David Kirkwood

A longtime observer of the hearing healthcare scene, David Kirkwood was editor-in-chief of The Hearing Journal from 1990 through 2010. Among the honors he received was a 2006 President’s Award from the American Academy of Audiology. Previously, he spent 15 years as editor and publisher of a weekly community newspaper in Scarsdale, NY. Before finding his way into journalism, he earned degrees in history from Cornell University (where he was an outstanding pinball player) and the University of California at Berkeley. When he isn’t blogging at Hearing Health & Technology Matters, David enjoys spending time with his wife, Annie, going to plays and movies in New York, traveling, and relaxing in their vacation place in Mid-Coast Maine. His other avocations include rooting for the Yankees and throwing tennis balls for his puli, Isaac.
Featured image for “Educational audiologist who uses implants to receive Phonak’s Cheryl Johnson Award”
May. 05, 2014

Educational audiologist who uses implants to receive Phonak’s Cheryl Johnson Award

David Kirkwood
WARRENVILLE, IL–Tina Childress, an educational audiologist known for her dedicated outreach to children and adults with hearing loss, has been named recipient of the 2014 Cheryl DeConde Johnson Award for Outstanding Achievement in Educational and Pediatric audiology. Childress, who works at CASE Audiology in Champaign, IL, and as a cochlear implant outreach specialist and trainer for the Illinois School for
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Apr. 28, 2014

Times tech writer gives rave reviews to iPhone hearing aids

David Kirkwood
NEW YORK—You can’t buy the kind of positive publicity that was given to the GN ReSound LiNX™ and the Starkey Halo in the pages of The New York Times last Thursday (April 24). In the Personal Tech column that appears weekly on the front page of the newspaper’s Business section, Farhad Manjoo reported rapturous responses from users of the first
Apr. 27, 2014

Here’s a chance to honor high achievers who have surmounted hearing loss

David Kirkwood
SOMERSET, NJ—Do you know of someone who, despite hearing loss, has made great contributions to the community, perhaps as an advocate for others with hearing impairment? Or a hard-of-hearing young person who has achieved outstanding success? Perhaps there is a hearing professional whose extraordinary service you believe is worthy of national recognition. If so, Oticon, Inc., wants to hear about
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Apr. 23, 2014

Boston cop who says she’s heard well with hearing aids for 15 years, is forced out

David Kirkwood
By David H. Kirkwood BOSTON—Boston Police Detective Delores Facey is the latest cop to be forced into retirement because of hearing loss, even though she insists that with hearing aids, which she has worn for the past 15 years, she is fully capable of performing her duties. The officer, a 19-year veteran of the department, suffered her hearing loss on
Featured image for “Phyllis Frelich dies; deaf actress won the Tony Award for Children of a Lesser God”
Apr. 21, 2014

Phyllis Frelich dies; deaf actress won the Tony Award for Children of a Lesser God

David Kirkwood
TEMPLE CITY, CA–Phyllis Frelich, whose Tony Award-winning performance in the 1980 Broadway play Children of a Lesser God increased public awareness and understanding of how deaf people lead their lives, died on April at her home here near Los Angeles. She was 70 years of age. The play about the tumultuous romance and marriage of a deaf woman and a
Featured image for “Starkey takes stand against “commoditization” of hearing aids via sales to big box stores”
Apr. 16, 2014

Starkey takes stand against “commoditization” of hearing aids via sales to big box stores

David Kirkwood
By David H. Kirkwood The controversy over Phonak’s decision to sell hearing aids through Costco heated up last week when Starkey Hearing Technologies told its customers that the decision by Phonak and its parent, Sonova, “does not align with Starkey Hearing Technologies’ values and principles.” In an April 10 e-mail addressed “Dear Valued Customers,” Brandon Sawalich, senior vice-president at Starkey,
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Apr. 15, 2014

Ray Rich, former IHS president, dies

David Kirkwood
Raymond “Ray” Rich, a leading figure in the International Hearing Society for half a century, died on March 11 in Cleveland at the age of 90. From 1966 to 1969, he served as president of the organization, then called the National Hearing Aid Society (NHAS), and he was also for many years president of the Hearing Aid Foundation, the charitable
Featured image for “At hearing, VA opposes IHS-backed bill allowing it to hire hearing aid specialists to serve vets”
Apr. 09, 2014

At hearing, VA opposes IHS-backed bill allowing it to hire hearing aid specialists to serve vets

David Kirkwood
By David H. Kirkwood WASHINGTON, DC—A bill to advance the goal of Fit to Serve, an International Hearing Society campaign to give hearing aid specialists a greater role in caring for veterans with hearing problems, was debated during a March 27 hearing of the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Health.   BILL’S SPONSOR SEES “UNACCEPTABLE” DELAYS AT THE VA Rep. Sean
Featured image for “Starkey releases its iPhone hearing aid”
Apr. 07, 2014

Starkey releases its iPhone hearing aid

David Kirkwood
MINNEAPOLIS—Scarcely a month after GN ReSound LiNX became the first hearing aid on the market that can stream stereo sound directly from an iPhone®, iPad®, or iPod touch®, Starkey Hearing Technologies ended ReSound’s short-lived monopoly with the introduction, on March 31, of Halo™, a hearing aid engineered to be compatible with those same Apple devices. Prior to the release of
Featured image for “AG Bell Association names new CEO”
Apr. 05, 2014

AG Bell Association names new CEO

David Kirkwood
WASHINGTON, DC–Emilio Alonso-Mendoza, a lawyer whose extensive experience in leading non-profit organizations includes nine years as CEO of the National Parkinson Foundation, has been appointed chief executive officer of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (AG Bell) effective April 1. Most recently, Alonso-Mendoza was president and CEO of Take Stock in Children, a statewide