Hearing News Watch

Over the past 50 years, as the United States has moved from a manufacturer-based to a knowledge-based economy, hearing loss among American adults aged 20 to 69 has declined, even as the number of older Americans continues to grow. This was the conclusion of a recent JAMA Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery report published December 15 online. Howard Hoffman of

Legal titan and former Supreme Court Justice, Louis Brandeis decried what he referred to as the “curse of bigness” – a school of thought reaching back to Thomas Jefferson that says the American economy is better off when there’s smaller companies competing head-to-head with each other.  With his term in office ending soon, President Barack Obama appears to be keeping

In 2014, the top post at Hearing News Watch was on news that Phonak would begin distributing hearing aids at Costco. Since that article published in March of 2014, it has gone on to be one of the most viewed posts at HHTM of all time. So perhaps it isn’t surprising, two years later, that another Costco story has gone

PHOENIX, ARIZONA — ON Semiconductor, a leading supplier of semiconductor-based solutions, announced this week that the company’s Ezairo 7150 SL audio processor was chosen by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) as a 2017 Consumer Electronic Show (CES) Innovation Award honoree. According to the company, the Ezairo 7150 SL is an open-programmable digital signal processing (DSP)-based hybrid, which enables wireless connectivity in hearing aids

NEW YORK, NEW YORK — The inability to hear subtle changes in pitch, a common problem for people with schizophrenia, is due to dysfunctional N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) brain receptors, according to a study by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center. The study also found that this particular hearing issue can be improved by combining auditory training exercises with a drug that

Twenty-sixteen is shaping up to be a remarkable year in the evolution of wireless audio technology, sometimes called hearables.  Last January, Starkey Hearing Technology announced a strategic partnership with the hearable company, Bragi. During the year we saw a slew of wireless earphones enter the market, including one from Resound’s sister company, Jabra, the Here One from Doppler Labs and

In a move that perhaps caught some in the audiology community by surprise, the Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA) announced its support of S.9, the Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Act of 2016. In a statement released by ADA, it said that the organization “commends Senators Warren and Grassley for their foresight in introducing and advancing this legislation, which if enacted,

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today during the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine Dissemination Meeting, Hearing Health Care for Adults: Priorities for Improving Access and Affordability, Eric Mann, Chief, Ear, Nose and Throat Devices Branch of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it does not intend to enforce the requirement for adults to obtain a medical evaluation

While the Hearing Industries Association (HIA) of America agrees with the basic idea of increasing accessibility and affordability of hearing aids, in a December 3rd press release, they expressed concerns about the recently proposed Warren-Grassley legislation intended to create a new category of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids. The primary concerns expressed in the HIA statement pertain to requirements in the

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA — According to a new study, investigators at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and 37 other Children’s Oncology Group hospitals in the U.S. and Canada have found that sodium thiosulfate helps prevent cisplatin-induced hearing loss in children with cancer. Results of the randomized, controlled, phase 3 study, were published in this month’s online edition of Lancet Oncology.