Hearing News Watch

As announced on November 18, the US Congress passed the Fit to Serve bill, allowing hearing instrument specialists to work directly with American veterans. Although the Fit to Serve legislation passed, it was not without substantial modifications. The bill, which is expected to be signed in the near future by President Obama, contains considerable patient protections and maintains the important

WASHINGTON, DC — The International Hearing Society (IHS) announced today that the US Senate unanimously passed H.R. 3471, commonly referred to as the “Fit to Serve” bill, on November 17, 2016.  The bill was backed in the Senate by S. 564 sponsors, Senators Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Jon Tester (D-MT). H.R. 3471 cleared the US House of Representatives in September of this year, following

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA — Valencell, a wearable and hearable biometric sensor technology company, announced this week that it is filing a patent infringement lawsuit against German hearable startup, Bragi. The company accuses Bragi and its subsidiaries of patent infringement over the Bragi Dash. The lawsuit comes nearly one year following patent infrignment suits filed by Valencell against Apple and Fitbit.      Valencell

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA — Over the past few years untreated hearing loss in older adults has been linked to a growing list of conditions, including cognitive decline, depression and heart disease. Now research is beginning to surface that healthier lifestyle choices could stave off the effects of hearing loss. Although most of the research in this area has been confined to

WASHINGTON, DC — Prominent US Senators, Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), announced today that they will introduce the Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Act of 2016 when the US Senate returns to session. Citing recommendations from the recent PCAST and NAS reports on hearing aid accessibility and affordability, the bipartisan legislation would make certain types of hearing aids available over the counter (OTC) and

Sound systems are an important selling point in luxury cars – without high fidelity audio some buyers are simply uninterested in other performance traits and likely to buy a different model. Audi, one of the leading luxury car brands, has recognized this growing demand for high fidelity audio in luxury vehicles. They have partnered with Bang & Olufsen to map

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON — Sound Pharmaceuticals, a Seattle-based biotech firm, announced this week that it has hired two senior executives. Paul Hoskins, appointed to the position of Senior Director of Clinical Operations and G. Michael Wall, appointed to the position of Senior Director of Pharmaceutical Development. The new executives join the company with substantial backgrounds in the pharmaceutical industry. Sound Pharmaceuticals hopes that the new additions will help

DETROIT, MICHIGAN — The Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA), in a press release late last week, announced that it had filed a lawsuit against the International Hearing Society (IHS) regarding the Tinnitus Care Provider Certificate. The lawsuit was filed in Detroit, near IHS headquarters in Livonia, in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. As previously reported at

BEIJING, CHINA — Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi announced this week that its latest phone, the MIX, will be the first to incorporate ultrasound software for proximity detection. By replacing the phone’s hardware proximity sensor with ultrasound software, the phone’s speaker can become “completely invisible” and allow the entire surface of the screen to be functional — all the way to the top edge of the

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL — Humavox, an Israeli-based startup, announced that it will be partnering with Starkey Hearing Technologies to bring wireless charging capability to the next generation of hearing devices. Integrating the wireless charging technology into Starkey’s devices will allow hearing aid users to simply “drop” their devices into the charging case to recharge, regardless of orientation in the case. The charging technology developed by