Wayne Staab

Dr. Staab is an internationally recognized authority in hearing aids. As President of Dr. Wayne J. Staab and Associates, he is engaged in consulting, research, development, manufacturing, education, and marketing projects related to hearing. His professional career has included University teaching, hearing clinic work, hearing aid company management and sales, and extensive work with engineering in developing and bringing new technology and products to the discipline of hearing. This varied background allows him to couple manufacturing and business with the science of acoustics to bring innovative developments and insights to our discipline. Dr. Staab has authored numerous books, chapters, and articles related to hearing aids and their fitting, and is an internationally-requested presenter. He is a past President and past Executive Director of the American Auditory Society and a retired Fellow of the International Collegium of Rehabilitative Audiology. Interests engaged in outside of the above include: fishing, hunting, hiking, mountain biking, golf, travel, tennis, softball, lecturing, sporting clays, 4-wheeling, archery, swimming, guitar, computers, and photography. These are great topics of discussion away from business.

Hearing Aid Disruption – The Major Event

The RIC (Receiver-in-Canal) Hearing Aid In 2001, two patented hearing aid designs were filed under the “Hear-Wear” name by owners of SeboTek Hearing Systems. The result is that these, and subsequent patents by them, changed the hearing aid industry worldwide in ways never imagined. The hearing aid disruption was based on the SeboTek PAC™ (Post-Auricular-Canal) hearing aid which was presented at

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Liquid Ear Impression Material

Very Low Viscosity – From Wayne’s Archives This is another post for hearing archives – information unpublished, but in need of being recorded somewhere as part of the hearing discipline. In this post is information related to early low viscosity ear impression material.The ear impression material used to make ear impressions is generally of lower viscosity than used in the past. In

Featured image for “The CIC Hearing Aid – Part 3”

The CIC Hearing Aid – Part 3

The Origin of the CIC Hearing Aid – Part III This post continues the paper trail story of the origin of the CIC (completely-in-canal) hearing instrument. Two previous posts traced the story from its beginning with deep canal fittings, then to the XP Peritympanic, and now to the CIC itself. These were three separate and distinct stages, with each

Featured image for “A.G. Bell – Speech Riding on Light”

A.G. Bell – Speech Riding on Light

A.G. Bell – An Analog Man Inventing Speech Riding on Light: Part 2 Christopher Schweitzer, Ph.D. In Part I of “Light ‘em up Mr. Bell: Li-Fi,” Alexander Graham Bell proposed speech riding on light as a means of communication. It was also wireless telecommunication, and in the 19th century! Bell believed his light-operated method of talking across distances (Figure

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Light ’em up, Mr. Bell: Li-Fi

Light Fidelity (Li-Fi) and Communication By Christopher Schweizer, Ph.D. An enduring illustration of a creative ‘bright idea’ is a light bulb suspended over an inspired individual. But to Alexander Graham Bell, the foundational hero of hearing technology, light was much more than an iconic metaphor. It was the future of interpersonal communication, to be called light fidelity (Li-Fi).

Featured image for “Why Are There Holes in My Hearing Aid Battery?”

Why Are There Holes in My Hearing Aid Battery?

The zinc-air hearing aid battery (cell) of today has small holes in it. Why is this? Background Hearing aid batteries currently are identified as zinc-air batteries (in hearing aids, actually a cell rather than a series of cells comprising a battery). The use of zinc-air cells for hearing aids was mandated in the U.S. by Big Brother in Washington, D.C.

Featured image for “Hearables – Wearables – Earables?”

Hearables – Wearables – Earables?

Ah – Nothing like a neologism Hearing Aids, Hearables, Wearables, Earables – Evolving, But in Which Direction? New product trends related to devices at the ear have taken up some rather interesting names – hearables, wearables, and earables – in addition to the more traditional hearing aids. A hearable (Figure 1) as described by Wikipedia is “a wireless in-ear

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Battery Life Counseling

by Barry A. Freeman, Ph.D. Battery Life Counseling – With Consideration of Rechargeable Batteries The recent series of articles on batteries and battery life in Wayne’s World brings to light one of the least understood and, perhaps, most important patient counseling and management issues faced today by those dispensing and wearers of hearing aids—battery life counseling. The technology

Featured image for “Hearing Aid Battery Life Can Vary Widely”

Hearing Aid Battery Life Can Vary Widely

Hearing Aid Battery Life is Not Easy to Predict The past three weeks this post has been devoted to hearing aid battery life, because those who recommend and fit hearing aids quite often receive complaints from customers about how the battery life doesn’t last as long as they were led to believe. Last week’s post showed the resultant current drain

Featured image for “My Hearing Aid Battery Life is Longevity Challenged!”

My Hearing Aid Battery Life is Longevity Challenged!

Is Your Hearing Aid Battery Lasting as Long as You Think it Should? As promised last week, this week’s post compares the same hearing aid under conditions of adaptive signal processing features turned “Off,” and then “On” to show what happens to current drain and the expected hearing aid battery life. As pointed out in the last two articles