Hearing News Watch

On April 18th the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will host a workshop in Washington, DC . The purpose of the workshop is to examine several of the issues surrounding the current marketplace for hearing aids, including competition, innovation, and consumer protection.   As per a January 4th press release, the FTC’s workshop, “Now Hear This: Competition, Innovation, and Consumer Protection

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA — The American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) published an updated clinical practice guideline this week on the diagnosis and treatment of cerumen (earwax) impaction. Additionally, the updated guidelines offer important patient information on the “dos and don’ts” of managing earwax and healthy ear care.   “This update is significant because it not only provides best

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – Samsung, the world’s largest consumer electronics manufacturer, may be poised to follow in the footsteps of Apple when it launches its next smartphone. According to a report from SamMobile, the company might be releasing new wireless in-ear headphones when it launches the Galaxy S8 smartphone, likely in the spring of 2017. With company profits at their

Several recent studies have linked hearing loss to diabetes mellitus. In an attempt to raise public awareness of this relationship between these two chronic conditions and other co-morbidities linked to hearing loss of adult onset, the Audiology Project was recently founded. The founding of the Audiology Project occurred after five years of engaging in ongoing dialogue with small group of

CORVALLIS, OREGON — Researchers from Oregon State University (OSU) believe they have identified an unknown sound emanating from deep in the ocean near the Mariana Trench, the deepest known part of the world’s oceans. The previously unidentified sound, which has been dubbed the “Western Pacific Biotwang” by scientists at OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center, typically lasts between 2.5 and 3.5

Over the past 50 years, as the United States has moved from a manufacturer-based to a knowledge-based economy, hearing loss among American adults aged 20 to 69 has declined, even as the number of older Americans continues to grow. This was the conclusion of a recent JAMA Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery report published December 15 online. Howard Hoffman of

Legal titan and former Supreme Court Justice, Louis Brandeis decried what he referred to as the “curse of bigness” – a school of thought reaching back to Thomas Jefferson that says the American economy is better off when there’s smaller companies competing head-to-head with each other.  With his term in office ending soon, President Barack Obama appears to be keeping

In 2014, the top post at Hearing News Watch was on news that Phonak would begin distributing hearing aids at Costco. Since that article published in March of 2014, it has gone on to be one of the most viewed posts at HHTM of all time. So perhaps it isn’t surprising, two years later, that another Costco story has gone

PHOENIX, ARIZONA — ON Semiconductor, a leading supplier of semiconductor-based solutions, announced this week that the company’s Ezairo 7150 SL audio processor was chosen by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) as a 2017 Consumer Electronic Show (CES) Innovation Award honoree. According to the company, the Ezairo 7150 SL is an open-programmable digital signal processing (DSP)-based hybrid, which enables wireless connectivity in hearing aids

NEW YORK, NEW YORK — The inability to hear subtle changes in pitch, a common problem for people with schizophrenia, is due to dysfunctional N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) brain receptors, according to a study by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center. The study also found that this particular hearing issue can be improved by combining auditory training exercises with a drug that