US Ear Device Patents in October 2018
As long as people have been wearing hearing aids, and as long as audiologists have been fitting and tailoring them to individual users, there has always been one intractable problem. That is that hearing aids are standalone devices with (relatively) high IQs and (lamentably) low EQs. What is the Intelligence of Smart Hearing Devices?…
Read MoreUS Ear Device Patents in June 2018
The patent list continues to lean in on ear devices that use the ear as a conveyor belt for things far beyond what audiologists used to think of as hearing “better.” They raise Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) questions about what “better” may mean as technology continues to unfolds. The following are June’s…
Read MoreUS Ear Device Patents in May 2018
Sivantos/Widex Has a Lot of Clout by Any Measure The M&A of Widex and Sivantos was May’s big news in the hearing aid world. The new entity (name as yet undisclosed) is predicted take the new Denmark-Singapore headquartered entity to 29% global market share, making it the top player among major hearing aid manufacturers…
Read MoreAll-time Most Popular Posts: Ethics of Stealing and Deception
Originally published on 8/14/2012, Ethics of Stealing and Deception, is a post in Hearing Economic’s “But That Would be Wrong” series. It has garnered the most readership of any post at Hearing Economics over the years. Last time Hearing Economics described thefts and deceptions in professional settings. Transgressions were bizarre, some absurd, but all actually…
Read MoreMost Popular in 2017: Costco Growth – Get Your Hot Dogs and Hearing Aids Here!
Editor’s Note: This post garnered most readership in 2017. It first appeared on April 4, 2017 in Hearing Economics. Costco has enthusiastically embraced hearing aids as store-in-store revenue builders in all of its burgeoning warehouse locations since the mid-90s. The rate of Costco hearing aid center growth (feature image, red) has outstripped warehouse growth (blue) in recent…
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