Will Another Year of Disruption Lead to Unity Among Hearing Professionals? Not Likely, But it Should!
By Michael Collins, AuD My fellow hearing professionals, disruption is at our doorstep. I doubt that most of you would have thought just a few short years ago that our industry would be turned on its head in such a short amount of time by the likes of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS),…
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What Makes You Think You Are Special?
Editor’s Note: OK, put on your seat belts and prepare for disruption, or at least one professional’s view of such. By Geoffrey Cooling I read a recent commentary at the Hearing Review a few weeks ago and frankly it made me giggle a bit. In fact, it made me giggle a lot. In essence, it said that…
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Locked Software — Still More Thoughts
by Mike Metz After a couple of go-rounds on this topic, it lends itself to even more consideration. What if the manufacturers and the big-box retailers do nothing and continue selling locked hearing aids? What would be a likely result if all manufacturers unlocked all software? What would result from actions in the “middle ground”…
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Locked Hearing Aid Software — Additional Comments
by Mike Metz A short time ago, I wrote a post regarding lack of access to the software of some hearing aids. My comments arose from conversations with other dispensing audiologists. They saw patients that were having problems with hearing aids purchased from large distributors — Big Box stores primarily. Evidently, patients believed that they were…
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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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