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.

Robert J. Briskey, Pioneer Audiologist and Friend, Dies on May 12, 2012

It is with sadness that I am interrupting my normal blogs to report on another hearing discipline leader’s passing. Robert J. Briskey Robert J. Briskey, December 4, 1924 – May 12, 2012, was the elder statesman in leading audiology into the hearing aid industry. It was Bob, more than any other audiologist, who pioneered the role of audiology in the

Trapshooting is Our Hobby – Protecting Hearing is One of Our Goals

Editor Note: I have a couple of friends, Darrel and Marilyn Miller, of Scott City, Kansas, who are avid trapshooters. Each winter they gather certain belongings and head for the warmth of Arizona to spend about three months competing in different trapshooting events, and visiting with friends they have accumulated over the years. As one can surmise, there is substantial

Robert E. Sandlin, Ph.D. (May 3, 2012)

My scheduled blog related to adaptive feedback methods is delayed for a week in order to report on a sad event, the passing away on May 3, 2012 of a good friend and colleague, Dr. Robert E. Sandlin of San Diego, CA. Remembering Robert E. Sandlin – An all-around good guy All of the superlatives that have been used to

Hearing Aid Acoustic Feedback IV

This series of blogs has focused on the topic of acoustic feedback as it applies to hearing aids and attempts to manage feedback over the years. This series is designed to introduce the basic concepts. The serious reader should consult more detailed references. Acoustic feedback solutions that have been presented up to this point include: Overall gain reduction High-frequency gain

Hearing Aid Acoustic Feedback III

Hearing Aid Acoustic Feedback Solution #5 – Notch Filtering Because acoustic feedback is not evident at all high frequencies, it would appear appropriate to reduce gain at the specific frequency or frequency range at which it occurs, without affecting significantly adjacent frequencies. A technique to perform this is the use of a notch filter. A notch filter (more appropriately called

Hearing Aid Acoustic Feedback II

This blog is a continuation of last week’s blog that focused on hearing aid acoustic feedback. That blog provided general information about feedback and ended with a discussion about acoustic feedback solutions in hearing aids. The intent was to review solutions to feedback that have occurred over the years in somewhat of a chronological order. The first two solutions presented

The Tuning Fork

The tuning fork has a long history in hearing differential diagnosis, but what do we know about its origin? The table fork is supposedly the precursor of the tuning fork. However, my investigation shows that the table fork, as a kitchen utensil, was known to the Greeks and Romans and to the Germanic Tribes of the Great Migration. For eating

Featured image for “The Origins of Bone Conduction Hearing”

The Origins of Bone Conduction Hearing

Note: This blog is a continuation that explores the early history of the discipline that we now call audiology. This blog continues the historical development, and identifies the significance of discovering the phenomenon of bone conduction hearing and its preliminary utilization as a tool in the differential diagnosis of hearing disorders. Much of this information comes directly from an English translation

History of Audiology – BC to the Renaissance

As originally used, the term “audiology” concerns itself with hearing assessment. The more “modern” aspects grew from the collaborative efforts of physics, physiology, experimental psychology, and otology. There seems, however, to have been a continuous thread that represented a logical sequence even as early as 1550 BC, long before our “pioneers” in modern-day audiology were a gleam in their parents’

Nano-Coating and Hearing Aid Directional Performance (Cont.)

This blog is a continuation of last week’s presentation of preliminary testing to determine if pressurized nano-coating (which is to protect hearing aids from moisture) manages to maintain directional hearing aid performance better than a non-nano-coated hearing aid when both are subjected to a series of 48-hour exposures to 100 degree Fahrenheit temperature along with 100% relative humidity. Results Non-nano-coated