Hearing News Watch

WASHINGTON, DC — The key message during Friday’s (9/18) public meeting of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) was that 30 million Americans do not have access to hearing care. The PCAST, originally chartered in 2001, has a broad mandate to advise the President in areas of science and technology. One of the main goals of the council is the

LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY — IntriCon, a publicly traded (NASDAQ: IIN) hearing aid manufacturer based in suburban Minneapolis/St.Paul, announced a joint venture with the Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA) in a story first reported by the Hearing Review on September 14. The joint venture will operate under the name earVenture LLC and is operated by a board of directors comprised of

WASHINGTON, DC — Despite being slowed in the US House of Representatives earlier this summer, the so-called Fit to Serve legislation–supported by the International Hearing Society (IHS)–is advancing in the US Senate this week. According to IHS, the Senate VA Committee will be holding a hearing on the bill this Wednesday. Passage of the Veteran’s Access to Hearing Health Act of 2015

EDEN PRAIRIE, MINNESOTA — The fifth largest hearing aid manufacturer in the world, Starkey Hearing Technologies, has terminated the employment of its president and three of the company’s top executives. All four executives were abruptly terminated, say sources, including Jerry Ruzicka-President, Scott Nelson- CFO, Keith Guggenberger- Senior VP of Operations, and Larry Miller- Senior VP of Human Resources. By Wednesday afternoon, the names of

LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY — the Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA), in an announcement late last month, have asked the Department of Labor (DOL) to rescind its approval of the IHS-backed Hearing Aid Specialist Apprenticeship program. ADA Firm in Opposition While it’s no surprise that ADA announced opposition to the Fit to Serve initiative, joining with other major audiology organizations who have come out in

NEW YORK — NBC’s Today Show, a staple of morning television for more than 60 years, recently featured a segment on the increase in noise-induced hearing loss among children and young adults using earbuds. The segment mentioned a February, 2015 World Health Organization (WHO) warning that more than 1.1 billion teens and young adults are at-risk for permanent hearing loss due

WASHINGTON, DC – the US Justice Department announced that it has entered into an agreement with Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) of Colton, California. The voluntary compliance agreement was reached to help resolve allegations that the hospital was in violation of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by not providing qualified interpreters and other services to deaf and hard of hearing

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Hearing Tracker, America’s largest hearing provider directory, and the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), the nation’s leading organization representing people with hearing loss, have announced that they will be working together to help consumers more easily locate comprehensive hearing care providers online. The partnership was spearheaded by Cynthia Compton-Conley, PhD, the current director of the HLAA’s

VALENCIA, CALIFORNIA – Advanced Bionics has announced that FDA approval has been received for two new cochlear implant sound processors, the Naida CI Q30 and Q90 processors. The company also announced that a new version of its SoundWave fitting software, version 2.3, also received approval from the FDA. A member of the Sonova Group since 2010, Advanced Bionics (AB) has touted the

Editor’s Note: this evolving story was last updated on 8/24/2015 COPENHAGEN, DENMARK – another strong quarter posted by GN ReSound was overshadowed last week by news that serious accounting fraud had been committed by GN’s retail arm, Beltone. In its Q2 Interim Report, GN reported a one-time loss of more than $22 million dollars (DKK $150 million) in the second