Cost

The Oticon Siya line of hearing aids are the “essential” line of ITE hearing aids by Oticon. As such, you will be able to find them for a better price than the OPN or higher end models. While the cost of a hearing aid depends on a myriad of factors like the amount of service you receive from your audiologist, which accessories you purchase, and how customized you want your experience, you can expect to pay between $1,300 and $3,000 per unit for the Oticon Siya.

FAQs

  • How much does the Oticon Siya cost?

The Siya line of products is less expensive than any other ITE hearing aids that Oticon offer. They are also some of the least expensive hearing aids from a high end brand like Oticon that you will find. You could pay as little as $1,300 per device, and that is a great starting point.

  • Is Oticon better than Starkey?

Hearing aid brands like Oticon, Phonak, ReSound, Starkey, etc. are all generally comparable in quality and in what they can do. The thing that you have to decide is what is most important for you in a hearing aid purchase and match that to the strengths of the brand. Oticon’s strengths are its processing speeds, speech clarity, app, and connectivity.

  • What is the Oticon Siya life expectancy?

You get a 3-year manufacturer warranty with most Oticon devices including most in the Siya line. You can expect an Oticon Siya to last at least that long and even upwards of 7 to 8 years.

The Oticon Siya offers five different ITE styles that range from almost undetectable to a “full shell” model that fills your ear. It is in the “essential” line of products for Oticon which means it comes at an excellent price, but Oticon has done a great job of carrying a lot of the most important technology in their essential line. You still get the ON app, BrainHearing, and a fast microchip on the Velox platform which means great sound quality and fast processing speeds, you just do not get some of the more specialized and customizable features that you would find in the higher end lines. Talk to your audiologist about how important those features are for you and how much they would affect your hearing because the Siya could be exactly what you need at a price that is more affordable.

Dr. Taylor Chabot

Taylor joined Atlantic Hearing Care in June 2018 and is certified in the CogniHear Program to provide cognitive hearing health services. She brings a high level of enthusiasm for all things hearing and is helping to develop our cochlear implant services and cognitive hearing health services.
Table of Contents

Dr. Taylor Chabot

Taylor joined Atlantic Hearing Care in June 2018 and is certified in the CogniHear Program to provide cognitive hearing health services. She brings a high level of enthusiasm for all things hearing and is helping to develop our cochlear implant services and cognitive hearing health services.
Table of Contents