Wayne's World

Ah – Nothing like a neologism Hearing Aids, Hearables, Wearables, Earables – Evolving, But in Which Direction? New product trends related to devices at the ear have taken up some rather interesting names – hearables, wearables, and earables – in addition to the more traditional hearing aids. Figure 1. Bragi Dash hearable. A hearable (Figure 1) as described by Wikipedia is

What Would be a Preferred Hearing Aid Performance?   Would a consumer select the same hearing aid performance as was recommended by an audiologist if given a choice among different signal processing schemes? Results show that there is not agreement, at least for four different hearing aid algorithms (different hearing aid operating systems) as reported in this study. This post

Sound Localization – Time-of-Arrival Differences at the Ears   Time-of-arrival of sound at the two ears is an important contributor to sound localization. In this continuation of a series on binaural hearing, special attention is given to the second major contributor to sound localization, that of time-of-arrival of the sound at the two ears. Last week’s post on localization featured

Hearing Aid Selection: Consumer vs Hearing Aid Dispenser    This post is directed at answering the question: would a consumer select the same hearing aid signal processing algorithm as was recommended by an audiologist? A signal processing algorithm refers to a completely different type of functioning hearing aid, not just to single hearing aid that allowed the user to select from among

by Wayne Staab, PhD Historically, we think of the U.S. hearing aid market being served primarily by independent dispensers.  Following the very early years of hearing aid franchises, sales were made mostly by what we now refer to as independent hearing aid dealers (actually, at one time, called hearing aid audiologists). Over time, audiologists also entered the business of hearing

Energy Harvesting Approaches to Powering Hearing Aids   Note:  For those expecting to find the continuation of Directional Microphone Mismatch, as mentioned in last week’s post, please note that some recent information has been presented that will relate to improving the robustness of matching two omnidirectional microphones to create a directional listening experience.  As a result, the second part is being

The Lion Roar is the Voice and Sound of Africa   Old male lion Off in the distance in the savannahs of Africa, you listen, and a roar comes out of the deep, creating an uneasy trepidation.  The lion’s roar is indeed the voice and sound of Africa.  It sends an awesome message to the world that he is lord

Self-Fitting of Hearing Devices – Part I   Self-fitting of hearing devices is an inherent feature of OTC or DTC (over-the-counter; direct-to-consumer) hearing aids.  What can we expect now that this is becoming an active feature of hearing aid sales? The real issue, as expressed by Bess1, is not how an OTC or DTC hearing aid delivery system benefits hearing

Movies too loud?  Do the high loudness levels of many movies help to tell the story, or are the high loudness levels provided to cover a weak story? – Snarky question by this article’s author   High Volume Story to Tell, or Weak Story to Hide?* Movie viewing has been enjoyed for decades. During this time, there have been significant

An estimated 37 million adults are reported to snore while sleeping as mentioned in a previous post.  Loud snoring has been listed as the cause for snorers themselves to arouse from their sleep, and prevent them from having deeper, more restful levels of sleep.  However, the effect on bed partners is a major topic of discussion as well, much of