Hearing News
Bluetooth Hearing-Aid Products Debut
Starkey Laboratories announced its Bluetooth Eli (Ear-Level Instrument) last week in a news release on the Advance for Audiologists website. Read more
Good Design Trumps All Else, Even In The Portable Bed-Shaker Market
OK, I finally bought the bed shaker I was stressing about in a post a few weeks ago. I’d been planning to buy Shake Awake, because several people had recommended it to me. But I went with the Sonic Shaker portable vibrating alarm clock from Sonic Alert instead. Read more
Neckloops For Telecoil-Equipped Hearing Aids Are Cool
When I got my first neckloop two years ago, I marveled at its simplicity and utility. It’s little more than a cord of insulated stereo-speaker wire that I loop around my neck and plug into a microphone or other source. But then, through the miracle of electro-magnetic induction, it transmits pure sound directly into my telecoil-equipped hearing aids. Read more
Postmodern Man: Michael Chorost’s Cochlear-Implant Book, Rebuilt, Is About A Whole Lot More Than Cochlear Implants
You can learn everything you ever wanted to know about cochlear implants, and more, from Michael Chorost’s new book, Rebuilt: How Becoming Part Computer Made Me More Human. Read more
In Memoriam: Jack Kilby Made Today’s Hearing Aids Possible
It’s a little-known fact that Jack Kilby, the inventor of the microchip, was also a hearing-aid pioneer. The Texas Instruments engineer and Nobel Prize winner’s death yesterday at the age of 81 has spurred a slew of stories about the invention of the integrated circuit and the dawn of the computer age. Read more
A Plug For Earplugs (And For Newsweek, Too)
The recent Newsweek hearing-loss cover story (“A Little Bit Louder, Please”) was the biggest, most complete and most prominent coverage of this vital issue in the 21st century so far. With nearly half the story devoted to the many simple steps people can take to prevent hearing loss now and in the future, Newsweek actually made the deadly dull topic of prevention interesting — a near-impossible feat. Read more
Newsweek Hearing-Loss Cover Story: I Guess Half A Loaf Is Better Than None At All
While the Newsweek cover story this week is notable for the attention it gives to hearing loss as a major societal issue, it’s also notable for what it doesn’t cover. But at least the cover picture is worth a million words. Read more
California Dreaming About Hearing-Hair Replacement
Let’s talk hair-replacement therapy. No, I’m not talking about premature baldness, Rogaine or Hair Club for Men. I’m talking about the 15,000 hair-like cells we have in each cochlea at birth that are responsible for translating sound waves from the ear drum into electrical signals the brain can decode as speech, music, a baby crying and all other sounds. When these cells die due to natural aging processes, trauma, or exposure to too much noise or otoxic drugs, we experience sensorineurial hearing loss, the most common form of hearing impairment. Read more