This Week in Hearing

Today, as more audiology clinics expand their service offerings, an increasing number of practices are adding auditory processing evaluation services - both for adult and pediatric populations. In this special episode, live from the recently held AuDacity 2022 conference, an expert panel was assembled to explore the need for these services and how to implement them in your clinic.   The ABC's...

Last spring, Soundwave Hearing's CEO, Anthony Florek and company CTO, Chris Boven, were interviewed about their recently launched Sontro AI self-fitting hearing aids . This week, host Bob Traynor follows up with Anthony Florek about the progress his company has made over the past several months, including a new partnership with Amptify , and future plans now that the OTC legislation was finalized...

This week, host Amyn Amlani interviews Antonio Esteban, a hearing professional in the Dominican Republic, about how his son's hearing loss diagnosis inspired him and his wife to begin a foundation to help other families. Nearly two decades later, their foundation has helped change the lives of thousands of people with free hearing aids and hearing care services.   Antonio shares a number of i...

In this special episode, Andrew Bellavia sits down with the winners of the Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA) student business plan competition: Pallavi (Pooja) Sobun, Au. D. and Camden Orologio, Au. D. Their business plan was nominated among a group of finalists who were selected to present at the 2022 AuDacity Conference, which recently took place in Grapevine (Dallas), Texas.    As...

In this special episode, host Andrew Bellavia offers his thought on attending the Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA) 2022 AuDacity Conference, as a non-audiologist, which took place last month in Dallas, Texas.    In addition, we hear from practice owner, Dr. Yasmin Battat, SADA President Shannon Kim, and ADA Executive Director, Stephanie Czuhajewski, on what made this year's ADA even...

Biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies are increasingly investing in the development for therapeutics for hearing disorders. In this episode, Dr. Brian Taylor sits down with Celia Belline, CEO of CILCare and Peter Markham, CEO of CBSET, to discuss the future of pharmaceuticals and regenerative medicine in the identification and treatment of hearing disorders.   Learn more about CBSET: htt...

Dr. Michael Valente returns to make that case that audiologists should consider introducing remote microphones and TV listening devices routinely for their hearing aid patients as add-on accessories. Regular use of remote mics and TV listening devices help address the biggest complaints by hearing aid users, in spite of being well fitting with their devices - difficulty hearing in noise and diffic...

An early disruptor to the direct-to-consumer (DTC) hearing technology segment, Eargo is more than a technology company. In this edition of This Week in Hearing, President and CEO, Christian Gormsen, sits down with Amyn Amlani to discuss how Eargo is reimagining what hearing wellness looks like from A to Z. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest episodes each week, and follow Th...

In this special presentation, Brent Edwards, Ph. D., explores innovations in treatment for so-called minimal hearing losses. He discusses whether hearing professionals should recommend hearing devices to people with minimal hearing loss, and what research actually tells us about how well people with minimal hearing losses can benefit from hearing devices.    The presentation includes res...

The Giants of Audiology is a new segment where host Bob Traynor will be joined by some of the profession’s most influential figures. In this week's episode, we are joined by Dr. Jerry Northern. Dr. Northern is a Founding Member of the American Academy of Audiology ( AAA ) and served the organization's third President. His professional activities have included clinical practice, teaching, medical-l...

In this week's special episode, Dave Kemp catches up with Wade Colburn and Dr. Marlan Hansen of iotaMotion, a medtech startup spun out of the University of Iowa Hospitals. The company was recently named 'Innovator of the Year' in the 2022 Hearing Technology Innovator Awards for its iotaSOFT Insertion System - a robotic-assisted insertion technology intended to aid surgeons in the placement of coch...

How will innovations in microchip technology influence the future of hearing and audio devices? This week, Dave Kemp is joined by Jonathan Russo of Femtosense and Andrew Bellavia of AuraFuturity.  They talk about some of the latest innovations and trends in the industry, including different use cases and how this will help improve the lives of people with hearing loss - both for OTC and presc...

Sony Corporation and WS Audiology recently announced that they have entered into a partnership agreement in the over-the-counter self-fitting hearing aid market . Through the partnership, Sony and WSA aim to combine their respective technological and medical expertise to create solutions that will shape the new field.   In this special episode, Amyn Amlani sits down with Maarten Barmentlo, Ch...

Do you or your patients ever wonder why live music concerts are “so loud?” Live sound systems engineer, instructor, podcast host, technical writer/editor and author Michael Lawrence dives deeply into conversation with Laura Sinnott and Heather Malyuk. He describes life on tour, how he and his team at Rational Acoustics were awarded the 2022 Safe in Sound award by the National Hearing Conservation...

John and Chase Prieve are a father-son duo who also happen to be co-founders of the start-up mobile app, Hi There Solutions. They sit down with Brian Taylor to discuss their motivation for creating this suite of live voice to text apps and describe how it can be used by persons with a range of hearing losses to more effectively communicate in acoustically challenging situations. Be sure to subscri...

Dr. Michael Valente returns to discuss how remote care and remote fine tuning can help address issues of accessibility and convenience for patients. He’ll explain the importance of why audiology practices should implement these options in their service offering to differentiate their clinic in a post-OTC era. Listeners may also be interested Part 1 and Part 2 of this series by Dr. Valente: Part 1...

The recent release of the final FDA guidelines on over-the-counter (OTC) and prescriptive hearing aid categories is detailed and complex.   In this episode, Amyn Amlani is joined by David Akbari, Senior Medical Science, Clinical and Regulatory Affairs Liaison at Intricon Corporation, to help breakdown the new regulations.  Dr. Akbari provides listeners with an overview of the guidel...

Battered and bruised, stuck in a cabinet for many months, then ready for action at a moment's notice -- think of all the loved ones, spouses and companions who shouted, "Can you hear me now?"  into its bulbous black microphone, those ubiquitous pocket amplifiers had a great run.     If you haven't already, now might be a good time to ditch the old pocket amplifiers and replace...

How do you test a dog's hearing and what exactly is Animal Audiology? This week, Heather Malyuk is joined by Dr. Kristine Sontrsom Malowski, Director of the Akron FETCHLAB™ at the University of Akron. They discuss all things animal audiology and the fascinating work being done by Dr. Sonstrom Malowski's at the Akron FETCHLAB™ to evaluate the hearing status in dogs and other animals. Be sure to sub...

In July 2022, Bose Corporation and Lexie Hearing announced a partnership to bring Bose’s self-fitting hearing aid technology to the Lexie Hearing product line. The new Lexie B1 Hearing Aids 'Powered by Bose', allow wearers to fit, program, and control their hearing aids “with clinically proven, audiologist-quality results — without a doctor visit, hearing test, or prescription.”    In th...

This week, host Kathleen Wallace sits down with Dr. Barbara Weinstein, Professor and Founding Executive Officer of the Health Sciences Doctoral Program at the CUNY Graduate Center. Dr. Weinstein is probably best know for her role in the development of the the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly (HHIE), a self-assessment tool containing 25 questions that are designed to assess the impact of...

This week Dave Kemp is joined by audiologist, Lena Kyman, and her father Jack Kyman, who wears both a hearing aid and a cochlear implant, to discuss remote microphone technology.   During the discussion, Jack talks about his initial reluctance to use the Roger remote microphone system, but says he is now able to use it seamlessly with both his hearing devices easily and that it helps him hear...

In 2022 the FDA has now finally issued its final regulations for over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids in the United States. Many years in the making, as part of the development of the OTC guidelines, the FDA received input from various stakeholders, including those who actually manufacture hearing devices for people with hearing loss.    After commenting on the draft regulations that were...

After years of debate and discussion, the FDA has finally issued its 'final rule' for over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids in the United States. After hearing from numerous stakholders and thousands of comments following the publication of the draft rule in late 2021, the FDA made some changes to the previous draft version of the regulations.    How do hearing professionals feel about the...

On August 17, 2022, the FDA issued its landmark 'final rule' to establish a new category of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids in the United States. This will now enable consumers with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss to purchase hearing aids directly from stores or online retailers without the need for a medical exam, prescription or a fitting adjustment by a hearing professional.  &...