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 “Treating the Cochlea, not the Audiogram: The Value of Good Audiology”
Mar. 21, 2017

Treating the Cochlea, not the Audiogram: The Value of Good Audiology

Holly Hosford-Dunn
by Brian Taylor “Signal & Noise” is a bimonthly column by Brian Taylor, AuD Recall the term “good audiology” is loosely defined as a combination of science and art that cannot be duplicated by a computer algorithm. The first two Signal and Noise posts of 2017 were devoted to this concept of “good audiology” and why – even in this
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Mar. 14, 2017

US Hearing Device Patents for February 2017

Holly Hosford-Dunn
“Not your father’s Oldsmobile” was a 1980s ad campaign to shake the geriatric stigma attached to such cars by featuring an “Aerotech” futuristic model (Fig 1). Likewise, “Not your grandfather’s hearing aid” is a recurring theme in our industry  as technology moves to reduce stigma and introduce integrated, futuristic audio processing systems (feature image above) which use hearing aids and wireless
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Mar. 07, 2017

Dominance in a Patent Class

Holly Hosford-Dunn
Charting patent trends can track technological innovation and stagnation by proxy variables such as geography (countries, metropolitan areas), industry concentration, education (proximity of universities, proportion of PhDs), income per capita, etc. One measure is growth and dominance of patent classes by an industry or company.  Of interest to the hearing aid industry is its representation in Class H04R patents. That
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Feb. 28, 2017

Noise in the Quiet

Holly Hosford-Dunn
by Harvey Abrams, PhD. “Peeling the Onion” is a monthly column by Harvey Abrams, PhD. After the manic flurry of activity during the last quarter of 2016, it seems that we’re in a bit of a lull (in the hearing aid world, at least). As a matter of fact, we haven’t even seen the reintroduction of the Warren-Grassley “Over-the-Counter Hearing
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Feb. 21, 2017

Supply and Demand in the Audiology Labor Market, Part 4

Holly Hosford-Dunn
The Audiology Labor Force series showed a stationary, or possibly decreasing, audiology workforce from 2000-2015, despite a median nominal wage increase of $2100/year over the same period (see feature image).  Does this mean that our profession lacks career appeal?   Probably not, considering audiology’s consistently high ranking in “best jobs” lists compiled by US News and World Reports and Time
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Feb. 14, 2017

US Hearing Device Patents for January 2017

Holly Hosford-Dunn
US Patent #9544700 by inventors Sunil Puria and Rodney Perkins, was awarded to EarLens Corp. on January 10, 2017.  Coming in at 22 pages and 12 illustrations (c.f., feature image),  “Optically Coupled Active Ossicular Replacement Prosthesis,” is what they call a total package.  Here’s a sample of its contents: A concise anatomy course.   The patent starts with a fast-paced primer
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Feb. 07, 2017

Demand an Audiologist, but will there be one available?

Holly Hosford-Dunn
by Barry A. Freeman, Ph.D. and Ian Windmill, Ph.D. In the January/February AAA President’s Message, Dr. Ian Windmill discusses the recent FDA, NAS, and legislative activities surrounding affordability and accessibility to hearing care.  He notes that Audiology “suffers from an access issue. There simply are not enough audiologists…to meet current demand” and we shouldn’t be surprised by these federal activities.    Anticipated
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Jan. 31, 2017

Please, No More Shoes!

Holly Hosford-Dunn
by Harvey Abrams, PhD. “Peeling the Onion” is a monthly column by Harvey Abrams, PhD. As we all know by now, the third shoe (or was it a boot) dropped with a loud thud heard ’round the industry. The FDA appears to be investigating the feasibility of creating a new category of basic hearing aids that adults can purchase as an
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Jan. 24, 2017

Emily Blunt Calling, Courtesy of Samsung

Holly Hosford-Dunn
  Samsung phone and washer technologies exploded in 2016, but and not in a good way.  Thankfully, those technologies didn’t show up in hearing aids because Samsung has yet to enter the FDA-approved US hearing aid market, despite strong expectations that it would do so in 2016. That hasn’t stopped Samsung from its end run march to redefine hearing device
Featured image for “US Hearing Device Patents for December 2016”
Jan. 17, 2017

US Hearing Device Patents for December 2016

Holly Hosford-Dunn
The number of hearing device patents granted annually to the Big 6 manufacturers tripled in the last decade (see feature image above), peaking in 2012 and leveling off since then, by Hearing Economic’s estimation.1   The 2012 peak is mainly due to a flurry of patents awarded to Siemens (now Sivantos) that year.   Sivantos holds the most US patents