Hearing Health & Technology Matters

… the hearing industry has been … loosely organized … lacking defined standards of quality in both the provision of testing services and in product performance.  Consumers…have not developed a confidence about audiology in general as being a serious aspect of health care and concern.{{1}}[[1]]HEARx Marketing Plan, internal document, 1986.  Unless otherwise noted, all quotes in this post come from

By Amy Sargent Flaunt those bits and pieces! No, I’m not being naughty or risqué–though I’ve been known to be so! “Bits and pieces” are the euphemisms I use for hearing aids (HAs) and cochlear implants (CIs). It’s amazing how “hearing aids” and “cochlear implants” are dirty words to many of those who need them. A lot of people who

In the past in the US we have had to report companies we have paid a significant amount to to the IRS.  This year most all of the vendors, maintenance, local, etc will need to be reported to the IRS for as little as $600.  When I posed the question to my accountant, here was her answer. “The W-9 is

“The Company’s strategy includes immediate public differentiation from all existing hearing centers.”{{1}}[[1]]HEARx Marketing Plan, internal document, about 1986.[[1]] Thus began one man’s corporate vision to revolutionize hearing care in the US and Canada, and also make a bunch of money. Based on current headlines, it seems the vision has been achieved.  The corporation–currently known as HearUSA  for a few more months

When I decided to go out on my own, my main concern was, “how can I manage maternity leave?” I had the choice of buying an office from my boss, or going along with the sale of her practices. It is funny to me now, but this was a huge thought to me. Well, my oldest is 10 and 1/2

 If any investors believe that the SEC’s enforcement actions drove insider trading out of the markets, they are beyond mere legal help.{{1}}[[1]]http://www.professorbainbridge.com/professorbainbridgecom/2010/04/is-insider-trading-bad-if-so-why.html[[1]] Back in April, we reported on possible insider trading in the hearing aid industry and promised some educational discussion of fiduciary duty and the stakeholder paradox in a follow-up post{{2}}[[2]]https://hearinghealthmatters.org/hearingeconomics/2011/hearing-aid-insider-trading-big-time-or-bush-league/[[2]].  It’s not stuff we get in graduate school,

By David Myers With palpable excitement, 235 people from 11 countries converged on Washington, DC in late June for the culmination of the year-long Get in the Hearing Loop joint project of the Hearing Loss Association of America and the American Academy of Audiology. The animating vision—in my mind, and seemingly for many others—is nothing short of doubling hearing instrument

I recently received this email from one of my audiologists: “Hi All, I shared this with a patient today and thought I should send it to everyone as well. One of my cochlear implant patients uses an app called “ClearCaptions” to caption his phone calls on his iPhone. The app is also available on Android Market so it’s not only

By David H. Kirkwood The June 20 New York Times ran a story that I think will be of particular interest to people with hearing loss who are—or want to be—in the work force. Written by Joseph Goldstein, this excellent article (available at www.nytimes.com/2011/06/20/nyregion/ny-enforces-ban-on-police-officers-using-hearing-aids.html?_r=1) tells about two veteran New York police officers who were forced to retire because they wore

Economics is all about data collection–lots and lots of data.  To what end, you may ask?  The idea is that if you have enough data on all possible responses in the market, you can probably develop models that will predict consequences of what you do right now.  For instance, wouldn’t you like a model that lets you know the consequences of raising