This Week in Hearing

Every year, World Hearing Day brings global attention to one of the most common — and often overlooked — public health challenges: hearing loss. In this discussion, experts from the World Health Organization and the global hearing health community explain the purpose and impact of World Hearing Day, an international initiative focused on improving awareness, prevention, and access to ear

What if the future of hearing technology doesn’t sit inside the ear at all? At CES 2026, one of the most important trends was the rapid rise of open-ear hearing devices — from smart hearing glasses and clip-on assistive audio to the bone-conduction, MEMS and hybrid speaker systems enabling higher performance. In this special recap, Andrew Bellavia explores how companies

What if advanced AI noise reduction could run efficiently on standard hearing device hardware? In this episode, Dave Kemp speaks with Aernout Arends of Absolute Audio Labs and Zengyi “Boltzmann” Li of Aizip about how platform-based hearing architectures and tiny AI models are reshaping the future of hearing technology. The discussion centers on the integration of Aizip’s AI-driven speech and

What does Auracast actually feel like in a real-world performance? In this episode, Andrew Bellavia visits the Marriott Theatre near Chicago, where he was invited to personally experience Auracast during a live production and speak with the people behind its implementation. The deployment brought broadcast audio into a working theater environment, giving hearing aid users—and others—the opportunity to connect directly to

What makes tinnitus distressing for some people—but barely noticeable for others? In this in-depth conversation, clinical psychologist and tinnitus researcher Dr. Jennifer Gans explains why tinnitus is best understood not simply as a sound, but as a brain-driven experience. Drawing on neuroscience, clinical experience, and mindfulness-based research, she explores how the brain’s response—rather than the sound itself—plays a central role

What if hearing technology didn’t try to hide—but instead embraced visibility and style? In this conversation, Nick Morgan-Jones shares his personal journey with hearing loss and the stigma that kept him from wearing hearing aids for years. That experience led him to found Overtone, a consumer-focused hearing technology brand aiming to rethink how hearing devices look, feel, and fit into

Why do so many people delay hearing care—even after acknowledging a problem or receiving a recommendation? In this conversation, hearing instrument specialist and researcher Bobbi-Jo Marlatt explores how motivational interviewing (MI) can help hearing care professionals better support patients who feel uncertain, ambivalent, or overwhelmed about treatment. Drawing on her new book, Motivational Interviewing for Hearing Care Providers, Marlatt explains

What will it take for accessible audio to become the norm rather than the exception in public spaces? In this conversation, Andrew Bellavia is joined by Paul Daft of GN and journalist and accessibility advocate Liam O’Dell to explore the growing momentum behind Auracast™ and its potential to reshape how people access sound in venues such as theaters, cultural spaces, and

In 2025, conversations around hearing health and hearing technology spanned an unusually broad and dynamic range—from deeply personal patient experiences to cutting-edge science shaping the future of care. This year’s most-watched episodes reflected growing interest in how innovation translates into real-world impact, whether through advances in cochlear implant systems, next-generation hearing aids, accessibility technologies such as Auracast, or emerging therapeutic

Dr. Richard W. “Dick” Danielson’s career in audiology spans decades of service, leadership, and innovation across the U.S. Army, academic medicine, and NASA. A retired Army Colonel and former manager of Audiology and Hearing Conservation at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Dr. Danielson has dedicated his professional life to reducing the risk of hearing loss among military personnel, astronauts, and those