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.

Audiology in the USA

Occasionally, we get an opportunity to present material of significant historical interest. We are honored to provide the post that follows, reprinted with permission from the book “Audiology in the USA” by Dr. James Jerger. The book aims to give students and young audiologists a sense of the history of the profession. Beginning with the first commercial audiometers, the book

Trivia: History of Hearing Testing

At the 2013 Audiology Now meeting in Anaheim, a group of us (Robert Margolis, Charles Berlin, Jay Hall III, and myself, were invited to give a presentation on topics related to the History of Audiology (hearing testing, hearing aids, and vestibular testing). That which follows takes on the format of questions, utilizing materials from the session on “History of Pure-Tone

Trimming the Sails: Part IV

Part IV of “Trimming the Sails” by Dr. Christopher Schweitzer is the last post in this series that discusses why hearing aid market penetration fails to meet desired goals. Dr. Schweitzer is Director of HEAR 4-U International; Chief of Auditory Sciences at Able Planet, Inc.; and Senior Audiologist, Family Hearing Centers in Colorado.

Trimming the Sails – Part III

In Part III of “Trimming the Sails” by Dr. Christopher Schweitzer continues his provocative treatise as to why hearing aid market penetration fails to meet desired goals. This builds upon many of the posts that have been provided previously on this HHTM site, including a ten-part series on hearing aid dispensing. Dr. Schweitzer is Director of HEAR 4-U International; Chief of Auditory Sciences

Trimming the Sails – Part II

Part II of “Trimming the Sails” by Dr. Christopher Schweitzer continues as a provocative treatise relating to directions and thoughts as to why hearing aid market penetration fails to meet desired goals. Dr. Schweitzer is Director of HEAR 4-U International; Chief of Auditory Sciences at Able Planet, Inc.; and Senior Audiologist, Family Hearing Centers in Colorado. This series’ content is longer

Trimming the Sails

“Trimming the Sails” is scheduled as a five-part series presenting some history related to hearing aid dispensing, and thoughts as to what might be in store – issues that current and future hearing aid dispensers should investigate as they plan their future forward, especially if they view themselves as marketers and not just sales people. Some of the thought is

Severe Headache When Wearing Hearing Aids

Fact or Deception? I recently had a conversation with a hearing aid dispenser whom I highly respect, and whose opinion I often seek when I have hearing aid fitting problems. So, I was somewhat surprised when he presented me with a “difficult” case for which he had no solution and asked if I could share it with other dispensers to

Hearing Aids and Further Hearing Loss? Part V

Predicted PTS (Permanent Threshold Shift) From Hearing Aid Use Various researchers have utilized data from TTS (Temporary Threshold Shift) and ITTS (Integrated Temporary Threshold Shift) in formulae that have included the length of time worn during the day, number of years worn, age at which the aid was first worn, the gain level used, and the hearing aid’s output. These

Hearing Aids and Further Hearing Loss? Part IV

Potential Deterioration in Hearing Due to Hearing Aid Usage This past series of posts has posed the question as to whether hearing aids, especially those of high power, lead to further loss of hearing. In other words, does wearing hearing aids cause further hearing loss because of the high levels of amplification sometimes needed to overcome the hearing loss? Individual

Hearing Aids and Further Hearing Loss? Part III

Do Hearing Aids Cause Further Hearing Loss? The past couple of weeks the topic of whether hearing aids cause further hearing loss has been presented. Last week’s post on this topic reviewed some of the case studies that have been published on this subject. Although of significant interest, most are single case studies and often fall into the category of