Hearing Economics

Let’s launch the New Year with an exciting list of new patent approvals, in the tradition of previous posts, continuing the momentum started by E.G. Hyde in 1855 with the first US hearing aid patent (#12,951 shown above). If “exciting” doesn’t sound like  the right word, how about “contentious” or at least  “competitive”?  The numbers tell the story of the

This post is a Reader’s Choice selection for 2013.   GN Resound stole the show at the 58th Congress of Hearing Aid Acousticians (EUHA) in Germany last week, with the debut of its “Made for iPhone” MFi hearing aid (scheduled for global release 1st quarter of 2014).  According to a press release covered by the Wall Street Journal and internationally on Oct 16, the LiNX(TM) MFi

Dear Readers: Happy New Year 2014. 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. The Readers’ Choices are the

Are Audiologists being “squeezed” by hearing aid manufacturers?  Are hearing aid consumers being “gouged” by Audiologists and dispensers?  Are the squeezed and the gouged going home and kicking their dogs? Loaded verbs raise blood pressures but Hearing Economics insists on careful evaluation of available data before agreeing that it’s a war out there.  This requires tiny steps and lots of

Today picks up on a series begun in response to a headline-grabbing proclamation by a manufacturing CEO: “‘The hearing aid industry uses every new thing … to raise prices.” To which Hearing Economics posed rhetorical questions and slowly began addressing them:  What is the basis for making such a claim?  Are claims like this true or do they just sound true? Does

 Hearing Economics is pleased to welcome back the Guest Contributors from Ear Machine for Part 2 of Smartphone Control Apps. Dianne spent 20 years at the University of Minnesota, teaching and doing research on hearing aids.  She was director of advanced research at a major hearing aid manufacturer, and for the past 10 years has worked as a consultant to

Professional networks and interaction are vital components of economic, professional and personal health.   Take a moment in this Thanksgiving week to appreciate how vital your colleagues are to the success of your practice and lifestyle.  It’s the one time you can combine economics and sentimentality, which I do every Thanksgiving.  The following is from a  Thanksgiving blog I wrote

Hearing Economics is pleased to welcome three Guest Contributors from Ear Machine, here to help us navigate the new world of smartphone/hearing apps.   Dianne spent 20 years at the University of Minnesota, teaching and doing research on hearing aids.  She was director of advanced research at a major hearing aid manufacturer, and for the past 10 years has worked

Another bunch of patents compiled, with a few notes of varying importance. Important: “Hearing aid” and “hearing device” are quickly becoming inadequate to capture innovations and new players in the ear-level communication field.  Patent applications are proliferating from a variety of sources for diverse technologies and methodologies (e.g., Patent Application 20130272555).  It’s tempting to include them in the Table, but it’s

The first MFi Hearing aid buy cialis-super-active online buy cialis-super-active online no prescription post promised  “an Alice in Wonderland hearing device tour of Amazing Apple Applications.”  Before starting today’s tour, let’s check out one invention hanging around outside the Apple gate. The Banana Cellular Phone Cover  (patented 8/08/06), pictured right, is “characterized by elongated curving shape resembling a banana,” according to inventor