Hearing News Watch

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA; WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND; AND LEXINGTON, KY—Independent hearing healthcare providers are feeling more than a little beleaguered these days, and who can blame them? Consider the following: Every few days, it seems, yet another story is published extolling a new online or over-the-counter device that, for just a few hundred dollars, gives users as much benefit—or nearly as much–as

WASHINGTON, DC—Senator Jon Tester, a Democrat from Montana, introduced a bill on May 8 supporting the International Hearing Society’s Fit to Serve campaign, which would authorize the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to employ hearing aid specialists to meet the fast-growing needs of hearing-impaired vets. Senate bill S. 2311, which was co-sponsored by three other Democrats– Mark Begich of Alaska,

By David H. Kirkwood BERLIN–Siemens AG announced at a press conference here today (May 7) that it was preparing to take its hearing aid division, Siemens Audiology, public as part of a global realignment of the German-based manufacturing giant. In its announcement, Siemens said that its audiology business “has a special position within the company,” one that it is no

WARRENVILLE, IL–Tina Childress, an educational audiologist known for her dedicated outreach to children and adults with hearing loss, has been named recipient of the 2014 Cheryl DeConde Johnson Award for Outstanding Achievement in Educational and Pediatric audiology. Childress, who works at CASE Audiology in Champaign, IL, and as a cochlear implant outreach specialist and trainer for the Illinois School for

NEW YORK—You can’t buy the kind of positive publicity that was given to the GN ReSound LiNX™ and the Starkey Halo in the pages of The New York Times last Thursday (April 24). In the Personal Tech column that appears weekly on the front page of the newspaper’s Business section, Farhad Manjoo reported rapturous responses from users of the first

SOMERSET, NJ—Do you know of someone who, despite hearing loss, has made great contributions to the community, perhaps as an advocate for others with hearing impairment? Or a hard-of-hearing young person who has achieved outstanding success? Perhaps there is a hearing professional whose extraordinary service you believe is worthy of national recognition. If so, Oticon, Inc., wants to hear about

By David H. Kirkwood BOSTON—Boston Police Detective Delores Facey is the latest cop to be forced into retirement because of hearing loss, even though she insists that with hearing aids, which she has worn for the past 15 years, she is fully capable of performing her duties. The officer, a 19-year veteran of the department, suffered her hearing loss on

TEMPLE CITY, CA–Phyllis Frelich, whose Tony Award-winning performance in the 1980 Broadway play Children of a Lesser God increased public awareness and understanding of how deaf people lead their lives, died on April at her home here near Los Angeles. She was 70 years of age. The play about the tumultuous romance and marriage of a deaf woman and a

By David H. Kirkwood The controversy over Phonak’s decision to sell hearing aids through Costco heated up last week when Starkey Hearing Technologies told its customers that the decision by Phonak and its parent, Sonova, “does not align with Starkey Hearing Technologies’ values and principles.” In an April 10 e-mail addressed “Dear Valued Customers,” Brandon Sawalich, senior vice-president at Starkey,

Raymond “Ray” Rich, a leading figure in the International Hearing Society for half a century, died on March 11 in Cleveland at the age of 90. From 1966 to 1969, he served as president of the organization, then called the National Hearing Aid Society (NHAS), and he was also for many years president of the Hearing Aid Foundation, the charitable