Voting Now Open for Oticon ‘2018 Focus on People Awards’

11 Jul , 2018

Voting Now Open for Oticon ‘2018 Focus on People Awards’

Voting is now open for the 2018 Oticon “Focus on People Awards” at www.Oticon.com/FOP, the hearing aid manufacturer announced. People are invited to cast their votes for the 12 finalists who represent what Oticon calls the “best of the best“ from this year’s nominations in each of four categories—Student, Adult, Advocacy, and Practitioner. The total number of votes received by each finalist will help to determine who will be the first-, second-, and third-place winners in each category.

Created in 1997, the Oticon Focus on People Awards was reportedly the first national awards’ program to recognize everyday people doing amazing things, who also happened to have hearing loss. More than 20 years later, the program continues to create awareness that changes attitudes and opens doors of opportunity for all people with hearing loss.

Through the voting process, Oticon aims to reach as many people as possible with the inspiring stories of the program’s finalists and by doing so, to help change outdated stereotypes that discourage people from seeking professional help for their hearing loss.

“Every vote is a public affirmation that hearing loss does not limit a person’s ability to achieve, contribute, and inspire,” said Nancy Palmere, director of consumer marketing and public relations. “Over the 20 years of this national awards’ program, tens of thousands of votes by individuals across the US have helped us to show that people with hearing loss can be role models not just for others with hearing loss, but for all of us!”

The 2018 Oticon Focus on People Awards finalists, like the more than 270 finalists before them, range from students who have accomplished much in a very few years to adults who use their unique talents to open worlds of possibilities for others with hearing loss. They include passionate advocates who have logged thousands of hours on behalf of hearing causes and dedicated practitioners whose caring and commitment consistently go above and beyond.

To vote and to learn more about the Oticon Focus on People Awards, visit www.Oticon.com/FOP. Voting is open through August 24, 2018. Winners will be announced in October.

Oticon is a hearing aid manufacturer based in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 1904 by Hans Demant, whose wife was hearing impaired. The company claims to be the world’s second-largest manufacturer of hearing aids, and uses a management style known as “Spaghetti Organization” introduced by Lars Kolind, under his leadership between 1988 and 1998.The company is a subsidiary of the William Demant Holding Group.

Oticon has branches in several countries, including a production plant in Poland, with more than 3,000 employees worldwide.

In 2016 Oticon launched what they claim to be the world’s first internet-connected hearing aid, called the Oticon Opn. The company employs an “open sound” approach designed to manage multiple speech and noise sources, even in complex listening situations. The company says the new OpenSound Navigator scans the environment 100 times per second to analyze and balance every sound individually. Environmental sounds are said to be accessible, but not disturbing.

Source: Oticon

Image credit: Oticon