This Week in Hearing

How do audiologists decide which hearing aids to recommend to their patients? And how much of that decision is guided by scientific evidence versus clinical experience, patient listening needs, and traditional technology-tiering approaches? In this conversation, host Brian Taylor is joined by Rachael Pennock, AuD, a PhD student at Northwestern University, to discuss her recently published research...

Starkey's new Omega AI+ hearing aids introduce a Quad DNN processing architecture, enhanced speech-in-noise technology, improved feedback management, and new sleep-tracking capabilities. But what do these advancements mean for hearing aid users and hearing care professionals? Reporting from Starkey Day in Minneapolis, Andrew Bellavia speaks with three of Starkey's senior leaders to explore...

Nearly half (48%) of U.S. adults say society doesn’t know enough about hearing loss — even though people overwhelmingly recognize the importance of good hearing. In this conversation, Shari Eberts speaks with Dr. Patrick D’Haese, Corporate Director of Awareness and Public Affairs at MED-EL, about findings from a new international survey of more than 10,000 adults across 10 countries. The results r...

Hearing loss often develops gradually, which means many people may not recognize changes until they begin interfering with everyday communication. A new national initiative is looking to change that by making hearing screening a routine part of healthy aging. Shari Eberts is joined by Dr. Jill Davis, President of the Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA), and Mike O’Neil, U.S. Wholesale President...

Oticon’s new Reveal hearing aid platform introduces a Dual AI approach designed to manage speech and contextual sounds while preserving the broader sound environment around the listener. Andrew Bellavia visits the Oticon Reveal U.S. launch at OticonNext in San Diego for an in-depth look at the technology with Michael Lamberson, President of Oticon USA, and Thomas Behrens, Vice President of Hearing...

Pediatric cochlear implant candidacy has expanded significantly in recent years, creating opportunities for earlier intervention and opening the door to implantation for children who may not have been considered candidates in the past. Dr. Bob Traynor is joined by Dr. Samantha Scharf, Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery at the University of North...

For people with hearing loss, many of the biggest challenges happen outside the clinic—from navigating difficult listening situations to managing the emotional and social impact of hearing loss. Shari Eberts is joined by Dan Reiner, Director of Communications and Marketing at the Hearing Loss Association of America ( HLAA ), to explore how the organization can complement clinical hearing care and...

Fortell is taking an unusual path for a hearing aid startup: entering the prescription hearing aid market with proprietary AI technology, its own clinics, and a care model built around audiologists. Shari Eberts speaks with Fortell co-founders Matt de Jonge and Cole Morris about the company’s approach to one of the most persistent challenges in hearing care—understanding speech in environments wit...

Phonak’s new EON hearing aid platform brings a smaller Sphere design, a new HYPERSONIC AI chip, expanded Spheric Speech Clarity, improved wind noise management, and Auracast connectivity. Andrew Bellavia visits the Phonak EON hearing aid launch at Ravinia Festival near Chicago for an in-depth look at the technology with Christine Jones, Michael Preuss, and Stefan Launer. They explore how a more ef...

AI-powered captions are becoming increasingly common, but Rylo CEO and co-founder Tomer Aharoni believes accessible communication needs to go much further than simply converting speech into text. Shari Eberts speaks with Aharoni about the evolution of Nagish into Rylo and the company’s expansion from FCC-certified captioned phone calls into a broader AI communication platform for people who are de...

What changes when a hearing aid uses four specialized deep neural networks at the same time? Andrew Bellavia travels to Munich for an early look at Signia MaX, the company’s new hearing aid platform built around what Signia calls Acoustic Intelligence. Andrew sits down with Barinder Samra, MSc, Global Senior Commercial Audiology Manager at Signia, to explore how the new architecture differs from S...

GN’s new ReSound Sensia hearing aids build on the AI and Deep Neural Network (DNN) technology introduced with ReSound Vivia, with a major change: advanced speech-in-noise processing can now engage automatically. At the center of the new platform is AcoustIQ™, which analyzes the listening environment and determines when to activate directional processing, DNN-based noise reduction, and other featur...

Accessible communication technology is advancing rapidly, but building tools that people can truly depend on requires more than simply adding artificial intelligence. Brian Taylor speaks with InnoCaption CEO Paul Lee about the evolution of captioned communication, the company’s milestone of supporting more than 30 million captioned calls, and the importance of keeping users at the center of access...

Hearing aids are only part of the solution. While today's hearing technology can be life-changing, even the best hearing aids can struggle in challenging listening environments like theaters, airports, courtrooms, places of worship, and other public spaces. Shari Eberts sits down with Dr. Juliette Sterkens and Wynne Whyman of the Center for Hearing Access to discuss why assistive listening tec...

Occupational hearing conservation is often viewed as a compliance requirement—but it also represents a significant opportunity for audiologists and hearing care professionals to expand patient care, strengthen community outreach, and grow their practices. In this episode, Brian Felsen, Chief Hearing Loss Preventionist at Your Ears Rock , discusses the growing impact of noise-induced hearing loss a...

This week, host Bob Traynor is joined by Sheena Burks, Chief Clinical Officer at WSA, and Dr. Eric Branda, Head of Audiology and Research, for an in-depth discussion on the unique hearing healthcare needs of U.S. veterans and how new technology is helping address one of audiology's greatest challenges: understanding speech in noisy environments. The conversation explores the realities facing VA au...

What does the future of hearing restoration look like? Are we approaching a world where hearing loss can be treated with pharmaceuticals rather than simply managed with hearing aids? Originally presented at the Future of Hearing Healthcare (FHH2026) conference, this expert panel explores the latest advances in inner ear therapeutics and what they could mean for the future of hearing healthcare. To...

New research is providing one of the first detailed looks at the clinical performance of Nuance Audio Glasses, an over-the-counter hearing solution that has generated significant interest since its launch. In this episode, host Shari Eberts sits down with Dr. Tami Harel, Chief of Audiology at Nuance Audio, to discuss the newly published findings , what they reveal about speech understanding in noi...

Are today’s routine audiologic evaluations keeping pace with the rapidly evolving landscape of hearing healthcare? In this panel discussion from the 2026 Future of Hearing Healthcare Conference, moderator Dr. Bob Traynor is joined by Dr. Jay Hall, Dr. Frank Musiek, and Dr. De Wet Swanepoel to examine whether the traditional audiologic test battery is still sufficient for today's patients—or if...

Can an OTC hearing aid really deliver premium features at an affordable price? This week, host Bob Traynor sits down with Dr. Heather Andrews, Director of Audiology at Cearvol , to explore the new Cearvol Wave OTC hearing aid. The conversation highlights the innovations that helped the device earn 17 awards following its debut at CES 2026, as well as Cearvol’s approach to blending consumer electro...

From artificial intelligence and OTC hearing aids to emerging technologies and clinical innovation, the American Academy of Audiology (AAA) 2026 Annual Convention, held April 22–24, 2026, in San Antonio, Texas, offered a firsthand look at where hearing healthcare may be headed next. Recorded live from the convention floor, Andrew Bellavia discusses the biggest conversations, trends, and observatio...

For people living with hearing loss, navigating healthcare settings can be one of the most stressful communication challenges they face. In this panel discussion from the 6th Annual Future of Hearing Healthcare Conference, moderators Shari Eberts and Gael Hannan are joined by advocates Tony Iacolucci and Peggy Ellertsen to explore the urgent need for better communication access throughout the heal...

What happens when Widex adds a dedicated AI chip to its signature natural sound platform? Andrew Bellavia travels to WSA headquarters in Copenhagen for an early hands-on look at the new Widex Allure AI RIC and Compass Cloud 2.0. Andrew sits down with Sonnie Harris and Karen Hougs from WSA for an in-depth discussion on the technology behind the new Widex Allure AI RIC, Compass Cloud 2.0, and the fu...

Author and advocate Shanna Groves shares the emotional reality of living, parenting, and communicating with progressive hearing loss. In this conversation with Shari Eberts, the creator of Lip Reading Mom discusses her experience growing up with an undiagnosed hearing loss, navigating motherhood and professional life with hearing challenges, and ultimately receiving a cochlear implant in 2025.Shan...

What if phone calls and video chats could finally adapt to the way people with hearing loss actually communicate? In this conversation, Gael Hannan speaks with Paul Lee, COO of InnoCaption, about the company’s latest accessibility innovations designed to improve communication for people with hearing loss. From AI-powered text-to-speech tools and predictive communication features to the launch of t...