MR. COSTCO, TEAR DOWN THAT WALL!
by Mike Metz, PhD Consider the success of the “Big Box” sales of hearing aids. Costco alone has become the second largest dispensing entity of hearing instruments in the US, and just lowered the cost of their premium Kirkland 7.0 instruments. What do you suppose is their return-for-credit rate? No matter which of the…
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How Hearing Aid Technology Has Evolved in Society, and Why — Conclusion (Part XII)
Editor’s Note: Today’s post concludes the discussion by Abigail Farmer and Bruno Sarda on the evolution of hearing aid technology. Finally, we should take a lesson from the War Production Board, who chose to standardize all battery sizes, and create common standards for power and connectivity. By freeing hearing aids—or, as Wayne Staab calls them,…
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How Hearing Aid Technology Has Evolved in Society, and Why — Part X
Editor’s Note: Today’s post continues the discussion by Abigail Farmer and Bruno Sarda on the evolution of hearing aid technology. However laudable the goal of encouraging medical evaluation might be, one result of this lack of insurance/Medicare coverage and access is to resort to other forms of hearing assistance, particularly for those with only…
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How Hearing Aid Technology Has Evolved in Society, and Why — Part VIII
Editor’s Note: Today’s post continues the discussion by Abigail Farmer and Bruno Sarda on the evolution of hearing aid technology. Alternatives to Hearing As discussed previously, humans have always applied their creativity in pursuit of making things better. In the case of helping people hear better, we will first review technologies that have provided…
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How Hearing Aid Technology Has Evolved in Society, and Why — Part VII
Editor’s Note: Today’s post continues the discussion by Abigail Farmer and Bruno Sarda on the evolution of hearing aid technology. Changing Hearing Aid User Demographics In 2013, there were 44.7 million individuals over the age of sixty-five in the United States, or about 14% of the population.1 This age group is expected to grow…
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How Hearing Aid Technology Has Evolved in Society, and Why — Part VI
Editor’s Note: Today’s post continues the discussion by Abigail Farmer and Bruno Sarda on the evolution of hearing aid technology. Ageism impacts the way individuals see themselves in relation to society. In 1895, the Hawksley Catalogue of Otacoustical Instruments to Aid the Deaf reminded deaf individuals that they were “always more or less a…
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