The world’s largest cochlear implant maker, Australia-based Cochlear Ltd, has announced the acquisition of Sycle LLC (Sycle.net), San Francisco, the world’s largest provider of audiology office management software (OMS). The deal reportedly consists of $56 million in cash and up to $22 million in possible performance incentives over a 3-year period, for a total potential sale price of $78 million.
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Central auditory processing disorder (CAPD) is a complex and evolving subject, but remains a solid diagnostic entity. While there is some variance in diagnostic criteria across US and European professional association guidelines, this simply reflects the need for additional research with participants with confirmed CAPD. A considerable body of research exists demonstrating the efficiency of individual central auditory tests and central auditory test batteries based on performance of individuals with confirmed CANS lesions, including such lesions in children. Authors Gail Chermak, PhD, Frank Musiek, PhD, and Jeffrey Weihing, PhD, provide information that will assist clinicians in making informed, evidence-based clinical decisions about CAPD.
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Larry Humes, PhD, and colleagues present a summary of findings from their recent study published in the March 2017 edition of the American Journal of Audiology that compares a professionally driven best-practice hearing aid service delivery model to a version of an over-the-counter (OTC) model. One important message that should not be lost in the extremely relevant findings of this RCT study is that hearing aids are, in fact, efficacious and provide considerable benefit to older adults with mild-to-moderate hearing loss.
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Net hearing aid unit sales in the United States increased by 3.4% in the first quarter of 2017—with a gain of 3.9% for the private/commercial sector and 1.3% for the VA—compared to the same period last year, according to statistics generated by the Hearing Industries Association (HIA).
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Former Northland Hearing Center COO Jeffrey Longtain has pleaded guilty to tax evasion and will forfeit $2.3 million of Northland stock and pay $697,327 in restitution to Starkey. He reportedly faces a maximum of 3 years in jail and up to $100,000 in fines, but is expected to receive leniency for his cooperation with the government and his agreement to testify against other former Starkey executives.
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The FTC held the workshop, “Now Hear This” looking at a myriad of issues surrounding technology and competition in hearing healthcare, as well as how over-the-counter hearing aids might impact customer satisfaction, the use of amplification products, consumer safety, and professional care.
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Harold “Hal” Spar passed away on Monday, just 3 weeks short of his 96th birthday. Spar, along with his lifelong friend and business partner, Henry Meltsner, founded Hal-Hen in 1946, and then 10 years later established Widex USA in 1956. Beyond the founding these two successful companies, the two men were also instrumental in the independent dispensing movement (ie, the break from single-line dispensing outlets) that swept the United States starting in the late 1950s.
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Carl Ludvigsen, a pioneer and visionary in hearing aid research and technology, passed away at the age of 72 years. Among his many accomplishments, Ludvigsen was a key driver for Widex to introduce the world’s first digital ITE hearing aid in 1996, co-developed the Dantale word lists (with Claus Elberling and Poul Erik Lyregaard), and was a key advocate of “evidence based audiology.”
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Part 2 provides a basic overview of some of the considerations for establishing a teleaudiology practice.
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This step-by-step protocol outlines a number of key verification considerations with telecoil-based phone programs. Tips and tricks for making measurements and fine-tuning, as well as data from a recent clinical study on the subject, are also presented.
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The Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Act of 2017 was introduced Monday, March 20. The reintroduced legislation is designed to make hearing aids for those with mild-to-moderate hearing loss available over the counter (OTC), and require the FDA to write regulations ensuring the new OTC category meets the same high standards for safety, consumer labeling, and manufacturing protections as all medical devices, providing consumers the option of an FDA-regulated device at lower cost.
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Study compares the effective bandwidth and maximum gain before feedback of the Earlens device—a light-driven (as opposed to acoustically driven) hearing aid system—to six receiver-in-the-canal (RIC) hearing aids in similar conditions.
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The initial tone that a hearing care professional sets will direct the patient’s approach to treating—or not treating—the hearing loss for many years to come.
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Jeffrey Longtain, the former COO of Starkey-owned Northland Hearing Centers, has been charged with tax evasion and may have entered into a plea agreement, according to an article in the March 3 Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
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The first-ever placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized clinical trial of hearing aid outcomes shows that older adults benefit from hearing aid use, including over-the-counter (OTC) devices. There were no significant differences in outcome between the OTC and audiology best-practice service-delivery approaches for 5 of the 6 outcome measures, but the OTC group fared somewhat worse when it came to satisfaction with their hearing aids. Fewer OTC participants were also likely to purchase their hearing aids after the trial (55% for the OTC group vs 81% for the best practices group, with 36% for the placebo group).
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