Hearing Economics

Hanging on Our Every Word   Those who’ve been there know that war is hell, not least due to blinding and deafening conditions that severely limit communications and compound the threat of imminent danger.  A present-day Richard III might well shout out “My Kingdom for some AirPods” instead of a horse.  The US Government’s patent #10681475 for a System and

Hearing Healthcare Market Development Column   Online hearing testing at Listen Lively (Lively) is mission-critical because it marks the first step in the company’s direct-to-consumer (D2C) model of care that is completely home-based. Two executives at Lively, during a Zoom interview in June, revealed that during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic this past spring, the company’s D2C model

 Stylish,  Cute, Functional   The stylish headset shown in the feature image allows wearers to adjust pressure change to reduce barotrauma, or let the headset do it automatically  (#10659865).   At first glance, the cute cartoon in Fig 1 seems to depict days of yore when people flocked to concerts without Covid-19 worries. In one embodiment, patent #10643597 is designed for

There is something very unique about the sense of hearing that sets it apart from every other sense we possess. Simply put, your hearing does not belong to you. At least, not entirely. This is the reason people get so frustrated when we don’t hear them first time, the reason they take it personally whenever they have to repeat themselves.

Hearing Healthcare Market Development Column   Covid-19’s mandate for social distancing greatly increases consumer-patient demand for an end-to-end hearing aid solution at home, from prescribing through care. In response to this structural change, Auditory Insight has analyzed close to 20 online hearing tests offered by global hearing aid brands and D2C hearing aid companies. Our analysis showed that Shoebox Online,

Ohmmmm   In these days of COVID-19 sequestering and isolation, meditation and relaxation are handy skills, especially when offered through multitasking ear devices. Consider Starkey’s patent #10617842, Ear-worn electronic device for conducting and monitoring mental exercises. Now, please dim your lights, perform Shavasana and invite your mind to consider: “…an ear-worn electronic device (offering)… a three-dimensional virtual sound environment comprising relaxing

by Kate Baldocchi, AuD, Trisha Milnes, AuD, & Amyn M. Amlani, PhD COVID-19 proved to be a curve ball that left governments, economies, healthcare systems, and the citizens of the world in dismay. The impact of the virus tested our emotional-, mental-, familial-,  social-, and physical-wellbeing, as well as our resilience, our grit, our humanity, and our adaptability. As societies

The patent world continues to turn, pandemic notwithstanding.  You won’t find patent #10607258 listed in this month’s table. However, you just find its handiwork up in the sky, if airlines start flying again. For those on the ground, looking up or out their windows, IBM has a plan to capture our skyward-directed attention and perhaps our privacy:  System, method, and

by Jill Preminger, PhD I became aware of the importance of trust in audiology care while participating in an international research study in which we interviewed people and discussed their experience with and perceptions of hearing healthcare.  All participants had some degree of hearing loss and varying degrees of experience with hearing healthcare; for example, some had never had a

Thanks, Pearl Jam Even from casual observation of our hearing behavior most of us connect the presence of two ears with our ability to locate sounds. (Schubert, 1980)1 We take our  two-ear arrangement for granted, which is probably why the “binaural” moniker rarely populated the titles of scientific studies until recent times.2 There were early pioneers:  a binaural stethoscope was