Brian Taylor

Brian Taylor, AuD, is the Senior Director of Audiology for Signia. He is a veteran of the hearing industry with more than 25 years of experience. Brian is a prolific and respected contributor to the industry with more than 25 publications and numerous speaking engagements both domestically and internationally. He is also the editor of Audiology Practices, a quarterly journal of the Academy of Doctors of Audiology, Editor-at-Large for Hearing Health and Technology Matters and adjunct instructor at the University of Wisconsin.

Featured image for “New WHO Report Outlines Vital Role of Early Identification of Hearing Loss”

New WHO Report Outlines Vital Role of Early Identification of Hearing Loss

Hearing loss is a global challenge that affects an astonishing one in three people over the age of 65. To intensify the matter, untreated loss, as a plethora of studies indicate, increases the risk of health complications, including dementia, depression, social isolation, and more frequent hospitalizations. A new, wide-ranging report, however, reveals the pervasive impact of hearing loss across Europe

Featured image for “World Health Organization Attempts to Make Listening Safer with New Guideline”

World Health Organization Attempts to Make Listening Safer with New Guideline

According to the World Health Organization, nearly 1.1 billion young people worldwide between the ages of 12 and 35 are at risk of hearing loss due to prolonged and excessive exposure to loud sounds. This figure includes young folks who listen to music through personal audio devices, including smartphones. March 3rd is World Hearing Day and WHO, along with the

Google Unveils Two New Android Apps to Help Persons with Hearing Loss

According to a February 4th Fortune report, Google is rolling out two new Android apps to help people with hearing loss. The first, Live Transcribe, gives persons with hearing loss text-to-speech capabilities, thus providing real-time captions for conversations that scroll on the Android users’ phones. Live Transcribe will gradually roll out in a limited test to users worldwide. The second, Sound

Featured image for “MIT Researchers Use Laser to Transmit Sound into People’s Ears”

MIT Researchers Use Laser to Transmit Sound into People’s Ears

Laser technology has been used for several decades and has a wide of applications, including bar code scanning, Lasix eye surgery, and industrial cutting and engraving. Now, laser might be used in hearing technology. Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory report using two different laser-based methods to transmit various tones, music and recorded speech at a conversational

Featured image for “Hearing Loss, Dementia and Cargo Cult Science”

Hearing Loss, Dementia and Cargo Cult Science

The preeminent American physicist, Richard Feynman, coined the term “cargo cult science” to describe practices that on the surface appear scientific, but upon closer scrutiny lack any of the precepts of the scientific method. A January 25th JAMA viewpoint article raises the red flag on the rise of pseudoscience in the care of older adults with dementia. The article is

Featured image for “Apple Plans to Bring Bio-Tracking to Medicare Advantage Programs”

Apple Plans to Bring Bio-Tracking to Medicare Advantage Programs

The advent of biosensors in hearing aids might be a harbinger of how medical device and consumer electronic companies have similar long-terms goals: Both are beginning to address the changing demands of the aging population by adding bio-tracking to their devices. Not only are hearing aid manufacturers, like Starkey, getting in on the act by placing bio-monitoring in their high-end

Featured image for “News Roundup for January 9: A Veritable Dog’s Breakfast of Stories from Around the Profession and the Industry.”

News Roundup for January 9: A Veritable Dog’s Breakfast of Stories from Around the Profession and the Industry.

New Study Examines Barriers to Hearing Care Services Among Medicare Population In the January 2019 issue of Health Affairs, a peer-reviewed health policy journal, researchers at Johns Hopkins University’s Cochlear Center for Hearing Loss and Public Health shed light on the accessibility of hearing care services in the Medicare-eligible population. Using 2013 survey data of Medicare patients who owned

Hearing Tracker Unveils New Patient-Driven Hearing Aid Selection Tool

A growing number of persons are eschewing medical paternalism and opting to self-direct their own care. Today it is common for patients to self-monitor a wide range of bodily conditions including heart rate, EKG data and blood pressure using a smartphone-based app. Additionally, in what ordinarily required a face-to-face visit with a medical professional, patients can use computer-based decision aids

Featured image for “Top Stories of 2018 and a Salute to Dickens’ Christmas Carol”

Top Stories of 2018 and a Salute to Dickens’ Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley, and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. After their visits with him, Mr. Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man. The ghosts in Dickens’ classic novel are a metaphor for

Featured image for “New Studies Show Limitations, Potential Benefits of PSAPs”

New Studies Show Limitations, Potential Benefits of PSAPs

Two recently published studies from independent hearing aid research labs indicate that some personal sound amplification devices or PSAPs could offer benefit to individuals with milder hearing loss. The first study, published on-line in September in the American Journal of Audiology, was conducted by researchers at the University of Iowa. In the laboratory-based study, they compared the performance of three