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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Jan. 26, 2016

PQRS Measures: Why Bother? part 2

Holly Hosford-Dunn
Downstream Consequences of Aging is a bi-monthly series written by guest columnist Barbara Weinstein, PhD. Audiologists are obligated under the 2016 Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS), which now includes domains of function directly related to age related hearing loss including depression.  Last post iterated the prevalence of depression and hearing loss in the US aging population; the cost burden of the conditions; epidemiological
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Jan. 20, 2016

PQRS Measures: Why Bother?

Holly Hosford-Dunn
Downstream Consequences of Aging is a bi-monthly series written by guest columnist Barbara Weinstein, PhD.   The Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) is a program through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) designed to improve the quality of care to Medicare Part B beneficiaries by tracking practice patterns of health care practitioners.   PQRS Regulation Applies to Audiologists
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Jan. 12, 2016

US Hearing Device Patent Activity for November-December 2015

Holly Hosford-Dunn
On January 7, the Oticon vs GN Resound patent war came to an end with scarcely a shot fired.  Settling a “slew of patent disputes” was good news for Big 6 bottom line solidarity and uninterrupted technological innovation.   Words, Words, Words   While the FDA continues its decade-long struggle to parse and define ear technology, the innovators have moved on to
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Jan. 05, 2016

Beltone Redux: Welcome to the Hotel California

Holly Hosford-Dunn
For over a decade, Beltone Electronics Corp wandered in the wilderness in search of the land of milk and honey as it transitioned from private to public ownership.   Today’s post is the finale, in which Beltone resists reinventing itself as one more cog in the long, fascinating history of the Great Northern juggernaut.1  Romancing history, you can think of Beltone and GN
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Dec. 31, 2014

Is There a Prince in the Wings?

Holly Hosford-Dunn
2014 was a milestone year for the hearing instrument industry. Today’s post is a milestone, too.  It’s the holiday season,  the 200th post to appear in Hearing Economics, and also the last of the fluffy, sensationalized Siemens fairy tale series with lots of pictures. With all the stars in alignment, Hearing Economics is celebrating by totally making up a killer
Featured image for “Readers’ Choice:  Phonak, Costco, LiNX, MFi Hearing Aids: Rumors and Realities”
Dec. 24, 2014

Readers’ Choice: Phonak, Costco, LiNX, MFi Hearing Aids: Rumors and Realities

Holly Hosford-Dunn
Dear Readers: During this holiday season, the editors at Hearing Health & Technology Matters (HHTM) are taking some time off. However, we are not leaving you without anything to read on our blog this week. Instead, we are publishing a special holiday edition filled with what we call our Readers’ Choices. HHTM has had more than half a million page
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Dec. 16, 2014

Peeling the Onion

Holly Hosford-Dunn
Hearing Economics readers, please welcome Harvey Abrams to the ranks of regular writers at HearingHealthMatters.  Dr. Abrams has graciously agreed to assume the post of monthly columnist at Hearing Economics.  Today’s post marks his debut in a series he’s dubbed “peeling the onion.”  What he means by that will become clear with his monthly contributions.  Welcome, Harvey!   A New
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Dec. 09, 2014

Is “Her” Here? Can You Hear Her?

Holly Hosford-Dunn
Yes, Her is and yes you can!  And Her name is Hearable.1 What Is Her? Just in time, science meets fiction as life starts imitating art. Ray Bradbury didn’t name Her but he anticipated Hearables more than 60 years ago as binaural in-the-ear (ITE) devices: “a hidden wasp snug in its special pink warm nest for an electronic ocean of
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Dec. 02, 2014

What Made Siemens So Special?

Holly Hosford-Dunn
Siemens Audiology was big and she was old.  Not usually a winning combination for a princess but it works great in an oligopoly.  Controlling a quarter of the global hearing aid market is an attention-getter.  Belonging to an exclusive group like the Big 6 also turns heads.  Totally dominating an entire G8 country is pretty awesome. And there’s the money
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Nov. 25, 2014

Once Upon a Time There Was a Princess Named Siemens

Holly Hosford-Dunn
It’s the holiday season, a time when Hearing Economics loves to tell stories, speculate, mix metaphors, and downright fantasize about the once and future hearing devices market.  This and several future posts will keep the tradition alive, by telling a fast-paced, glittering tale of Siemens and those who wanted her at almost any price, or just wanted to be her.