Hearing Aid & Hearing Loss News

I have been missing in action more or less for the last nine months, I want to tell you why. I also want to right an injustice served by me and finally share some learnings handed down to me.

The entry of Sonova to the consumer electronics world with the purchase of the Sennheiser consumer division is just another step in the journey to normalise hearing technology and drive early adoption first started by trailblazers like NuHeara and Alango. I think it could also be a boon for hearing care professionals who are willing to grasp the opportunities and run with them. One way or the other, it is a good thing for consumers and fits within the wider drive for augmented audio.

A teenager was the victim of verbal abuse after briefly lifting her mask so that her deafblind sister could read her lips. A passenger on a train to Southport confronted 16-year-old Saule Pakenaite as she tried to communicate with her sister, Karolina. Despite explaining that her sister has Ushers Syndrome, and is both visually impaired and hard of hearing, the woman refused to believe that the mask needed to be removed.

The British goverment are working to introduce British Sign Language (BSL) as a second language option at GCSE level of examination. Lythe primary school in Yorkshire have taken the intiative and will be teaching their kids BSL in the coming year.

Apple Watch adds decibel monitoring feature so you can take care of your hearing before it's too late. Great health benefit from a smart watch.

We were interested to see Which talk about the different hearing aid brands and their ownership of National hearing aid retailers recently. We have talked about National hearing aid retailers here before, but I suppose we never explored their ownership. Let's talk about the Which article

GN Resound are the latest big hearing aid brand to announce that they will be launching a rechargeable version of their new LiNX 3D hearing aids. With Widex expected to announce their own rechargeable version of their Fusion hearing aid it will mean that all of the big brands will now offer rechargeable hearing aids.

Sivantos launches world’s first video call for hearing aid fittings as part of an expansion of their Tel Care hearing aid app. TeleCare connects Hearing Care Professionals (HCPs) to hearing aid wearers via their Signia myHearing App and an online portal forHCPs.

President Donald Trump signed into law today the Food and Drug Administration Reauthorization Act of 2017, legislation that provides for greater public access to over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids.

While the big news was the Made For Any Phone, Phonak also introduced the complete range of Virto B products yesterday. They say it is the first ever hearing aid to use biometric data to improve signal to noise ratio

Recently scientists have been studying deeper in to the Cocktail Party Effect and discovered that it is not actually our ears that are doing the work of distinguishing voices from background noise, but it is our brains that are filling in the gaps

GN Store Nord have said that they will enter the OTC hearing aid market in the US.

Phonak has really pulled off a ground breaking advancement, not just Made For iPhone, not just Made For Android, but Made For Any Phone. Meet the Audeo B-Direct, the only hearing aid that will connect to any mobile phone with Bluetooth directly

I saw an interesting share from Phonak Spain today, I think Phonak may be about to change Bluetooth hearing aids forever

In a first for the hearing industry, William Demant, the corporation who owns Oticon, say they may enter the OTC hearing aid market

A recent article reminded me of a young man whose hearing I had tested a couple of years ago, he had been undertaking some strenuous weight training and had suddenly gone deaf in one ear. The Reddit user in the article had suffered a sudden hearing loss in one ear from an intense sit up workout.

Some recent advancements suggest that mind control of hearing aids may be the answer to hearing speech clearly in noise, but it could be a while before we see it happen.

Resound's sister company Jabra has just launched an upgrade to their Elite Sports Wireless Earbuds. They offer longer battery life, personalised sound and a new colour. The upgrade brings the devices in line with the battery life of similar devices from Bragi and Apple.

So, Phonak are teasing a big announcement and launch cycle in September and Phonak people are looking pretty smug. Is it just me or does everyone else think it might be Made For Android hearing aid time?

The Over The Counter Hearing Aid Act has been passed but how long before you see them on display? Well, it could be up to three years, although no one really thinks it will be that long.

Dance DJ Debi Ghose was always careful to protect her hearing but one visit to a festival without hearing protection left her suffering with tinnitus

Interesting response to Australian TV advert, a recent advert from Clarity Hearing Solutions in Australia was condemned by the advert watchdog there. The advert in essence uses the frustration of loved one's as the central theme but it perhaps steps over the line by intimating domestic violence, with a twist. Take a look at what your Mum wants for Mother's Day

Widex releases an updated Widex Zen app for the relief of tinnitus, Zen has proved effective to alleviate the frustration of tinnitus and the app is designed with this goal in mind. At the very least, it is a good test of whether Zen will be helpful to you with your tinnitus.

In a recent announcement BSHAA has found that the directors of an online hearing aid sales company have breached their code of practice. But what does that mean for online sales of hearing aids in the UK? More importantly, what happens now and into the future with online sales?

Widex will be releasing a new firmware update to deal with the issues that have been disrupting the connection between the iPhone and the Beyond Fusion 2. The best thing is that it will go straight to the app, so you won't have to visit your professional to get it sorted.

In a story I read many years ago there was a device that was implanted in your cochlea. A device that allowed you to interact with your world, giving you information, translating foreign languages and allowing you to communicate with other people in the manner of a phone or radio. I think the recent introduction of the Dash Pro by Bragi brings us one step closer to that day. Bragi and Starkey have come together to deliver the very first custom fit Hearable. The device is a further upgrade on the original Dash and it will be built to a custom fit by Starkey. Hearing professionals will take impressions and forward them to Starkey for the tailoring process.

The wife of the Inspiral Carpets drummer Craig Gill has said there needs to be a greater awareness of the devastating effects of tinnitus after an inquest into his death returned an open verdict.

Well another hearing aid brand has gone rechargeable, this hearing device segment just seems set to grow and grow. Oticon announced an expansion of their Opn hearing aid range and a rechargeable option that like Unitron's is backward compatible.

I finally got to play with the Unitron Tempus recently at a launch event in Dublin. I was caught by surprise by the spatial awareness quality they delivered. It was much better than the North Moxi Fits I wear at the minute. Let's talk about my experiences.