Wayne's World

Evolution of Hearing Aid Technology and Techniques – A Ride Through History   Factors that Drive Hearing Aid Development Starting with the first hearing aids developed, and continuing today, three factors have driven hearing aid technology and development.  These three factors, in their historical ranking, are: Cosmetics Technology leading to miniaturization, and Packaging Cosmetics Patients have always been interested in

This post continues a series on the origins  of initial sound quantification.  Last week’s post related to how the speed of sound was measured.  This week continues with frequency analysis and amplitude. Frequency Analysis of Sound The Italian scientist Galileo (1564-1642) pulled a knife blade across the serrated edge of a coin and noted the tone it produced.  From this,

Instruments that take sophisticated and precise measurements of sound are taken for granted today.  However, there were certain developments that set the stage for what we currently use, and application and control of sound rest solidly on measurements.  Reviewing these early, but significant measurement developments is the purpose of this two-part series.   Could Sound be Quantified? Until the 17th

Maximum Stable Gain and Added Stable Gain This post is a continuation from the post last week that identified three different hearing aid gains that people fitting hearing aids should be aware of.  One consisted of the common gain resulting from the difference between the output (amplification) of the hearing aid measured against level of the input signal.  The other two

The use and understanding of hearing aid gain is common among hearing professionals.  It is essentially the difference between the level of a sound into a hearing aid versus the amplified level of what comes out of the hearing aid (Figure 1).  However, other gain descriptions are helpful in understanding hearing aid performance.  Two that are especially helpful are maximum stable

Note: A hearing professional who regularly reads our blogs recently wrote: “I hear others talking about ‘unity gain’ when describing hearing aid amplification.  What is unity gain and how is it implemented in hearing aids?”  In order to answer this question, it is first necessary to review amplification, in general. Hearing Aid Amplification “Unity acoustic gain,” or simply “unity gain,”

At the AudiologyNOW! 2013 meeting in Anaheim, a group of us (Robert Margolis, Charles Berlin, Jay Hall, and myself) were invited to make a presentation on the History of Audiology (hearing testing, hearing aids, and vestibular testing).  The following is the second part of the presentation on the “History of Audiology.” Presented in the format of a quiz, it draws

Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965), who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945, and again from 1951 to 1955, is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the 20th century.  He was also a British army officer, historian, writer, Nobel Prize winner in Literature, artist, and the first person to be made an honorary

Asymmetrical hearing and unilateral hearing loss require solutions that do not seem to follow typical hearing aid fittings for bilateral sensorineural hearing loss.  Last week’s post on this subject showed the results of “loudness catch-up” of the poorer ear that indicated a pattern somewhat similar to the steep growth of loudness associated with classic sensorineural hearing loss.  This post shows the

Centering Surprises in Asymmetrical Listeners H. Christopher Schweitzer and Don Kim One of the first activities in audiological assessment is that we argue with Nature.  We test one ear isolated from the other. Dr. Schweitzer is Director of HEAR 4-U International; Chief of Auditory Sciences at Able Planet, Inc.; and Senior Audiologist, Family Hearing Centers in Colorado.  Dr. Kim is Senior Clinical