LOS ANGELES—MyWay™, a new digital hearing aid that will be sold directly to consumers, will be introduced September 22 at the AARP Life@50+ National Event and Expo in Los Angeles.
Developed by Audiotoniq (www.audiotoniq.com), an Austin, Texas-based technology company, a pair of the MyWay behind-the-ear hearing aids will cost $1949. While the device isn’t expected to be available until December, the company will begin taking pre-orders this week
Audiotoniq says that the direct-to-consumer distribution method allows consumers “to control their hearing aid settings without having to schedule time-consuming appointments with a service provider.” According to the manufacturer, MyWay lets users make a wide range of adjustments at the touch of a finger.
The new hearing aid is coupled with the patent-pending MyWay™ smartphone app available on Android and iPhone operating systems.
The hearing aid is adaptable for use with digital media devices such as MP3 players and contains a rechargeable lithium ion battery that lasts approximately 24 hours between charges.
Audiotoniq was formed in 2009 by a group of engineers and entrepreneurs whose stated goal was to develop unconventional and improved options for hard-of-consumers at a lower cost than was available on the market.
SELF-TESTING DEVICE OFFERED
In June 2011, Audiotoniq introduced a self-testing hearing-evaluation system at the Hearing Loss Association of America Convention. The device does not require an operator to administer the test, and it has wireless connectivity that allows results to be printed or sent to an electronic medical record system.
The portable testing system provides an audiogram and baseline hearing assessment. Testing can be conducted in various settings, including schools, physicians’ offices, and pharmacies.
Russ Apfel, founder and CEO of Audiotoniq, said, “The system will make hearing testing easy and affordable, helping to identify hearing problems for those who might have never planned on getting tested.”
The company said that MyWay hearing aids are fitted to the individual’s needs based on the audiogram they provide, similar to how they would be fitted in an in-person visit to an audiologist. The audiogram can be obtained through an audiologist, or by taking the Audiotoniq hearing test, which will be available in various convenient locations.
After being fitted, customers can make additional adjustments as needed by using an Audiotoniq smart-phone app. The company will also provide after-sale support, such as access to an audiologist via phone, e-mail, or live online chat. Consumers can also make appointments for Audiotoniq’s customer care representatives or an audiologist.
Oh boy. Formed in 2009 by a group of greedy engineers and entrepreneurs. Let’s be honest about it.
So, tell me how this automatic hearing test makes referrals for medical necessity?
Actually, it debuted at the HLAA Convention in June, where fellow Engineer & company CEO Russ Apfel was present.
The Audiotoniq is the first hearing aid that does not use a streamer: They use a Li-ION cell to handle the energy requirements necessary to handle 802.15 “Bluetooth” v2.0 A2DP communications directly. [I’m under an NDA with them, as they won’t be launching until next month; else I’d say more.]
What I CAN say is that they started out with a clean sheet of paper and designed their instruments from the ground up to have connectivity built in, with Russ leveraging his DSP chip designing skills.
Interestingly, their sales method involves a network of audiologists and dispensers in every State, acting as a backstop in case of difficult fittings that cannot be resolved over the phone, chat session, or remote login to the patients’ PC or smartphone.
Incidentally, Starkey T2 uses a less sophisticated variation of this technology for remote login to a users’ phone to make changes in settings.
My own opinion is that when digitally programmed instruments came into widespread use 15 years ago when 80% of HA’s were sold by Dispensing Professionals & 20% by audies, it levelled the playing field allowing providers on both sides of the fence to provide quality fittings with the click of a mouse, without having to resort to things like earmold modifications, mic changes & such… And audiologists benefited from this paradigm shift, capturing 80% of the retail market in the US.
But, technology is a double-edged sword: The very technology that benefited the audiology profession by greatly enriching them is now coming around to bite them in the ass (and combining with market forces) to put the technology in the hands of the users.
Let me give you a parallel: In the 1950’s through early 1980’s, computers were big and required specialists to program and operate them. But, starting in 1981 with the introduction of the IBM PC with MS-DOS, and soon thereafter Lotus 1-2-3, the stranglehold the mainframe computer jocks had over our daily lives was broken by the new technology…
Dan Schwartz,
Editor, The Hearing Blog
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