Hearing Aids and Hearables: A Natural Pairing
These are the best of times and the worst of times, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us. (channeling Dickens for Audiologists) Audiologists may agree that we are living in extreme times. It’s gratifying to practice our profession in the “communication obsessed 2000s” (Ridley, 2010), with ear-level devices at hand as the obvious…
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Is “Her” Here? Can You Hear Her?
Yes, Her is and yes you can! And Her name is Hearable.1 What Is Her? Just in time, science meets fiction as life starts imitating art. Ray Bradbury didn’t name Her but he anticipated Hearables more than 60 years ago as binaural in-the-ear (ITE) devices: “a hidden wasp snug in its special pink warm nest…
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What Made Siemens So Special?
Siemens Audiology was big and she was old. Not usually a winning combination for a princess but it works great in an oligopoly. Controlling a quarter of the global hearing aid market is an attention-getter. Belonging to an exclusive group like the Big 6 also turns heads. Totally dominating an entire G8 country is pretty…
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Once Upon a Time There Was a Princess Named Siemens
It’s the holiday season, a time when Hearing Economics loves to tell stories, speculate, mix metaphors, and downright fantasize about the once and future hearing devices market. This and several future posts will keep the tradition alive, by telling a fast-paced, glittering tale of Siemens and those who wanted her at almost any price, or…
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Siemens in the Re-Making: Breaking News
Siemens’ plan to strip off Audiology was first reported by David Kirkwood as rumor in February and again as fact in May of this year. Various types of stripping were dissected at Hearing Economics and by its many Commentators. A few well-informed, anonymous sources offered their views. It was all very exciting, as always, when…
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