This Week in Hearing

What does hearing have to do with performance on the pickleball court? Live from the American Academy of Audiology (AAA) Conference 2026 in San Antonio, Shari Eberts speaks with Christine Jones, Vice President of Marketing, Wholesale U.S. at Sonova, about Phonak’s new partnership with USA Pickleball and the launch of the nationwide “Hear to Win” campaign. The initiative aims to encourage a more pr...

What does it take to compete at the highest level of sport while growing up with hearing loss? In this conversation, U.S. ski jumper Estella Hassrick shares her journey—from being diagnosed with hereditary cochlear dysplasia at age three to competing on the U.S. national team. She discusses the realities of hearing loss in high-performance sports, including the challenges of wearing hearing aids u...

Could understanding individual sound preference be the key to improving hearing aid adoption and satisfaction? Bob Traynor, live from WSA headquarters in Copenhagen, speaks with Lise Henningsen, Head of Audiology Evidence & Validation at WSA, about the emerging concept of sound preference—and why it may be a missing piece in hearing care. Drawing on WSA’s latest research, they discuss how pati...

What happens when a once-in-a-lifetime travel experience is made truly accessible? In this conversation, Shari Eberts speaks with Dr. Alison Richard—former Provost of Yale and a leading primatologist—about a recent trip to Madagascar and the Seychelles. While the journey itself was memorable, one thing that stood out was how a simple tool—PowerPoint captions—transformed the experience for particip...

In Part 2 of this conversation, the focus shifts from understanding tinnitus to how it’s actually managed. Dr. Jennifer Gans returns to speak with Shari Eberts about tinnitus management strategies. Building on their previous conversation, she outlines a practical framework for evaluating treatments, centered on three core elements: reducing anxiety, providing accurate education, and supporting ner...

Dr. Harvey Dillon’s career in audiology spans more than four decades of research, innovation, and leadership that have helped shape modern hearing care around the world. A former Director of the National Acoustic Laboratories and Professor of Audiology at both Macquarie University and the University of Manchester, Dr. Dillon’s work bridges psychoacoustics, engineering, and clinical practice, influ...

The NAL-NL3 fitting algorithm is now entering clinical practice, following GN’s recent global rollout—marking a significant evolution from the widely used NL2 standard. In this discussion, Pádraig Kitterick of the National Acoustic Laboratories explains how NL3 moves beyond a “one-size-fits-all” approach, introducing new modules designed for real-world listening challenges, including speech in noi...

Hearing loss affects millions of people across all ages—but you wouldn’t know it from mainstream media. New data from a multi-country survey reveals just how rarely hearing aids and cochlear implants are seen in everyday media—and how often those portrayals miss the mark. Andrew Bellavia speaks with Ceri Whittaker, Senior External Relations Manager at GN, who leads communications around initiative...

How has cochlear implant care evolved—and are clinical practices keeping pace with today’s technology? Brian Taylor speaks with Dr. Terry Zwolan, Senior Director of Medical Affairs at Cochlear Americas, about the evolution of cochlear implants and the newly developed Cochlear ™ Care Consensus . Drawing on more than three decades of experience, Dr. Zwolan reflects on how cochlear implant technology...

What if cochlear implant care didn’t always require a trip to the clinic? Host Shari Eberts speaks with Dr. Kensi Saia, Product Manager at MED-EL, about how new telehealth tools are changing the way cochlear implant recipients and clinicians connect. MED-EL’s Remote Care platform and HearCare app allow audiologists to monitor devices, review patient data, and even make programming adjustments with...

Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) remains one of the more complex and often misunderstood areas in audiology. In this week’s episode of This Week in Hearing, host Bob Traynor is joined by Dr. Frank Musiek to discuss the upcoming third annual “Quest for the Best in CAPD and Neuroaudiology” Pathways Symposium, a virtual event taking place March 28.During the conversation, Dr. Musiek outlin...

Tinnitus care is no longer just about masking sound—it’s about treating the whole person. This week, Shari Eberts speaks with Dr. Maren Stropahl, Senior Director of Holistic Hearing Care and Head of Audiology for Sonova’s retail organization, about why tinnitus requires a broader, more integrated approach. Dr. Stropahl explains that tinnitus is not simply an “ear problem,” but a complex interactio...

How are over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids evolving as the market continues to develop? This week, host Bob Traynor speaks with David Hogan, Managing Director of ELEHEAR, about the growth of the OTC category and how new technologies are shaping consumer hearing solutions. Hogan brings more than 30 years of experience in audio wearables and hearing technology, including previous roles with GN and...

Every year, World Hearing Day brings global attention to one of the most common — and often overlooked — public health challenges: hearing loss. In this discussion, experts from the World Health Organization and the global hearing health community explain the purpose and impact of World Hearing Day, an international initiative focused on improving awareness, prevention, and access to ear and heari...

What if the future of hearing technology doesn’t sit inside the ear at all? At CES 2026, one of the most important trends was the rapid rise of open-ear hearing devices — from smart hearing glasses and clip-on assistive audio to bone-conduction and hybrid speaker systems. In this special recap, Andrew Bellavia explores how companies including Cearvol, Knowles, xMEMS, Mimi, Absolute Audio Labs, and...

What if advanced AI noise reduction could run efficiently on standard hearing device hardware? In this episode, Dave Kemp speaks with Aernout Arends of Absolute Audio Labs and Zengyi “Boltzmann” Li of Aizip about how platform-based hearing architectures and tiny AI models are reshaping the future of hearing technology. The discussion centers on the integration of Aizip’s AI-driven speech and noise...

What does Auracast actually feel like in a real-world performance? In this episode, Andrew Bellavia visits the Marriott Theatre near Chicago, where he was invited to personally experience Auracast during a live production and speak with the people behind its implementation. The deployment brought broadcast audio into a working theater environment, giving hearing aid users—and others—the opportunit...

What makes tinnitus distressing for some people—but barely noticeable for others? In this in-depth conversation, clinical psychologist and tinnitus researcher Dr. Jennifer Gans explains why tinnitus is best understood not simply as a sound, but as a brain-driven experience. Drawing on neuroscience, clinical experience, and mindfulness-based research, she explores how the brain’s response—rather th...

What if hearing technology didn’t try to hide—but instead embraced visibility and style? In this conversation, Nick Morgan-Jones shares his personal journey with hearing loss and the stigma that kept him from wearing hearing aids for years. That experience led him to found Overtone , a consumer-focused hearing technology brand aiming to rethink how hearing devices look, feel, and fit into everyday...

Why do so many people delay hearing care—even after acknowledging a problem or receiving a recommendation? In this conversation, hearing instrument specialist and researcher Bobbi-Jo Marlatt explores how motivational interviewing (MI) can help hearing care professionals better support patients who feel uncertain, ambivalent, or overwhelmed about treatment. Drawing on her new book, Motivational Int...

What will it take for accessible audio to become the norm rather than the exception in public spaces? In this conversation, Andrew Bellavia is joined by Paul Daft of GN and journalist and accessibility advocate Liam O’Dell to explore the growing momentum behind Auracast and its potential to reshape how people access sound in venues such as theaters, cultural spaces, and other public environments....

Dr. Richard W. “Dick” Danielson’s career in audiology spans decades of service, leadership, and innovation across the U.S. Army, academic medicine, and NASA. A retired Army Colonel and former manager of Audiology and Hearing Conservation at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Dr. Danielson has dedicated his professional life to reducing the risk of hearing loss among military personnel, astronauts, and t...

What does accessible audio look like when it’s designed for real-world environments—not just controlled settings? In this conversation, Jonathan Hoskin of Ampetronic explains how Auracast was deployed at Bristol Temple Meads railway station to deliver clear station announcements directly to personal devices such as hearing aids, cochlear implants, earbuds, and smartphones. Host Andrew Bellavia spe...

Where do the best ideas in hearing aid innovation come from, and how do they reach patients? In this conversation, Dr. Jason Galster, Vice President of Clinical Research at Sonova , explains how hearing aid research moves from early feasibility to clinical readiness and post-market studies. He discusses how research ideas originate—from clinicians, academic partners, and internal technology roadma...

Widex has expanded its Allure™ hearing aid platform with new form factors and charging options, giving hearing care professionals more flexibility across a wider range of patient needs. In this discussion, Dana Helmink, Au. D., Senior Director of Clinical Development at WSA, walks through the addition of a rechargeable Allure BTE, Widex’s first rechargeable ITE, and a new portable charger for the...