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.

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White Cats and Deafness

White Cats Versus White Cats The snow-white brilliance of a white cat is a beauty to behold. And, when coupled with different eye colors (green, blue, golden, or “unusual” features), it stands out dramatically from other multi-colored, calico, or tortoiseshell cats. White cats have often been associated with the month of February because their color reminds one of snow. It

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Hearing Loops For Small Areas

HEARING LOOPS – 3 COMPONENTS and 3 E-Z STEPS! Norman Lederman, M.S., Director of Research & Development, Oval Window Audio, Nederland, CO Introduction In the realm of “hearing assistance”, induction loops (more recently known as “hearing loops”) have a history spanning well over 50 years. Much has been written about this technology and related devices, including: how they work, pros

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Hearing Testing History: Western Electric 2-A Audiometer

Western Electric 2-A Audiometer Most hearing care professionals have heard or read that one of the early audiometers for the measurement of hearing sensitivity was the Western Electric 2-A audiometer. Few have any idea what it looked like or what it did. This post is pleased to bring to readers some of the best detailed photographs of the 2-A audiometer.

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RIC Hearing Aid Acoustic Fitting

Acoustic Over Electronic High-Frequency Response Generation The fitting considerations presented here are for RIC hearing aids. The intent is to provide an understanding of what is happening to RIC fittings when the ear tip is modified. This post is a continuation from last week. If you have a RIC fitting that evades user satisfaction, considering something unconventional may be in

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RIC Hearing Aid Acoustic Considerations

Acoustic Application for Successful Hearing Aid Acceptance and Satisfaction A successful RIC hearing aid fitting, like many hearing aid fittings, is not necessarily related to any specific fitting formula, but is based on user satisfaction – the ability to hear, understand, and wear the hearing aid comfortably, without acoustic feedback, and in the presence of noise. And, with RIC-type hearing

Hearing Aid History – Remote Sidenote

The Mafia, Whitey Bulger, and the Hearing Aid Industry: What Is the Connection? The story related here is true, but is a story with no happiness to it. This might seem a rather strange post for an Internet site devoted to issues related to hearing. However, one of the purposes of HHTM is to leave a record of the hearing aid industry

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Audiometer Evolution

Audiometer Evolution – Can Instruments Evolve? By George J. Frye President, Frye Electronics, Inc. Evolution can occur that has little effect on the outward appearance of the object. This involves operator interface features of an instrument rather than its inner workings. Does this apply to instruments used in audiology? Traditional Audiometer Design – Mechanical Controls Instruments are designed with

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MarkeTrak 9

Hearing Aid Features and Awareness The latest MarkeTrak 9{{1}}[[1]]MarkeTrak 9: A New Baseline. Estimating hearing loss and adoption rates and exploring key aspects of the patient journey, Final Report, March 2014, Hearing Industries Association[[1]] data related to hearing aids was presented in last week’s post, providing information about hearing aid average age, percentage of hearing aid types worn, and on how

MarkeTrak 9 Data – New

Hearing Aid Age, Type, and Coupling – Latest Results From MarkeTrak 9 MarkeTrak 9 (MT9){{1}}[[1]]MarkeTrak 9: A New Baseline. Estimating hearing loss and adoption rates and exploring key aspects of the patient journey, Final Report, March 2014, Hearing Industries Association[[1]] was provided to Hearing Industry Association (HIA) members in early April, ahead of public release, and HHTM was first to

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Directional Microphone Mismatch Part 2

Current to Alternative Directional Microphone Technologies III Aart van Halteren, M.Sc., Chief Technical Officer, Sonion, The Netherlands. Ann-Marie Sänger, Senior Product DevelopmentEngineer, Sonion, The Netherlands In last week’s post a microphone module was introduced (M20) that combined superior directional equivalent input noise with a design that is very robust for temperature and humidity changes, as well as handling during hearing