Hearing News Watch

NEW YORK–Since its founding in Seattle 42 years, Starbucks Coffee has grown into the largest chain of coffeehouses in the world, with more than 20,000 stores in more than 60 countries. It has also built an enviable reputation as a progressive, socially conscious company with one of the most admired brands in the business world. But that image has taken

WASHINGTON, DC—The International Hearing Society is reaching out beyond its membership and inviting all hearing care professionals to take part in its 62nd Annual Convention & Expo, to take place September 12-14 in the nation’s capital. The theme is “Uniting the Profession,” and IHS president Tom Higgins, ACA, BC-HIS, described the convention as “a homecoming for all of our friends

WASHINGTON, DC–“One small sentence in a code book of thousands but one giant leap for people with hearing loss.” That was how Juliëtte Sterkens, AuD, hearing loop advocate for the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), assessed an action taken by an ICC/ANSI committee on July 17. That “small sentence” approved by the ICC/ANSI  (International Code Council/American National Standards Institute)

NORTH ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA—Rarely is a hearing healthcare practitioner singled out from all the other professionals in a country to receive a national honor. But that’s what happened to Sheridan Flint, MS, the audiologist been named 2013 Young Professional of the Year in Australia. The annual award honors someone under 35 years of age who demonstrates a high level of achievement,

    ST. PAUL, MN—Luminaries from the worlds of entertainment, sports, government, business, and philanthropy joined with hearing care professionals on July 28, for the Starkey Hearing Foundation’s 2013 So the World May Hear Gala. The annual event, which drew over 1600 people, raised a record sum of more than $8 million to support the foundation’s charitable work, which includes

Marion Downs has always been ahead of her time. Sixty years ago, as a junior faculty member in audiology at the University of Denver, she was fitting hearing aids on six-month-olds, something that virtually no one else believed could be done. In 1963, Dr. Downs opened the nation’s first universal infant hearing screening program in Denver, which inspired the movement

COPENHAGEN—Investors were bullish today (July 29) on Denmark’s two major publicly owned hearing care technology companies. The price of shares in GN Store Nord, owner of GN ReSound, rose by about 6% in early trading on the Nasdaq OMX Copenhagen 20 Index (KFX), reaching 114.00 Danish kroner ($20.28), compared to Friday’s closing price of 107.50 kr. The sharp gain followed

NEW YORK—There have been many warnings and anecdotal reports recently about the damage that listening to headphones can inflict on the human auditory system. Now, there are some hard data from America’s largest city showing that the warnings are justified. According to Hearing Problems and Headphone Use in New York City, a document released July 11 by the New York

STANFORD, CA—Research by scientists at Stanford University School of Medicine has raised hopes that apparently permanent hearing loss resulting from loud explosions may be reversible in the future. If their initial findings are confirmed, soldiers exposed to improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and others who suffer damage from sources such as jet engines, car air bags, and gunfire may regain some

ISSAQUAH, WA–While it may not bring joy to its competitors’ hearts, Costco reports that its hearing aid business is growing fast. Interviewed for an online article published in Bloomberg Business Week on July 11, Richard Chavez, a senior VP at Costco, said that over the past four years its hearing aid sales have grown by an average of 26% a year