This Week in Hearing

In this week’s technology spotlight, guest host Tony Sulsona speaks with John R. Luna, Chief Revenue Officer at Nuheara. The pair discuss the changes in hearing health delivery over the past several years and how the hearables segment is becoming an important and growing part of the hearing healthcare journey - particularly among consumers younger than those typically seen in hearing clinics today.

This Week in Hearing listeners are in for a treat, as host, Amyn Amlani, has an unbridled conversation with notable international bloggers and industry experts, Geoff Cooling and Steve Claridge. They discuss whether today’s traditional hearing aid technology has improved noticeably over products from just a few years ago. They also address the importance of customer service and the patient journey, and the importance of these factors to patient success. There are a few surprises in this part of the conversation that you will not want to miss!

In this week's episode, Dave Kemp interviews Dr. James Fielding, the Founder and Managing Director of Audeara, and Andy Bellavia, Director of Market Development for Knowles Corp. The three break down the latest Qualcomm 'State of Sound Report' and discuss the implications of the changing consumer preferences in audio and how it relates to hearing health.  

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In this week's technology spotlight, Dr. Bob Traynor speaks with Abhita Batra, CEO and Director of Otomagnetics. The company, a University of Maryland College Park spin-out, is developing a non-invasive method to deliver drugs and other therapeutic payloads to inner and middle ear compartments, to the eye, and into the skin. 

The inner ear is behind the blood-labyrinth barrier – vessels that supply blood to the inner ear have walls that are impermeable to most drug molecules, and thus it is a challenge to deliver therapy to treat inner ear diseases.  Otomagnetics is developing and commercializing a magnetic injection delivery system that will be able to  safely, effectively, and non-invasively deliver therapy to targets in the body that are currently not effectively reached by the standards-of-care, or that may otherwise require surgery to reach.

In a 1-hour conversation, Nick Reed, AuD, PhD, discusses what hearing care professionals need to know about public health and hearing loss. 

In a wide-ranging interview with Brian Taylor, Reed, who is a research audiologist and assistant professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine discusses why hearing loss of gradual onset in adults is not a benign condition and how hearing care professionals can play a more active role in improving the overall health of adults in their community. Reed provides a valuable overview of the research that is being conducted at the Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health.

Public Health and Hearing Loss: Interview with Nick Reed, AuD – HHTM (hearinghealthmatters.org)

Dr. Bob Traynor talks with GN Hearing CEO, Gitte Aabo, about the company's planned launch of the Jabra Elite Plus. The pair discuss the reasons why the company is planning the launch, why they have chosen to utilize the Jabra brand instead of ReSound, and how the company envisions the devices being sold to consumers with hearing loss. 

Licensed audiologists will soon have the opportunity to practice in-person and through telepractice across state lines because of an occupational licensure compact that has been in development since 2017.

The Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact (ASLP-IC) is a cooperative agreement enacted into law by participating states to facilitate the interstate practice of audiology and speech-language pathology, while also maintaining public protection.

This Week in Hearing host, Amyn Amlani, discusses the interstate compact, its development, regulatory policies, provider benefits and limitations, and consumer protections with Susan Adams, Director for State Legislative and Regulatory Affairs at the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA), and Tracey Ambrose, Lead Audiologist at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C.

Rick Rutter, VP of Marketing at hear.com, is this week’s guest on This Week in Hearing. Rick is not only an industry executive, but also suffers from hearing loss. Rick provides a first-hand insight on “where do we meet the consumer?” based on his delayed journey to using hearing aids to overcome his hearing loss difficulties, along with his thoughts on topics such as barriers to treatment, direct-to-consumer products, and service provisions.

“How do we meet consumer where they are?” is the theme of this week’s video podcast on This Week in Hearing. Host, Amyn Amlani, is joined by special guest, Kate Carr, President of the Hearing Industries Association, where they discuss topics such as, (i) barriers to adoption of hearing care service and technology, and (ii) legislative, regulatory, reimbursement, and service delivery factors that have the potential to narrow the gap between consumer perceptions and the professional and industry offerings available in hearing care. 

This discussion is one that you will not want to miss!

Despite many improvements and innovations in improving the moisture-resistance of hearing devices, such as nanocoating and improved case sealing, moisture issues still remain a significant cause of hearing device malfunction for hearing aid and cochlear implant users.

In this week’s Technology Spotlight, host Dr. Bob Traynor speaks with Matt Hay, director of audiology sales for Redux, and Dr. Al Turri, the Director of Audiology for The Villages in central Florida.

They discuss how the Redux technology works to restore hearing aids and other electronic devices, and how this can be used in a professional setting to enhance and elevate the patient experience, as well as how it can benefit the practice by reducing admin time and clinic time.