Hearing Economics

Featured image for “US Hearing Aid Pricing: Part 4 – Inflation-Adjusted Retail-Side Trends”
Mar. 01, 2021

US Hearing Aid Pricing: Part 4 – Inflation-Adjusted Retail-Side Trends

Hearing Health & Technology Matters
In our series on hearing aid pricing, readers have been provided with data on average nominal (Part 1) and inflation-adjusted (Part 2) wholesale hearing aid price, and, more recently, with average nominal retail hearing aid pricing (Part 3). In the fourth installment of this series, the reader is presented with a comparison between unadjusted and inflation-adjusted average retail cost of
Featured image for “US Ear Device Patents for December 2020”
Feb. 03, 2021

US Ear Device Patents for December 2020

Hearing Health & Technology Matters
Here’s Listening to You, Dear Those of us who sing in the shower. play air guitar or practice our dance moves in the all together may want to hit pause when donning hearables of the future. No one says it better than PCMS Holdings’s patent #10860645, Systems and methods for creation of a listening log and music library. Look beyond
Featured image for “US Hearing Aid Pricing: Part 3 – Nominal Retail-Side Trends”
Jan. 18, 2021

US Hearing Aid Pricing: Part 3 – Nominal Retail-Side Trends

Hearing Health & Technology Matters
In late 2020, readers were provided with data on nominal and inflation-adjusted wholesale hearing aid prices. In this third installment in this series on hearing aid pricing, the reader is presented with nominal retail hearing aid pricing.   What is the Retail Cost of a Hearing Aid?   The response to this question varies, with retail prices ranging between $1000
Featured image for “US Ear Device Patents for November 2020”
Jan. 03, 2021

US Ear Device Patents for November 2020

Hearing Health & Technology Matters
The feature image is from Bose patent 10835145, Ear tips capable of capturing bioelectrical signals and providing nerve stimulation.  Bose is not the only company thinking Big by going Small.   Hearing Aids as Small Auditory Augmented Reality Devices   Readers from hearing health lines of work may wonder why patent lists of recent months include inventions centered on virtual/augmented
Featured image for “Design Thinking, Hearing Healthcare, and the New Normal”
Dec. 28, 2020

Design Thinking, Hearing Healthcare, and the New Normal

Hearing Health & Technology Matters
Dear Readers: During this holiday season, the editors at Hearing Health & Technology Matters (HHTM) are taking some time off. However, we are not leaving you without anything to read on our blog this week. Instead, we are publishing a special holiday edition filled with what we call our Readers’ Choices. Our Readers’ Choices featured this week are the posts
Featured image for “US Ear Device Patents for October 2020”
Nov. 30, 2020

US Ear Device Patents for October 2020

Hearing Health & Technology Matters
Listen to The Hand   Today’s feature image comes from Finewell Co Ltd’s patent #10795321 for a Wrist watch with hearing function.  Inquiring minds may wonder how this works and it’s not as simple as a talking watch. Instead, the patent aims to provide more effective wrist watches with hearing functions that achieve cartilage conduction via vibration of a hand
Featured image for “US Hearing Aid Pricing: Part 2 – Inflation-Adjusted Wholesale-Side Trends”
Nov. 24, 2020

US Hearing Aid Pricing: Part 2 – Inflation-Adjusted Wholesale-Side Trends

Hearing Health & Technology Matters
Earlier this fall, readers were provided a commentary on wholesale nominal pricing in the US market. In our continuation of pricing in the US hearing aid market, we compare unadjusted and inflation-adjusted, wholesale cost of a single unit device over time.    Consumer Price Index (CPI)   The Consumer Price Index (CPI) was used to assess historical changes in US
Featured image for “US Ear Device Patents for September 2020”
Nov. 09, 2020

US Ear Device Patents for September 2020

Hearing Health & Technology Matters
The Mind Boggles   Here are a few questions as food for thought while contemplating how the myriad computations, calculations, decompositions, re-creations and retrieval- from- storage audio outputs can be massaged to complement, supplement and creatively enhance our individual hearing capabilities and preferences.    Q1. Which do you prefer, Reality or an Upgrade? Both require binaural processing, by whatever name
Featured image for “How Listen Lively’s Telehealth Model Stacks Up Against Clinics”
Nov. 03, 2020

How Listen Lively’s Telehealth Model Stacks Up Against Clinics

Nancy M. Williams
Hearing Healthcare Market Development Column   The question as to whether the telehealth model provides the same quality of care as the traditional face-to-face model in hearing healthcare is topical given that the coronavirus pandemic has entered a third wave. Auditory Insight’s analysis shows that the model created by the telehealth hearing aid company, Listen Lively (Lively), is closing the
Featured image for “Design Thinking in Hearing Health: The Define Phase – Reframing Problems Through Collaboration, Synthesis & Divergent Questions”
Oct. 10, 2020

Design Thinking in Hearing Health: The Define Phase – Reframing Problems Through Collaboration, Synthesis & Divergent Questions

Hearing Health & Technology Matters
by Kate Baldocchi, AuD, Trisha Milnes, AuD, & Amyn M. Amlani, PhD In 2019, the reader was introduced to a conceptual overview of the design thinking process and how it could be utilized as a tool in serving the needs of listeners with hearing loss. Design thinking engagement and interactions are comprised of a non-linear, 5-stage process that includes the