The HIA Industry News helps keep readers informed of legislation impacting hearing health, hearing aid technology innovations, updates on hearing device manufacturing companies, and more.
July 19, 2023 – PRNewswire
Beltone Named One of the Best Retailers in Hearing Care for 2023 by Newsweek, Two Years in a Row
For over 83 years, Beltone has committed to providing exceptional hearing care to its patients as reflected in its 40,000 5-star Google reviews and recently also being ranked #1 on Newsweek's list of America's Best Customer Service for 2023 in the Hearing Care category.
July 18, 2023 – Audiology Worldnews
Hearing aid sales grew in Europe in 2022. Is this because of greater awareness of hearing health?
In issuing this healthy 2022 figure, the European Hearing Instrument Manufacturers Association (EHIMA) pointed to evidence from its multi-national survey - EuroTrak - showing that "awareness of the various benefits of hearing care has increased in several countries".
July 13, 2023 – Hearing Health & Technology Matters
Starkey’s Genesis AI Wins Gold Globee Award in the 2023 American Business Awards
This annual international award recognizes outstanding products that set industry benchmarks in excellence. This is the second consecutive year Starkey has received this recognition and marks the fifth award won for the completely redesigned hearing technology since its launch this February.
July 12, 2023 – Hearing Health & Technology Matters
This Week in Hearing Turns 2! A Look Back at the Top 10 Episodes of the Past Year
Since first launching in July 2021, the hosts of This Week in Hearing have conducted more than 150 interviews – exploring the latest trends, technologies and developments across the world of hearing. To celebrate this latest milestone, we thought we’d share with you our most popular episodes over the past 12 months.
July 7, 2023 – AudiologyOnline
The program is designed to connect with and provide expert advice to the next generation of hearing care professionals (HCPs) and is free to register for all students in audiology doctorate programs.
July 7, 2023 – Hearing Tracker
Hearing Loss Increases Fatigue in People Ages 40 and Older, Study Shows
A total of 12.7% of respondents with hearing loss reported feeling fatigued nearly every day over 2 weeks, whereas only 7% of adults with normal hearing reported the same level of fatigue.
July 5, 2023 – Hearing Health & Technology Matters
Amplifon Partners with Next Age to Support Startups in the Silver Economy
Amplifon’s involvement in this initiative will provide opportunities for collaboration with new startups in the Silver Economy, particularly in the hearing care sector, while also gaining insights into emerging technologies and business models.
June 29, 2023 – GlobeNewswire
Sandy Brandmeier to Serve as Hearing Industries Association Chair, Succeeding Gary Rosenblum
The Hearing Industries Association (HIA), the only association in America to represent hearing aid technology, is pleased to announce the appointment of Sandy Brandmeier, President of Hearing Instruments Wholesale for Sonova USA, as the new Chair of the Board of Directors, effective July 1. Board members of HIA elected Ms. Brandmeier unanimously to this position.
June 29, 2023 – Audiology Online
The updated website, www.beltone.com, has been designed to provide a seamless and user-friendly experience for patients and caregivers while also delivering valuable data through an easy-to-access and comprehensive dashboard for independent owners.
June 15, 2023 – National Library of Medicine
These findings suggest that use of hearing aids - especially consistent hearing aid use - is associated with lower odds of experiencing a fall or being classified as at risk for falls in older individuals with hearing loss.
June 14, 2023 – The Hearing Review
Optimizing Sound Quality to Reach More People with Tinnitus
For many, Widex PureSound, which has been optimized for mild-to-moderate hearing loss, can overcome the hurdle of poor sound quality. Combined with sound therapy options in Widex SoundRelax and Zen, this provides hearing care professionals with a strong and flexible offering for patients with tinnitus.
June 12, 2023 – Audiology Online
Rigorous testing has shown Genesis AI rechargeable hearing aids can withstand the elements. In the latest episode of Starkey Sound Bites, Starkey’s Vice President of Quality and Regulatory, Brian Dahl, dives into the research and development of these devices.
May 24, 2023 – Hearing Tracker
Starkey’s Genesis AI Hearing Aids Win 2023 Stevie Award
As the nation’s premier business awards program receiving more than 3,700 nominations this year, the Stevie Awards recognize excellence in the workplace, and mark the fourth product innovation and design award won by Genesis AI since its launch this February.
May 23, 2023 – ReSound.com
ReSound “Gift of Hearing” campaign helps hundreds
With the help of 209 hearing care practices in 47 states, ReSound today announces that 260 people received 519 hearing aids free of charge as part of the annual Gift of Hearing donation campaign that ran December 2022 through April 2023.
May 18, 2023 – JAMA Network
Potential Clinical and Economic Outcomes of Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids in the US
In this cost-effectiveness analysis, provision of OTC hearing aids was associated with greater uptake of hearing intervention and was cost-effective over a range of prices so long as OTC hearing aids were greater than 55% as beneficial to patient quality of life as traditional hearing aids.
May 17, 2023 – Hearing Matters Podcast
Change is Inevitable. Growth is Optional. Feat. Dr. Dave Fabry and Brandon Sawalich | Starkey
In this episode, Starkey President and CEO, Brandon Sawalich, and Dr. Dave Fabry highlight growing opportunities for hearing healthcare professionals to help more people than ever before. This May, which is the first Better Hearing and Speech Month since the FDA created a new category for OTC hearing aids, Sawalich reflects on how hearing healthcare professionals can take advantage of OTC as a steppingstone towards greater awareness about hearing health.
May 11, 2023 – BusinessWire
Knowles Gifts $200K to Advance Gender Diversity in Engineering
Knowles Corporation today announced it has committed $200,000 to the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) College of Engineering to support the enrollment and academic success of female students pursuing STEM degrees. As part of a perennial sponsorship from Knowles, this year's donation supports the university’s efforts to empower diverse groups of students to access opportunities in the engineering field.
May 11, 2023 – Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
Association of perception of patient-centered care with hearing loss by race
In a sample of Americans over 50 years old, hearing loss was associated with higher odds of perceiving suboptimal patient-centered care during healthcare encounters. This may be attributable to hearing loss as a barrier to effective patient–provider communication which limits the ability to adequately express care preferences and participate in care decisions.
May 9, 2023 – Sage Journals
Influence of Hearing Loss on Social Participation in Older Adults: Results From a Scoping Review
Early detection of hearing loss, holistic assessment, and interdisciplinary intervention and collaboration remain the key recommendations in promoting social participation for older adults with hearing loss. The stigma of hearing loss in society as well as the shortage of personnel in many social and health care professions remains the major challenges in improving social participation of older adults with hearing loss.
May 9, 2023 – PRNewswire
The new centers feature a design concept that is modern, innovative, welcoming, and engaging; open spaces and product displays; available use of in-center technology such as QR codes, iPads, and interactive displays; key touchpoints that include a welcome hub, solutions wall, as well as calming and professional consultation rooms.
May 9, 2023 – AudiologyOnline
Starkey Sound Bites Discusses Impact of Hearing Loss on the U.S. Armed Forces
A recent study published in the American Journal of Audiology shows self-reported prevalence of bothersome tinnitus in the U.S. Army is at 17%, substantially higher than that of the general population, which is around 6.6%. In observance of Military Appreciation Month and Better Hearing Month, the most recent episode of Starkey Sound Bites takes a closer look with guest Dr. Brandon Rawlings.
May 2, 2023 – PRNewswire
Thus far, responses indicate that Widex SoundRelax delivers a significant improvement in tinnitus severity within the critical first month of treatment and trends toward continued improvement over time. Additionally, the visual analogue scales showed a trend toward better relaxation, concentration, and mood over the four-month period.
May 2, 2023 – AudiologyOnline
Unitron Launches Vivante, the Newest Platform Offering its Best Sound Performance Yet
Unitron is thrilled to announce the launch of Vivante, a platform designed to enhance listener experience through personalized hearing control. The newest platform from Unitron, Vivante integrates improved sound performance, new designs and a suite of Experience Innovations with the Remote Plus app to deliver a customized listening experience.
May 1, 2023 – PRNewswire
Hearing aid innovator Signia today announced that its industry-leading Augmented Xperience (AX) portfolio is now available with enhancements to military veterans through U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) audiologists, active military members through U.S. Department of Defence (DoD) audiologists, and American Indians through the Indian Health Service (IHS).
May 1, 2023 – AudiologyOnline
Oticon Real represents the next step in BrainHearing™ technology, providing access to the full spectrum of real-world sounds with exceptional detail and clarity. New technologies balance sudden disruptive sounds and clean up wind and handling noise while significantly reducing listening effort, so veterans can be comfortable and stay sharp in the real world.
April 26, 2023 – AudiologyOnline
Signia Hosts “Go Higher with Signia Aspire” Event in Orlando for Hearing Care Professionals
Designed to inspire and educate, the event brought together HCPs from across the country and provided the opportunity to network and earn CEUs through widespread course offerings while taking advantage of fun, unique interactive entertainment experiences.
April 26, 2023 – The Hearing Review
Veterans Guide Offers Hearing Loss, Tinnitus Resource
The guide features an overview of hearing loss and tinnitus, explaining possible causes and ways to tell the issues apart. It also explains the available treatment options and how veterans can obtain coverage for their conditions.
April 26, 2023 – AudiologyOnline
The non-profit Oticon Hearing Foundation has designated a grant of $30,000 for scholarships for the 2023–24 academic year, with up to $20,000 in scholarships to be awarded to Black graduate students on their journey to becoming audiologists.
April 24, 2023 – AudiologyOnline
Innovative Technology to Handle the Disruptions of the Real World
Virginia Ramachandran, AuD, PhD, Head of Audiology for Oticon, Inc., discusses how the innovative technology in Oticon Real™ gives access to the full spectrum of real-world sounds while protecting against sudden disruptive sound that challenges 7 out of 10 hearing aid users.
April 17, 2023 – Hearing Tracker
Rexton Launches Four New Behind-the-Ear (BTE) Hearing Aids, Including BiCore B-Li M Rugged
The new BiCore B-Li M Rugged is ideal for full-time use, matching the company’s reliable audio quality with significant durability enhancements and a smaller, more discrete size that improves comfort and aesthetics.
April 12, 2023 – AudiologyOnline
Widex USA Inc. today announced that it will demonstrate its latest suite of hearing technologies at the AAA 2023+HearTECH Expo and conduct several expert-led courses on getting the most out of Widex technology. Attendees can visit Widex during AAA 2023 at Booth #422, April 19-22, at the Seattle Convention Center in Seattle, WA.
April 11, 2023 – The Hearing Review
NAL Releases 2022 Annual Impact Report
Looking ahead in 2023, a few members of the research team shared that they are focusing on ensuring hearing technologies and care are personalized to meet the needs of each individual, identifying determinants of intervention success in ongoing longitudinal studies in children with hearing loss, research and development of more accessible, useful, and impactful technologies for people with hearing health conditions, and enabling translational research impact through growing external engagement, as well as managing the impact framework at NAL and its innovation agenda.
April 7, 2023 – The Hearing Review
The Next Wave of Hearing Care: OTC Hearing Aids and Emerging Technologies
Join us for a webinar with Richard Einhorn, a music producer, engineer, composer, and hearing technology consultant, and Amy Sarow, AuD, the lead audiologist at Soundly. They will discuss the latest advancements in hearing technology and sound integration, including Bluetooth LE, Auracast, personal assistive listening devices, and public assistive listening technologies.
April 3, 2023 – AGS Journals
It is time to change our message about hearing loss and dementia
In a commentary published in the 'Journal of the American Geriatric Society,' Drs. Blustein, Weinstein, and Chodosh favor more constructive messages that motivate people to take action on their hearing loss, like "Hearing better can help you think better."
April 4, 2023 – Hearing Tracker
Phonak Slim Joins Lumity Hearing Aid Family, Combining Style with Performance
The introduction of Slim follows the August 2022 introduction of Phonak's flagship Lumity hearing aid line, which is the first to run on AutoSense OS™ 5.0 and delivers new speech enhancement and directional microphone features for better speech clarity—especially in background noise.
April 3, 2023 – AudiologyOnline
Starkey’s Dr. Sara Burdak Explains “The Why” Behind Genesis AI
From fitting software that works in a matter of minutes, to a more intuitive app, learn about the decisions that went into Genesis AI – all of them with the provider in mind.
March 30, 2023 – Hearing Tracker
Phonak CROS Paradise Hearing Aids Now Compatible with myPhonak App
As predicted last week in a HearingTracker update by Audiologist Matthew Allsop, Phonak has now released a highly anticipated update to its myPhonak app that provides support for Phonak CROS™ Paradise systems.
March 30, 2023 – The Hearing Review
Interview with Laurel Christensen, PhD, Chief Audiology Officer at GN Hearing
The Hearing Review’s chief editor, Kathryn Sutherland, sat down with Laurel Christensen, PhD, chief audiology officer at GN Hearing, to discuss the new Resound OMNIA hearing aid line and the launch of the OMNIA miniRIE, which will be presented at AAA +HearTech 2023 exposition in April.
March 30, 2023 – The Hearing Review
Economic Headwinds Flatten Hearing Aid Sales in 2022
When looking at both the commercial and VA markets, about 36,000 more hearing aids were sold in 2022 compared to 2021, with 22,000 fewer units sold in private practices and the commercial sector and 58,000 more units in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, according to statistic generated by the Hearing Industries Association (HIA), Washington, DC.
March 23, 2023 – FCC.gov
FCC Seeks Comment on Hearing Aid Compatibility (HAC) Task Force Report and Waiver Request
The Report filed by the HAC Task Force regarding its recommendations for achieving 100% hearing aid compatibility for wireless handsets. The Report makes five central recommendations…Comments are due 30 days after the date of release, and reply comments are due 45 days after the date of release.
March 22, 2023 – Sage Journals
The results largely corroborate and extend the findings of recent analyses of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for a similar period (2011–2020). Overall, for males, 18.5% (95% CI [18.2%–18.8%]) had self-reported trouble hearing and 76.6% [76.0%–77.2%] of these individuals had never used hearing aids and, for females 13.1% [12.9%–13.4%] had trouble hearing and 79.5% [78.9%–80.1%] of these individuals had never used hearing aids.
March 22, 2023 – Hearing Tracker
This is the 15th consecutive year that Oticon has supported the national conference that provides an opportunity for networking and collaboration between the audiologists treating our active duty service men and women and those working with our nation’s Veterans.
March 22, 2023 – Hearing Health & Technology Matters
Inside Starkey’s Genesis AI Technology: A Closer Look with Dave Fabry, Ph.D.
This week, host Andrew Bellavia is joined by Dave Fabry, the Chief Innovation Officer of Starkey. In this episode, the pair discuss the development of the newly launched Genesis AI hearing aids, which was a process that is said to have taken over 5 years.
March 21, 2023 – ASHAWire
Consumer Survey on Hearing Aid Benefit and Satisfaction
The results highlight importance of good hearing aid outcomes (quality, fit/comfort, and battery life) for benefit and satisfaction ratings. Professionals who fit hearing aids should strive to focus on achieving these outcomes and researchers should strive to explain the remaining variability in ratings of benefit and satisfaction.
March 20, 2023 – The Hearing Review
Amplifon Announces Milestones and Achievements
Amplifon, a provider of hearing solutions and services, announces the publication of its Sustainability Report 2022, which notes several milestones and introduces new initiatives of the company’s ESG strategy…According to the company, in 2022 Amplifon made significant progress in all 4 areas of the company’s commitments.
March 16, 2023 – Hearing Health & Technology Matters
Unpacking the Technology: Starkey’s Achin Bhowmik, Ph.D., Shares High-Tech Details Behind Genesis AI
The technology is the smallest processor ever by Starkey, but also the most powerful with 6X more transistors. It is also loaded with 5X more computational memory and 10X the amount of non-volatile memory.
March 16, 2023 – The Hearing Review
RAYOVAC Showcases its Newest Sound Fusion Technology
Visitors will have the opportunity to visit the RAYOVAC exhibit to learn more about the company’s technology that is globally available to RAYOVAC Pro Line and EXTRA customers.
March 15, 2023 – Newswise
Hearing aids donated to Ukrainian refugees in response to article published in The Hearing Journal
In response to an article published in the February issue of The Hearing Journal, the audiology and hearing solutions company ReSound donated nearly 120 rechargeable hearing aids to address the hearing health care crisis among Ukrainian refugees in Poland.
March 15, 2023 – Sage Journals
The primary variables affecting HTLs were age and sex, with HTLs increasing steadily with age and being higher (worse) for males than females. The effects of race/ethnicity, specifically, Non-Hispanic Blacks having lower (better) HTLs than Non-Hispanic Whites, observed consistently in prior analyses of NHANES data were again observed in these analyses of the most recent NHANES data.
March 13, 2023 – AudiologyOnline
20Q: Hearing Aid Adoption — What MarkeTrak Surveys are Telling Us
In the past four years, two MarkeTrak surveys have been conducted, labeled MarkeTrak10 and MarkeTrak2022. The findings from these have been disseminated somewhat differently than in the past, with the results of each survey bein
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