Hearing News Watch

PLYMOUTH, MN–When a man who had worked in a Rexton hearing aid manufacturing facility here for 25 years learned that he was going to be laid off in six months, he prepared for unemployment by stealing $1 million worth of hearing aids and related products, such as remote controls and battery chargers. So says the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, which

Pictured from left are Brian Urban, president of ADA; competition winners Rachel Magann Faivre and Liz Tusler; and Ed Keller, president of EarQ.   BONITA SPRINGS, FL–It’s not just its undefeated and top 20 ranked football team that is bringing glory to Northern Illinois University these days. A team of two AuD candidates at the Dekalb, IL, university, took home

     By David H. Kirkwood WASHINGTON, DC—The International Hearing Society (IHS) turned its Fit to Serve campaign up a notch last week with the introduction of federal legislation that would authorize the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to hire hearing aid specialists to provide care for veterans with hearing loss, tinnitus, and related conditions. IHS launched Fit to Serve

By David H. Kirkwood WASHINGTON, DC—In what has become a biennial ritual, the Hearing Aid Assistance Tax Credit Act was once again introduced in the U.S. Senate last week. The measure, S. 1694, introduced on November 13 by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV), calls for a non-refundable $500 tax credit for the purchase of a hearing

By David H. Kirkwood ROCKVILLE, MD–The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a draft guidance document on November 7 designed to clarify “the distinction between hearing aids and personal sound amplification products (PSAPs), as well as the regulatory controls that apply to each.” It invited public response to the draft by February 5, 2014. Entitled “Regulatory Requirements for Hearing

The following post was revised on November 15 to include portions of the FDA Medical Devices Advisory Committee’s position regarding the Nucleus® Hybrid™ L24 Implant System.   SILVER SPRING, MD—A public advisory panel of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Medical Devices Advisory Committee has given a favorable vote to a new implant system from Cochlear Americas. At a public meeting

SEATTLE–Experienced educational audiologists who would like to help children in great need and to have an unforgettable experience in the process may wish to answer a call from the Global Foundation for Children With Hearing Loss. The mission of the Seattle-based foundation is to make a direct and lasting impact on deaf and hard-of-hearing children around the world by providing

  By David H. Kirkwood When hi HealthInnovations announced two years ago that it would start selling “high-tech, lower cost hearing devices” directly to consumers, hearing healthcare organizations immediately denounced the plan. They contended that in bypassing the hearing professional, hi’s distribution model would provide inferior hearing solutions and would also endanger patients whose hearing loss was a symptom of

LONDON—Hearing scientists and hearing healthcare providers have known for decades that exposure to loud noise, especially over an extended period, often causes severe and irreversible hearing loss. However, a report by an international team of researchers reveals that the damage done by excessive noise extends far beyond hearing loss and related auditory problems, such as tinnitus. In an article, “Auditory

WASHINGTON, DC—Few seasoned flyers pay much attention to the in-flight safety video or demonstration that is presented at the start of every commercial flight. However, that doesn’t excuse airlines from presenting them—and in a way that is accessible to passengers who can’t hear. That’s why in September the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) fined Virgin America $150,000 for failing to