Hearing Economics

Ear-level electronic devices are on shifting ground.  FDA aside, what defines a “hearing aid” these days?  They are sophisticated, computer-based, ear-level, binaural, Bluetooth-enabled devices with storage and automatic programming capability.  They’re poised for far more than amplification, noise reduction, and feedback control. If you accept that functional definition of today’s hearing aids, what’s left to define a Hearable?  Is it every

“Peeling the Onion” is a monthly column by Harvey Abrams, PhD   In last month’s post, I spoke of Audiology’s origins as a rehabilitative discipline and its transition to a doctoring profession. How did we get to where we are? Without peeling back too many layers of the onion, arguably, the major driver was the desire to separate and distinguish

Her was first described at Hearing Economics in a December post as real-life version of Samantha, the ear-level, all-knowing operating system that whispered into Joaquin Phoenix’s ear(s) in the film “Her.” As the hearing industry enters 2015, Her  is manifest in a variety of ear-level wearables of varying sophistication and application, collectively dubbed Hearables.  The January 4-9, 2015 CES (Consumer Electronics Show)

Patent activity in the hearing aid industry continues to grow and grow more interesting.  We’re not Google or Apple, which ranked #11 and #13 for number of US patents in 2013 and are projected to rank higher in 2014.  But, our industry is hanging in there even as the competition heats up for Smart wearables and augmented reality (AR). Besides

2014 was a milestone year for the hearing instrument industry. Today’s post is a milestone, too.  It’s the holiday season,  the 200th post to appear in Hearing Economics, and also the last of the fluffy, sensationalized Siemens fairy tale series with lots of pictures. With all the stars in alignment, Hearing Economics is celebrating by totally making up a killer

Dear Readers: During this holiday season, the editors at Hearing Health & Technology Matters (HHTM) are taking some time off. However, we are not leaving you without anything to read on our blog this week. Instead, we are publishing a special holiday edition filled with what we call our Readers’ Choices. HHTM has had more than half a million page

Hearing Economics readers, please welcome Harvey Abrams to the ranks of regular writers at HearingHealthMatters.  Dr. Abrams has graciously agreed to assume the post of monthly columnist at Hearing Economics.  Today’s post marks his debut in a series he’s dubbed “peeling the onion.”  What he means by that will become clear with his monthly contributions.  Welcome, Harvey!   A New

Yes, Her is and yes you can!  And Her name is Hearable.1 What Is Her? Just in time, science meets fiction as life starts imitating art. Ray Bradbury didn’t name Her but he anticipated Hearables more than 60 years ago as binaural in-the-ear (ITE) devices: “a hidden wasp snug in its special pink warm nest for an electronic ocean of

Siemens Audiology was big and she was old.  Not usually a winning combination for a princess but it works great in an oligopoly.  Controlling a quarter of the global hearing aid market is an attention-getter.  Belonging to an exclusive group like the Big 6 also turns heads.  Totally dominating an entire G8 country is pretty awesome. And there’s the money

It’s the holiday season, a time when Hearing Economics loves to tell stories, speculate, mix metaphors, and downright fantasize about the once and future hearing devices market.  This and several future posts will keep the tradition alive, by telling a fast-paced, glittering tale of Siemens and those who wanted her at almost any price, or just wanted to be her.