Hearing Aids
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
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
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
Opinion: Hearing Aid Pricing Should be More Transparent
Hearing Aid Pricing Should Be More TransparentThe recent Consumer Reports survey of hearing-aid pricing and fitting practices highlighted a growing problem for the hearing-aid industry. Increasingly, consumers are starting to wonder why a few small digital components that can be purchased individually from wholesalers for tens of dollars each (digital signal processor, microphone,... Read more
Consumer Reports Survey Finds Resellers Routinely Double Wholesale Prices of Hearing Aids
A Consumer Reports Magazine investigation of hearing-aid sales and fitting practices found that resellers commonly mark up the prices of new hearing aids more than 100 percent over the wholesale prices paid to manufacturers. In a major report published in the magazine’s July issue, Consumer Reports editors followed a dozen hearing-impaired patients for 6 months as they... Read more
You Can Trade In Old Hearing Aids For $200 Back From America Hears
If you don’t want to grind up your old unused hearing aids in a blender as seen in the funny Blendtec video, and if you have already made your charitable donations for the year and don’t feel you need to donate them for recycling, there is another way to get them out of your drawer: you can trade in two of your old aids for $200 off the price of a pair of new digital... Read more
Blendtec Shows What You Can Do With Your Unused Hearing Aids
Are you tired of seeing your father’s hearing aids sitting unused in the drawer? Do you want to send him a message he won’t forget? Visit one of the funniest web sites I’ve seen recently. Read more Read More →
Yes, You Can Buy Premium-Quality Digital Hearing Aids Over The Internet
I recently got a new pair of hearing aids, and I’m as excited as if I’d just bought a new sports car. One of the reasons I’m so happy is that I was able to take ownership of the process for the first time by getting them from America Hears, Inc., which sells and supports hearing-aid consumers directly over the internet. Read more Read More →