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.
Featured image for “US Hearing Device Patents for September 2017”
Oct. 18, 2017

US Hearing Device Patents for September 2017

Holly Hosford-Dunn
Hearing aid patents continue to offer excitement, especially for audiophiles in pursuit of “natural” sound. The simple act of sticking something in the ear, whether occluding or not, has measurable effects at the ear drum. Patent #9769575 looks at those effects with the intent of correcting distortions of magnitude and phase (Fig 1). Magnitude effects are something we’re familiar with
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Oct. 10, 2017

Audiologists Not Immune to Dunning-Kruger Effect

Holly Hosford-Dunn
When everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.  Gen. George Patton If you’re the smartest person in the room, find another room. Michael Dell (Forbes magazine) “As God has said, and I think he’s right…”  Margaret Thatcher   Dunning and Kruger were the first to systematically investigate unconscious incompetence and report their findings in the psychology literature. 1,2 Too bad for
Featured image for “Can You Repeat That?  Replication Bias and Caffeine/Health Connections”
Oct. 04, 2017

Can You Repeat That? Replication Bias and Caffeine/Health Connections

Holly Hosford-Dunn
National and International coffee days (yes there are two) passed in a flash last weekend. Also in a flash went the last three years since Hearing Economics updated research findings on the effects of caffeine and coffee on bodily systems. Today’s ridiculously long post aims to correct that glaring gap. No worries — the caffeine obsession is intact at Hearing
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Sep. 26, 2017

But Wait…There’s More! Part 2 – Labeling

Holly Hosford-Dunn
“Peeling the Onion” is a monthly column by Harvey Abrams, PhD.   This is the second of three posts that summarizes the Hearing Industries Association’s (HIA) recommendations to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Office of Device Evaluation, the office primarily responsible for promulgating the OTC hearing aid rules following the passage and signing of the FDA Reauthorization Act into
Featured image for “US Hearing Device Patents for August 2017”
Sep. 20, 2017

US Hearing Device Patents for August 2017

Holly Hosford-Dunn
When it comes to imagining hearing devices in the patent world, the range is broad, both in terms of goals and body regions. It’s a Simple Ear-Thing    “Simplified Hearing Aid” is the title of USPTO patent #9,724,241 by Japanese inventor/owner Ogura.  The device (see feature image), which hearkens back to ear trumpets and the “Ear Resonator” (USPTO patent #4556122) is
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Sep. 12, 2017

Hearing Loss: A Modifiable Risk Factor for Dementia

Holly Hosford-Dunn
Barbara Weinstein’s “Downstream Consequences of Aging” appears bi-monthly at HearingHealthMatters.org. Today’s post is part 2 of a series on reframing the clinical conversation with older adults.   Numerous top down initiatives directly impact how we may wish to reframe the conversation about ARHL and scope of audiologist practice. Two initiatives most relevant to audiologists are: The recommendation that health professional schools
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Sep. 05, 2017

Clinical Encounters with Older Adults: Reframing the Conversation

Holly Hosford-Dunn
Barbara Weinstein’s “Downstream Consequences of Aging” appears bi-monthly at HearingHealthMatters.org    It is now well accepted that life expectancy is improving, the population of older individuals is increasing, the length of time spent as an older adult is on the rise and prevalence of multimorbidity is growing (Cha, Seo, & Sok, 2012). These demographic shifts have given rise to several important
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Aug. 29, 2017

But Wait…There’s More! (Part 1)

Holly Hosford-Dunn
“Peeling the Onion” is a monthly column by Harvey Abrams, PhD.   As widely reported, President Donald Trump signed the FDA Reauthorization Act into law on August 18th. As part of this law, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is directed to create and regulate a new category of hearing aids that can be sold over-the-counter (OTC) to individuals with
Featured image for “Relationship between OTC Price and Behavioral Performance:  A Guiding Light”
Aug. 22, 2017

Relationship between OTC Price and Behavioral Performance: A Guiding Light

Holly Hosford-Dunn
by Amyn Amlani, PhD   The reality of over-the-counter (OTC) products becoming federally regulated took one step closer to certainty last week. The FDA Reauthorization Act of 2017 (HR 2430), which includes provisions for OTC hearing aids for adults with perceived mild-to-moderate hearing loss, passed successfully through the US House of Representatives in July 2017 and through the US Senate
Featured image for “The Future of Audiology is Separating Routine from Complex”
Aug. 15, 2017

The Future of Audiology is Separating Routine from Complex

Holly Hosford-Dunn
by Brian Taylor “Signal & Noise” is a bimonthly column by Brian Taylor, AuD   The May 30 installment of Signal and Noise “Good Audiology” series summarized the patient classification system devised by Stephens and Kramer a decade or so ago. It is a classification system that de-emphasizes the audiological assessment results and focuses on the emotions, attitudes and maladaptive