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.

An Audiologist in the Wilderness – Part III

Into the jaws of the beast This is a continuation of Parts I and II of “An Audiologist in the Wilderness” by James Curran. James Curran, M.S. Because of my lobbying activities, I became noticed and watched by the hearing aid manufacturers in Minneapolis, unbeknown to me. Eventually I received employment offers from two local companies. They came at a propitious

Nanoscience Applied to Hearing Aids

(Or, how my hearing aid is more water resistant than yours!) What is Nanoscience? Simply defined, nanoscience is the study of unique properties of matter that occur at the nanoscale (lengths of roughly 1 to

The AMA Method of Estimation of Hearing Disability: Validation

This is a summarized version of an article that appeared in Ear & Hearing{{1}}[[1]] Dobie, R.A. (2011). The AMA Method of Estimation of Hearing Disability: A Validation Study. Ear & Hearing, 32:6, 732-740.[[1]], Dec. 2011. Robert Dobie, M.D. First, thanks to Wayne Staab for his kind invitation to add this note to the blog. Audiologists and otolaryngologists know that hearing

An Audiologist in the Wilderness – Part II

“I Was Unethical and Didn’t Understand it.” This is a continuation of Part I of “An Audiologist in the Wilderness” by James Curran. Part I appeared in Wayne’s World Blog October 30th, 2011. James Curran, M.S. Dispensing Hearing Aids by Audiologists Was Unethical At that time, until 1976, to dispense hearing aids was considered unethical by the ASHA. The reason

Nürenberg EUHA Report (Continued)

As promised in a previous blog, I mentioned that I would report on some of my reactions to what I saw and heard while strolling the halls and speaking with attendees and exhibitors of the EUHA (European Union Hearing Association) meeting in Nürenberg, Germany this past month. Many attendees reported that there was nothing really new, but when viewing

Europäiche Union der Hörgeräteakustiker e.V.

Europäiche Union der Hörgeräteakustiker e.V. European Union of Hearing Aid Acousticians (EUHA) Meeting Report This blog is being written from Nürenberg, Germany, where I am attending the EUHA meeting. This is a meeting of the International Congress of Hearing Aid Acousticians, organized by the European Union of Hearing Aid Acousticians. And while the meeting is filled with specialist lectures from

An Audiologist in the Wilderness

This blog by James (Jim) Curran continues with the history of the first audiologists who were employed by hearing aid manufacturers and paved the path for future audiologists in this discipline. Jim has gone to great lengths to capture this history that would otherwise be lost, and as a result, his story will be told in several blogs scattered over

James Delk – Audiologist in Industry Pioneer

Jim Delk – Crewcut Trademark James (Jim) Delk was one of the seven pioneers in the hearing aid industry at the manufacturing level who helped set the stage for later audiologists working for hearing aid manufacturers. Unfortunately, most of Jim’s story will not be told. He died August 11, 1997 in Sun Lakes, Arizona. My comments

Historical Vignettes in Audiology #1 “The (SAL) Revisited”

Wayne’s World was designed to present a variety of topics to readers, and this blog on revisiting the Sensorineural Acuity Level (SAL) is a classic example. I have asked some of my colleagues to provide some Vignettes covering issues that might not ordinarily be found in current peer-reviewed publications, but which are useful to those who see patients. This is

When Audiology Was Considered Pure and Ethical

This blog is part of a continuing series providing background about the role of audiologists in the hearing aid industry, specifically at the manufacturing level. The series focuses on those audiologists who were with manufacturers long enough to make substantial contributions to the positions that audiologists enjoy today as hearing aid manufacturer representatives. The stories highlight the conflicts between theory