Innovations In Hearing

Once upon a time, a man had a home repair job to do and went to his local hardware store.  He said to the salesman at the hardware store, “I have a job to do at home and I need a tool for the job.”  The salesman said, “I have just the thing for you!”  He sold the man a

Dear Readers: During this holiday season, the editors at Hearing Health & Technology Matters (HHTM) are taking some time off. However, we are not leaving you without anything to read on our blog this week. Instead, we are publishing a special holiday edition filled with what we call our Readers’ Choices. Our Readers’ Choices featured this week are the posts

by Brian Taylor, AuD, Editor-at-Large As 2019 comes to a close and we inch closer to the FDA’s codification of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids, expected to occur in 2020, now is a good time for clinicians and business managers to create strategic plans that address some of the potential disruptions to the market. Let’s start by taking a closer look

The hearing healthcare industry continues to face an uncertain future as the result of ongoing technological and regulatory disruption. Furthermore, changes in consumer behavior continue to push professionals to adapt beyond the traditional ways of delivering care. As we look to the new year, we would like to introduce readers to a new series at HHTM: Hearing Healthcare 2020. In

by Sophie Brice, PhD The field of audiology has experienced significant changes in recent years with the preparation for Over-The-Counter legislation in the USA for provision of hearing aids without a clinic or Audiologist. Closer to home we are experiencing government investigations into Audiology practices in Australia and a growth of Teleaudiology compatible products now coming from all manufacturers. “Self-fit”

The audiometric test battery is getting a little long in the tooth and could use some rejuvenation.  For about the last 50 years the time-honored suite of tests has been in place virtually unchanged.  Why should it change?  After all, hearing is hearing.  The auditory mechanism hasn’t changed.  And hearing aid technology, well, we are still dealing with output, gain

by Paul U. Teie, MS There are two big bugaboos in the hearing industry these days.  Well, OK, there may be more – there are OTC hearing aids, audiology assistants, the pointless enmity between audiologists, hearing aid dispensers and ENTs, and I’m sure we could come up with others.  But the two that seem to be generating the most discussion

In a recent talk to a group of hearing care providers, I took an informal poll, asking what were some of the most discouraging things their patients had reported being told by their physician regarding their hearing.  I knew what the results would be, having heard very disappointing things from scores of patients myself, over the years.  Still, seeing all

infantilize /inˈfantilīz/ – verb – to treat (someone) as a child or in a way that denies their maturity in age or experience. Infantalize is not a pleasant word.  It conjures condescension and patronization, neither of which does any clinical caregiver wish to be guilty. There can be a fine line between condescension and explaining in lay language. When I

Editor’s Note: This is the last in a series of Signal and Noise posts that have explored some of the changes in patient acquisition strategies and the ability to gather more precise data about potential customers is becoming an essential component of a modern marketing strategy. In this final post we examine how small to medium sized practices can utilize