PSAPs – When the World Was Flat

I was looking through some old files the other day and came across this advertisement from the Columbus (OH) Dispatch, dated November 19, 1984.

By definition, this product would be called a PSAP today.¹

The FDA definition of a PSAP (Personal Sound Amplification Product) is that

“PSAPs are intended to amplify environmental sound for non-hearing impaired consumers.  They are not intended to compensate for hearing impairment.  Examples of situations in which PSAPs typically are used include hunting (listening for prey), bird watching, listening to lectures with a distant speaker, and listening to soft sounds that would be difficult for normal hearing individuals to hear (e.g., distant conversations, performances).”

Even a bad lawyer should have a field day with this definition.

This old ad, and the current FDA statement reminded me again that the hearing aid industry often does reinvent itself, and believe it or not, in some cases, even falls back on and accepts early concepts, applications, and yes, even names.  I have no problem with this – just stating the facts.

The Ad was for the Audiotone AMP (name sound familiar?) – what we called a “personal communicator.”  This was designed and manufactured when I was VP at Audiotone, a Phoenix Arizona-based hearing aid company.  I wrote all the data sheets and advertising copy for this product, convinced even then that there was more that could be done to help a number of individuals who had difficulty communicating, but who were not ready for hearing aids.  We actually advertised it in a way that the FDA definition now suggests.  It sounds as if someone from that Department read the ad.  Examples of some of the ad text:

“You hear well in most situations, but sometimes wish that people would speak more clearly.  Maybe in church, during a lecture or if you’re in a crowd.”

“You might wish to hear your family or friends a little better, or want more from a religious service, lecture or conference.  Or, you might just want to hear the radio or television more easily.”

I am proud to say that product sales vastly exceeded our expectations, with thousands sold each month,  until………

This letter was sent to the dispensers (one a Ph.D. audiologist – a fairly new activity at that time) as well as to us at the company headquarters.  The primary difference in the letter to us was in the text following the definition of a “hearing aid,”  Ours read:

“Since the AMP is intended to be used as a device to correct a hearing deficiency, it is by definition a hearing aid and should not be promoted otherwise.  I have advised the hearing aid dealers named in the advertisements of this Board’s concerns and I hope that you will also review this matter with your staff as this Board will continue to monitor the advertising of this product.”

What was interesting in the entire exchange were the following:

1. Never, in any of the ads was the instrument called a hearing aid
2. The product was always called a “Personal Communicator”
3. No literature ever said a person’s hearing loss may be corrected using the AMP rather than a hearing aid (the latter part of this sentence is somewhat amusing because it implied that a hearing loss can be corrected with a hearing aid) – call it semantics if you want.
4. The FDA definition of a PSAP could easily have been taken from the wording in this, and other ads for the AMP.
5. At the time, thousands of “hearing aids” by definition, were being sold by Radio Shack, but not called hearing aids.  Actually, with the definition at that time, an amplified telephone was legally a hearing aid.  However, this was never publicly challenged.

I always found it odd how many other “hearing aids” by definition one could purchase over the counter, even back then, and I didn’t even list the volume control on the radio or TV.

The end result was that three of the management group at Audiotone were not interested in becoming legally involved.  So, myself and one other who believed that we  had a good case, pulled back.  The device was relabeled as a hearing aid and sales dropped to only a few a month in about two months.

I have no figures on how many PSAPs are sold currently, but I suspect there were enough to cause the FDA to provide the definition they did.

This blog is not to endorse nor condemn PSAPs, merely to provide a little interesting history.

Footnotes & References

¹Guidance for industry and FDA staff: Regulatory requirements for hearing aid devices and personal sound amplification products.