As we enter into the next decade, we as an industry are facing a wide variety of changes due to impact the profession of hearing care. While change can often be scary and be perceived as threats, it’s important to also consider the various ways that these changes can actually benefit you as the provider and be perceived as opportunities.
During this podcast discussion, host Dave Kemp and guest Kevin Liebe talk through HHTM’s newest column, “Hearing Healthcare 2020.”
This new column is designed to highlight some of the most exciting types of innovations occurring inside of the industry, as well as developments occurring in adjacent, peripheral industries, such as consumer electronics. The two go one-by-one through each of the first three interviews conducted for the column, sharing their key takeaways of each innovation being highlighted.
Hearing Aids, Connectivity, Data and Insights
As Kevin and Dave discuss, new use cases for hearing aids might enhance the devices’ value proposition and encourage more people to take the plunge in treating their hearing care, while non-traditional approaches to treating one’s hearing loss, such as hearables, might spur people to begin treating their hearing loss sooner in life. In addition, the two explore the myriad ways that hearing aids can serve as data-collection devices, providing insight into people’s hearing aid usage behavior, emotional well-being, and physiological health.
The byproduct of all this new data being gathered by connected hearing aids can be used for machine learning purposes by the manufacturers, help better inform the provider on usage patterns of the patient, give assurance to caregivers and other stakeholders, and ultimately provide for a better user experience.
To listen to the full podcast episode, you can listen by clicking the image below, or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or any other podcast player you prefer:
Dave Kemp is the Director of Business Development & Marketing at 
Oaktree Products and the Founder and Editor of Future Ear. In 2017, Dave launched his blog, FutureEar.co, where he writes about what’s happening at the intersection of voice technology, wearables and hearing healthcare. In 2019, Dave started the Future Ear Radio podcast where he and his guests discuss topics pertaining to what he’s covering through his blog. He has been published in the Harvard Business Review, co-authored the book, “Voice Technology in Healthcare,” writes frequently for the prominent voice technology website, Voicebot, and has been featured on NPR’s Marketplace. Dave travels the country giving talks to hearing care professionals on the technological evolution that the hearing aid is currently experiencing and the new use cases today’s hearing aids are supporting.
Kevin Liebe, AuD, is President and CEO of Hearing Health & Technology Matters (HHTM). He also serves as a Scientific Advisor to Neosensory, a Silicon Valley based startup pioneering experiences in sensory augmentation. As an audiologist, Kevin has experience in variety of settings, including private practice, ENT, and industry. He is a past president and board member of the Washington State Academy of Audiology
