Products
Can Hearing Aids Make You Smarter? Research On Cognitive Hearing and Listening Fatigue Says They Can — Is The Industry Finally Listening?
Cognitive Hearing Pioneer: Dr. Brent Edwards from Starkey Hearing Research Hearing aid manufacturers have finally started listening to ten years of academic research into concepts known as “cognitive hearing,” “listening fatigue” and “cognitive fatigue.” It took them long enough, but I’m not complaining, because at least they are finally... Read more
Able Planet’s Noise-Canceling Headphones Introduce True Hearing-Aid Technology To Consumer Electronics Industry
Able Planet's Noise Canceling Headphones Take on Bose Able Planet has been around a long time developing assistive listening products for the hearing-assistance industry based on its Linx Audio sound processing technology. But recently it has taken on a new look with a high-profile branding campaign and a new, broad line of high-end noise-canceling headphones, earphones... Read more
Starkey’s S Series iQ Hearing-Aid Family Attacks Hearing-In-Noise Problem
Starkey Laboratories S Series IQ With Voice IQ Noise-Reduction Anyone who has gone to dinner in a noisy restaurant only to discover their hearing aids were amplifying the cacophony to unbearable levels without enabling them to understand their companions at all will bear witness to the fact that better comprehension of speech in noise is the Holy Grail of the hearing-aid industry.... Read more
As The Economy Turns: Audiology NOW! Exhibitors Promise To Feed Hearing-Aid Market Turnaround With New Products And Technology
I just arrived in beautiful San Diego to attend the American Academy of Audiology’s annual conference, Audiology NOW!, which has become the premier North American showcase for new products and technologies from large and small hearing-aid manufacturers. There seems to be a little more excitement from an industry that has been pummeled by the recession and held to low-to-no-digit... Read more
Let’s Hope Siemens’ Decision To Stay In The Hearing-Aid Business Signals A Commitment To Innovation And New Products
Siemens Won't Spin Out Siemens Hearing After All It’s pretty certain now that Siemens will not divest its multi-billion-dollar hearing-aid business after all, having tried and failed to get its nearly $3-billion asking price from the private equity firms and other industry players that were in the bidding. It’s too bad none of the serious industry bidders would... Read more
How Big A Splash Will Panasonic Make In The U.S. Hearing-Aid Market?
Delain Wright, Panasonic Hearing Healthcare Group Panasonic’s announcement this week that it will start selling its line of hearing aids in the U.S. is huge for three reasons. Distribution: If Panasonic makes a serious investment in getting its products out to audiologists and consumers, it could dramatically realign the competitive landscape in the hearing-aid industry.... Read more
Oticon To Double The Processing Power Of Its Hearing Aids With New Flagship ‘Agil’ Family
Oticon to Introduce Agil Hearing-Aid Platform William Demant Holding Group’s Oticon hearing-aid brand is getting ready to introduce a new line of hearing aids with twice the processing power of its current flagship family and a new set of sound processing algorithms that the Denmark company claims will substantially improve users’ comprehension of speech in noise.... Read more
Hearing Aid Technology Is Finally Going To Work In Hearing Protection Market
Phonak Primero DPD Integrates Hearing Enhancement and Protection For a long time, the standard in hearing protection for the military, police and workers in noisy industrial environments was little more than a set of ill-fitting ear plugs. But blocking your hearing is often more dangerous than potentially losing it in noisy environments where inability to hear your colleague’s... Read more
Feel Good Department: Super Bowl Heroes Drew And Brittany Brees Give Big Assist To Hearing Protection Advocacy
Super Bowl MVP Brees Puts Son Baylen's Hearing First Credit Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees and his wife and partner-in-parenting Brittany with the biggest assist of the year for hearing protection advocacy. The feel-good story of the afternoon was when the future Hall-of-Fame quarterback shared a special moment with his year-old son Baylen just before hoisting the Lombardi trophy... Read more
Race To Acquire Siemens Hearing Aids Heats Up As Cochlear Ltd. And Synthes Join Fray
Reuters quotes sources saying Cochlear Ltd., one of three global suppliers of cochlear implant devices as well as a leader in bone-anchored hearing aids, intends to join two private equity firms in making a multi-billion dollar bid for Siemens Hearing Instruments, which is being spun off by its parent company. The report also says Synthes, a global medical equipment manufacturer,... Read more
America Hears, Inc. Upgrades Entire Hearing-Aid Line to 32-Channel Digital Signal Processors
America Hears Independence Hearing AidWith its new Independence Family of hearing aids, America Hears, Inc., has upgraded its entire family of digital hearing aids to 32-channel digital signal processors. And, in line with its stated goal of remaining the price/performance leader among hearing-aid manufacturers, it has set prices ranging from $799 to $1,299 per hearing aid,... Read more
HearUSA Scores Hearing-Aid Distribution Deal With AARP
HearUSA Signs Distribution Deal With AARPHearUSA, the U.S. chain of hearing-aid retail outlets, scored a major distribution deal with AARP Services, Inc. to offer discounted hearing aids and extended warranties to the nearly 40 million U.S. members of the world’s largest service organization for adults aged 50 and older. Next to an endorsement by Oprah, a distribution... Read more