Hearing News Watch

By David H. Kirkwood WASHINGTON, DC—A bill to advance the goal of Fit to Serve, an International Hearing Society campaign to give hearing aid specialists a greater role in caring for veterans with hearing problems, was debated during a March 27 hearing of the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Health.   BILL’S SPONSOR SEES “UNACCEPTABLE” DELAYS AT THE VA Rep. Sean

MINNEAPOLIS—Scarcely a month after GN ReSound LiNX became the first hearing aid on the market that can stream stereo sound directly from an iPhone®, iPad®, or iPod touch®, Starkey Hearing Technologies ended ReSound’s short-lived monopoly with the introduction, on March 31, of Halo™, a hearing aid engineered to be compatible with those same Apple devices. Prior to the release of

WASHINGTON, DC–Emilio Alonso-Mendoza, a lawyer whose extensive experience in leading non-profit organizations includes nine years as CEO of the National Parkinson Foundation, has been appointed chief executive officer of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (AG Bell) effective April 1. Most recently, Alonso-Mendoza was president and CEO of Take Stock in Children, a statewide

By David H. Kirkwood ORLANDO, FL—As reported earlier on this blog, the 25th annual Audiology Trivia Bowl, held March 29 at AudiologyNOW! 2014 in Orlando, was the last—at least the final one produced and presented by its co-creators, Gus Mueller and Jerry Northern. The popular event, which debuted in 1990 at the second annual convention of the American Academy of

For a HearingHealthMatters.org exclusive report on the 25th and, very possibly, final Audiology Trivia Bowl, follow this link.   By David H. Kirkwood ORLANDO–No matter how much they complain about the costs of exhibiting, the rules and restrictions imposed on them, and the scant appreciation and respect they feel they get from the American Academy of Audiology (AAA), most hearing aid

By David H. Kirkwood ORLANDO, FL—The American Academy of Audiology (AAA) had advised convention-goers that Gus Mueller and Jerry Northern were “sure to have some tricks up their sleeves” for the 25th annual Audiology Trivia Bowl, which was held here today (Saturday, March 29) at AudiologyNOW! 2014. However, until a few days ago not even the Academy knew about the really big

TUCSON, AZ–Frank E. Musiek, PhD, whose distinguished research career has contributed substantially to our fundamental understanding of the workings of the human auditory system, has joined the lineup of prominent audiologists at the blog Hearing Health and Technology Matters (HHTM). Musiek’s new section, called Pathways, debuted March 26, the first day of the 2014 American Academy of Audiology Convention in

SILVER SPRING, MD–A new hybrid cochlear implant system that combines the functions of a cochlear implant and a hearing aid received clearance on March 20 from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Developed by the Australian company Cochlear Limited, the Cochlear™ Nucleus® Hybrid Implant System is the first solution designed for adults who have severe or profound sensorineural hearing

MELBOURNE/BOSTON—As long as companies have been making hearing aids, the toughest and most frustrating challenge they have confronted is devising products that enable wearers to understand speech in noisy social gatherings, such as cocktail parties. While directional microphones and other technologies have helped a lot, it is still a rare hearing aid wearer who can easily engage in conversation while

ORLANDO, FL—A pioneering audiologic researcher for more than 40 years at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the founder of a leading manufacturer of audiologic equipment, and a scientist who draws on her clinical experience in rehabilitative audiology and her training in experimental psychology to help older adults who suffer from both hearing and cognitive impairments will be among those