Starkey Sound Bites: Hearing Aids, Tinnitus, and Hearing Healthcare

Send us Fan Mail Starkey’s Genesis AI is our greatest engineering achievement to date. The journey to reach the recent launch of Genesis AI began in 2017, when Achin Bhowmik, Ph. D. , stepped into the role of Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President of Engineering at Starkey. The former Intel Corporation executive and Starkey President and CEO Brandon Sawalich kept the project under w...

Send us Fan Mail World Hearing Day is observed every year on March 3. This year, to mark this important occasion, Dave sat down for an extended conversation with Dr. Sara Burdak, Starkey’s Chief Audiology Officer, and Michael Scholl, Starkey’s Executive Vice President of Corporate Relations. They discuss a wide range of topics related to the importance of better hearing, including the startling pr...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Jessica Dimmick wears many hats: audiologist, business owner and civic leader for the hearing industry. In this episode, she shares insights from across the wide spectrum of her career experience. Dr. Dimmick talks about her early days as an audiologist, and how she’s grown her practice, Hearing Doctors of the Heartland , across three states in the Midwest. She also offers ins...

Send us Fan Mail During Tinnitus Awareness Week, Dave dives into the topic with a Starkey subject matter expert: Dr. Jamie Hand. While you may be aware that veterans experience higher rates of tinnitus than the general public, you may be surprised to learn another group is at high risk -- dentists and dental hygienists. Dr. Hand talks about the findings of a study she conducted that show the need...

Send us Fan Mail From telehealth to OTC, Dr. Kent Collins has spent his career turning potential threats into growth opportunities for hearing care practices across the country. As the Global Director of Clinical Operations for Audibel, Dr. Collins has developed strategies for success and compiled the data to prove they work. In this episode, he and Dave talk tactics for business growth in this ne...

Send us Fan Mail Every case of hearing loss is unique, and so is every ear. Ray Woodworth understands this so well, he teaches a class called “The Ear is the Boss”. For more than 20 years, Woodworth has worked alongside Starkey founder Bill Austin, mastering the craft of custom hearing aid solutions. In this episode, he explains why understanding the structure of someone’s ear is the key to treati...

Send us Fan Mail The Honorable Alan Page joins Dave to talk about his hearing loss journey, fighting stigma, and why he requested blue Evolv AI custom hearing aids. He also reflects on a legendary career in which he broke many barriers, including as an MVP in the NFL and as a Minnesota Supreme Court Justice. Hear why Justice Page believes failure leads to more opportunities than success, and why h...

Send us Fan Mail Tracy Markley — acclaimed author, hearing aid wearer and fitness trainer who focuses on stroke survivors — joins Dave to discuss the many connections between stroke treatment and hearing loss treatment, the importance of shortening the time between diagnosis and treatment, smart uses for our Table Mic accessory, and the inspiration for her new book, “I’m Not Stupid, I Have Hearing...

Send us Fan Mail Jake Spano, Starkey’s Director of Corporate Social Responsibility, and Michael Scholl, EVP of Corporate Relations, kick off the holiday season by talking to Dave about Starkey Cares , its Neighbors in Need program, how hearing professionals can participate, and why something as small as the sound of jingling coins can make such a huge impact on a person’s life.   Link to full tran...

Send us Fan Mail Dave talks to Barbara Kelley, Executive Director of the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), about the organization’s mission of opening the world of communication to people with hearing loss, how they’re raising awareness of hearing aids, hearing aid adoption rates, and emerging technologies that are making the future of better hearing bright.   Link to full transcript

Send us Fan Mail For this National Protect Your Hearing Month, Dave talks to Luke Maresh, product manager for SoundGear , about loud jobs, the difference between passive and active hearing protection, why custom-fit products beat foamies every time, and the many ways adding SoundGear to your product portfolio is smart business both short term and long.   Link to transcript

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Grace Sturdivant, of OtoPro Technologies , joins Dave during National Protect Your Hearing Month to share how she got into the hearing conservation business, why more hearing care professionals should embrace and sell hearing protection products in their practices, and how focusing on the needs of patients always leads to good things.   Link to full transcript

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Sara Burdak, Starkey’s Chief Audiology Officer and EVP of Product Strategy, returns to the podcast for Healthy Aging Month to explain why treating hearing loss is key to helping us successfully age at home. She and Dave also discuss the latest release of our popular Evolv AI hearing aids — including updates to sound quality, Edge Mode and TeleHear — that take their performance...

Send us Fan Mail Peter Korn, Director of Accessibility for Amazon’s Devices organization, and Achin Bhowmik, Starkey’s Chief Technology Officer and EVP of Engineering, talk to Dave about the rapid pace of innovation specifically designed to help people with hearing loss. This includes their collaboration on Amazon’s Fire TV Cube , which enables it to stream exclusively to compatible Starkey hearin...

Send us Fan Mail In this special episode of Starkey Sound Bites, Brandon Sawalich, Starkey President and CEO, joins Dave to give his reaction to the FDA’s long-awaited over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid regulation, and explain why the hearing care professional will always be integral to better hearing.   Link to full transcript

Send us Fan Mail Dave invites best-selling author and serial entrepreneur Mike Maddock to the podcast to discuss what makes disruptive innovators tick, why it’s so difficult to change behavior, prediction markets, flourish forums, and why the most successful businesses have both ring leaders and idea monkeys.   Link to full transcript

Send us Fan Mail Professional athlete and longtime hearing aid wearer, Tyson Gillies , tells Dave what it’s like being an elite athlete with hearing loss, how he had to work extra hard to overcome other’s perception of his loss, the toll it takes on your mental health, and how — with help from his hearing professional and modern hearing technology — he’s been able to maintain his competitive edge....

Send us Fan Mail Disability rights advocate, public speaker and Vietnam veteran, Richard Pimentel, takes Dave through his hearing loss story, why he refused to change his dreams to fit his situation, how he became a key player during the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the difference between backpacks and baggage.   Link to full transcript

Send us Fan Mail Jessica Perez, Starkey’s Chief People Officer and Executive VP of Culture, sits down with Dave to explain how COVID blurred the lines between business and personal, why hiring for culture is so important, being your authentic self, flexible work policies, and creating an environment that cultivates success.   Link to full transcript

Send us Fan Mail Audibel’s Global Director of TeleHear and Clinical Training, Kristy Lowery, Ph. D., joins Dave to discuss the evolution of telehealth in the hearing industry, explain how the pandemic made it mainstream, share real world telehealth success stories, and make the case for why every hearing professional should implement it.   Link to full transcript

Send us Fan Mail While in town from his home in Zambia, Dr. Alfred Mwamba stops by the studio to share with Dave how he got into audiology via tennis, the idiosyncrasies of hearing loss and hearing health in Africa, advocating for better hearing, and making the choice to serve and change lives.   Link to full transcript

Send us Fan Mail What’s new in hearing aids? Which one is right for me? Can they relieve my tinnitus? And aren’t they all the same? Host Dave Fabry, Ph. D, Archelle Georgiou, MD, and Jamie Myers, Au. D. answer these questions and more in this special Better Hearing Month podcast.   Link to full transcript

Send us Fan Mail Dave invites Dr. Timothy Shriver, Chairman of The Special Olympics, to the podcast to discuss his organization’s alliance with Starkey Cares, never saying “I’m just…”, putting the power of connections over “things”, and creating a movement that’s a welcome place for people who want to make a difference.   Link to full transcript

Send us Fan Mail Starkey President and CEO, Brandon Sawalich, sits down with Dave to discuss why Covid erased any doubts that hearing is essential, how Starkey never stopped innovating during the pandemic, industry challenges and opportunities, the Starkey Expo, and why focusing on the patient has been a key to our success.   Link to full transcript

Send us Fan Mail Thorsten Quaas, Starkey’s VP of European Sales, talks to Dave about his 36 years in the industry, how hearing aid technology has changed during that time, the art of custom devices, and what people outside of the U.S. are looking for from hearing aids.   Link to full transcript