Dr. Hosford-Dunn began blogging in her audiology private practice in Tucson, AZ. Back in 2009, blogging was a new and interesting way to quickly share and improve information with colleagues, consumers, and patients. As blogging gained attention, she had the opportunity to serve as chief editor of a multi-author blog for an hearing industry publication. The format was fun and successful. It rapidly evolved into Hearing Health & Technology Matters! (HHTM), an independent blogsite that she founded in partnership with other colleagues in 2011. Since its inception, Dr. Hosford-Dunn has served as HHTM’s first Editor-in-Chief, then Managing Editor, and now is CFO of the organization. After graduating with a BA and MA in Communication Disorders from New Mexico State, she completed a PhD in Hearing Sciences at Stanford and did post-docs at Max Planck Institute (Germany) and Eaton-Peabody Auditory Physiology Lab (Boston). Post-education, she directed the Stanford University Audiology Clinic; developed multi-office private practices in Arizona; authored/edited numerous text books, chapters, journals, and articles; and taught Marketing, Practice Management, Hearing Science, Auditory Electrophysiology, and Amplification in a variety of academic settings. Dr. Hosford-Dunn participates in life long learning by writing weekly posts and by embracing sequential learning endeavors. She spent a year training with the Gemological Institute of America, gaining certification as a Graduate Gemologist (GIA). She graduated with a B.A. in Economics and Psychology from the University of Arizona in 2013. Currently — and probably forever — she studies the Spanish language.
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Dec. 09, 2024

Ear device patents for October 2024

Holly Hosford-Dunn
Panasonic #12126963, Vehicle assistive hearing, describes a system of various audio sources within a vehicle for generating a number of different communications, ranging from safety alerts to streaming audio infotainment. The October 2024 patent list Description Patent Number Assignee Issued User authentication via in-ear acoustic measurements 12102427 Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) 10/01/2024 Method for external ear canal pressure regulation to
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Nov. 09, 2024

Ear device patents for September 2024

Holly Hosford-Dunn
A few quick AI queries inform us that: 78% of preventable injury-related deaths in the United States occur in the home. In 2022, there were an estimated 178,400 preventable injury-related deaths in homes and communities. About one-quarter of non-fatal injuries to men occur in the home. Falls are the second leading cause of home accidental or injury related deaths And that only
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Oct. 03, 2024

Ear device patents for August 2024

Holly Hosford-Dunn
Magic Leap is an imaginative company, whimsically exploring new/niche AR/VR, as manifest in patent #12055719 (Systems and methods for sign language recognition). The patent starts with this Fig.1 illustration, which has little to do with the patent but is a fun way to grab attention and fire up your imagination. Getting to the purpose (and not shown in Fig 1),
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Sep. 04, 2024

Ear device patents for July 2024

Holly Hosford-Dunn
Arm Limited is a British semiconductor company that develops and licenses central processing cores for devices ranging from computer servers to sensors and smartphones. Along with other Big Tech firms, ARM has entered the hearing loss arena with patent #12032155, Method and head-mounted unit for assisting a hearing-impaired user. True to its roots, ARM lends its central processing approach to
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Aug. 05, 2024

Ear Device Patents for June 2024

Holly Hosford-Dunn
Hearing solutions but not hearing aids Bose continues to create solutions destined for licensing in ear-based devices. This month’s crop includes these two patents: 12016662 Measuring respiration with an in-ear accelerometer 12022268 Artificial intelligence (AI) acoustic feedback suppression AT&T’s patent #12020182 (Venue seat assignment based upon hearing profiles) describes a a device (in-ear or various other options) which can: receive
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Jul. 08, 2024

Ear Device Patents for May 2024

Holly Hosford-Dunn
Sonova’s patent #11997457 (Hearing device for providing physiological information, and method of its operation) takes on the entire Hearable/Hearing Aid/Sensor/Wearable space. The patent is long in length and careful consideration of many aspects. For example, Ear devices cover the gamut from CIs to RICs, any/all of which can include Biometric sensors used to measure an organism’s biological characteristics, defined as
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Jun. 07, 2024

Ear device patents for April 2024

Holly Hosford-Dunn
What will they think of next? Apple’s patent #11950040 envisions an in-ear device with a volume control feature on the stem, which the user can rotate — up to increase volume, down to decrease. Not exactly a new concept but the patent goes further by enabling volume control with head nods or with head turns — right to increase volume,
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May. 08, 2024

Ear device patents for March 2024

Holly Hosford-Dunn
Differing aspects of security and protection in ear devices Security and protection conjure thoughts of privacy and theft protection for most of us. But there are many other aspects to consider, as these patents demonstrate. GN’s patent #11924616, Management in a Hearing Device, aims to shield the device from malfeasance or parasitism from outside software by preventing or limiting access
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Apr. 11, 2024

Ear device patents for February 2024

Holly Hosford-Dunn
There were lots of interesting and useful patent ideas in February. Here are some that caught our eye: Q (Cue) Ltd in Israel has a patent for silent speech sensing (#11908478) entitled Determining speech from facial skin movements using a housing supported by ear or associated with an earphone. For hearing practitioners unfamiliar with the term (including us at Hearing
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Mar. 06, 2024

Ear device patents for January 2024

Holly Hosford-Dunn
ObjectVideo Labs’s patent 11875571, is for hearing aid users who stay at home, but not in the way you’d think. Entitled Smart hearing assistance in monitored property, the patent envisions the house as a wireless blueprint for everyday activities in which: An analysis system can communicate with sensors included in a smart home to improve audio content provided to a