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.

Audiologists in Manufacturing – Part III Terry Griffing

This is a third part of the history of audiology pioneers in hearing aid manufacturing and features recollections by Terry Griffing, one of the pioneers. The first two parts featured history as recalled by Robert Briskey and Richard Scott. Terry Griffing I started my career as a clinical audiologist at the Mayo Clinic at Rochester, Minnesota in 1960. As

Audiology Pioneers in Hearing Aid Manufacturing – II Richard Scott

This is a second part of the history of audiology pioneers in hearing aid manufacturing and features recollections by Richard Scott, one of the pioneers. The first part featured history as recalled by Robert Briskey, M.A. Following Briskey’s historical recollections, I had a note from Larry Mathieu who mentioned that he was a part of the Audiology Study Group that

Audiology History With Hearing Aid Manufacturers

Featuring Robert Briskey, M.A., following this Introduction. Introduction I was told recently that one of the major hearing aid manufacturers had over 300 audiologists working for them. How many audiologists are currently working throughout the industry for manufacturers would only be an estimate – and most likely not very accurate. Regardless, such a position for audiologists today is commonplace, and

Hearing Aid Verification Using Functional Gain – Part II

Note: This is a continuation of a previous blog: Hearing Aid Verification Using Functional Gain – Part I, which was last week’s blog. Functional Gain in Hearing Aids Functional Gain (FG) = Aided Threshold minus the Unaided Threshold (FG = A-U). Unaided thresholds are measured to tones presented through the loudspeaker(s). Various frequencies are tested and the stimuli

Hearing Aid Verification Using Functional Gain – Part I

A University teaching faculty member asked me recently if I would write a review about the use of functional gain as a method for hearing aid verification. My initial reactions were that I thought we were beyond this with real-ear measurements, and then, that this might be as exciting as watching grass grow, not only for me, but for the

Telephone Audiometer/Hearing Aid

In my last blog I posted a list of predictions for the hearing aid industry that I had made in 2005, for the next 10 years. Prediction # 4 was: Hearing aids will become multi-function devices having applications beyond primarily amplification – and driven by the mobile telephone, which will become the nerve center for most communication. In fact, the telephone

My Hearing Aid Industry Predictions From 2005

I may be no genius, but at times I’m close….. Einstein and Dr. Staab, Antalya, Turkey. The other day, while digging through some of my files, I came across a presentation on my predictions for the hearing aid industry 10 years from the year 2005. This was related to an invited presentation I was asked to give to the American

When High Noise Levels are NOT the Issue (Part II)

This is a continuation of the previous blog with the same name, but labeled Part I. The setting is the Hurricane Mesa Test Facility (HMTF) located atop Hurricane Mesa, a short drive from St. George, UT. HMTF has a 12,000 ft. test track that is fully capable of handling propulsion velocities exceeding supersonic. It is used mostly to test aircraft

When High Noise Levels are NOT the Issue! (Part I)

A few days ago I accompanied a couple of jeeping friends, Jim Beller and Paul Furr of St. George, UT to the Hurricane Mesa Test Track (HMTT) Facility a few miles from where we live. It is currently owned and operated by Goodrich Corporation, Universal Propulsion Company, but was started in the mid 1950s by the US Air Force. Located

TK Control, WDRC, and Expansion (How they are used and compared in fitting hearing aids)

Of topics that are confusing to many who fit hearing aids are the distinctions between the TK Control, WDRC, and Expansion. Understanding the differences between these and how they are used for providing appropriate amplification is a critical part of hearing aid selection and consumer satisfaction. Basics Basic definitions to help in understanding these differences: 1. Linear Amplification: 1:1