Hearing Economics

The patent list continues to lean in on ear devices that use the ear as a conveyor belt for things far beyond what audiologists used to think of as hearing “better.” They raise Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) questions about what “better” may mean as technology continues to unfolds. The following are June’s examples of running the “better”

By Amyn Amlani, PhD According to a recent Forbes report,1 US student loan debt is the second-ranked consumer commitment, trailing only mortgage debt. Several factors2 contribute to the rising costs associated with higher education, such as the cost of instruction (but not faculty salaries), operation and maintenance, student services, and research. For graduate students enrolled in a professional audiology program

Sivantos/Widex Has a Lot of Clout by Any Measure   The M&A of Widex and Sivantos was May’s big news in the hearing aid world. The new entity (name as yet undisclosed) is predicted  take the new Denmark-Singapore headquartered entity to 29% global market share, making it the top player among major hearing aid manufacturers (Bernstein, June 1 20181), ahead

Editor’s Note: Business decision-making requires analytics to steer decisions towards profitability. Over the years, the hearing healthcare market has utilized analytics called key performance indicators (KPIs) as their compass when making business decisions. Given the rapid changes occurring in the hearing healthcare arena, we are learning that some KPIs, which were once considered as barometers to financial gain, are not

By Holly Hosford-Dunn, PhD The Big 6 –soon to be the Big 5— continued patenting hearing aid designs and technologies in April. They were joined in these efforts by South Korean and Swiss companies with challenging names that are new to Hearing Economics. We ask better-informed readers to send us what you know about these two:  Sorynorydotcom Inc. Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur

By Nick Ramdass, SHOEBOX Audiometry Hearing loss is a serious problem globally. The World Health Organization estimates that there are almost half of a billion people suffering from disabling hearing loss — a number that is expected to double by 2050.1 The National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Diseases (NIDCD) estimates that there are approximately 37.5 million Americans over

We’re likely to see more and more cross-overs between hearing aids and wearables/hearables. … What will the next generation of hearing aids look like?”  (Director of Media Relations at Sonova AG quoted in Hip hearing aids as a fashion statement?  Audiology Worldnews, April 20 2018)   By Holly Hosford-Dunn, PhD Marketing meets up with patents when it comes to figuring

Editor’s Note: Business decision-making requires analytics to steer decisions towards profitability. Over the years, the hearing healthcare market has utilized analytics called key performance indicators (KPIs) as their compass when making business decisions. Given the rapid changes occurring in the hearing healthcare arena, we are learning that some KPIs, which were once considered as barometers to financial gain, are not

HHTM welcomes back Dr. Holly Hosford-Dunn to Hearing Economics this week to bring readers the latest update in her popular patent series that has been tracking patent activity in the hearing industry since 2012   The patent series took a 6 month vacation and resumes today with 73 patents which were awarded in the fourth quarter of 2017. Almost 75%

By Harvey Abrams, PhD In a recent HHTM post, guest bloggers Terry Mactaggart and Errol Davis identify several provocative challenges that hearing healthcare providers will likely face in a near future characterized by rapid technological changes and major shifts in healthcare delivery. We would be wise to seriously consider how we will respond to each of those challenges. Mactaggart and