Hearing Economics

Editor’s Note: The last time Hearing Economics discussed hearing aid pricing was 2016, when then Section Editor, Holly Hosford-Dunn, provided readers with a comprehensive assessment of the market in a seven-part series. Starting with today’s blog on wholesale pricing (in a nominal sense), the aim is to build on Holly’s earlier work and share current trends in a multi-part series

Hearing Healthcare Market Development Column   During the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, Sonova USA introduced to hearing care professionals (HCPs) a fully digital service delivery model for its Phonak brand. Patient use of the online hearing test, the gateway to care, skyrocketed during this period. However, very few HCPs implemented the fully digital model in their practices. Phonak’s

It’s As If  You Had Your Own Personal … Fill in the blank for whatever, whenever and however you wish to personalize sound in your ears. Nura Holdings’ aptly-named patent 10708680 (Personalization of auditory stimulus) envisions user(s) perceiv(ing) the audio signal as if the user had ideal hearing and/or desired hearing.  No longer does the concept of desired hearing limit

Hearing Healthcare Market Development Column   With the U.S. continuing to combat the coronavirus, the online hearing test is becoming a crucial vehicle for engaging patients. During a Zoom interview in June, Starkey’s Chief Innovation Officer, Dave Fabry, revealed that during the pandemic’s first wave, patient visits to Starkey’s online hearing test grew significantly.  Starkey’s online hearing test is important

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