Said to be “the world’s largest event for acousticians,” the 63rd International Congress of Hearing Aid Acousticians, will be held from October 17-19, 2018 in Hannover, Germany, the European Union of the Hearing Aid Acousticians (EUHA) announced. The organization expects about 8,000 conference delegates from more than 80 countries.

During the three days of the conference, delegates will be introduced to a full program of events, according to EUHA’s announcement. The main topic of the 2018 EUHA Congress is “digitalization,” and all presentations will be available in both German and English. In addition to the lecture program, more than 130 exhibitors will be showcasing their latest technologies and innovative products in the fields of diagnostics, accessories, and design at the accompanying trade exhibition.

EUHA Congress

EUHA Congress

The conference schedule is available on the EUHA app and the EUHA website (the schedule is also listed below). National and international attendees are required to use the online ticket shop here. The online ticket shop will be available from the second half of August. Congress delegates may purchase their Congress tickets, the tickets for the trade exhibition, and those for the Congress get-together online before the event, which reduces waiting times. Tickets can be booked from your personal computer; simply print out the voucher with the barcode and use it as a “door opener” to the Congress: after scanning the code, each delegate will immediately receive their personalized Congress ticket. We accept credit card payment, PayPal, and—NEW—cash in advance (bank transfer). The EUHA online ticket shop was established in 2017, and improved for 2018 to enable Congress attendees to enter smoothly. Last year, the record from arriving in the foyer to entering the Congress was reportedly 12 seconds—that’s about as fast as it gets!

Please click on the link for a PDF copy of the conference floor plan. Hallenplan

Situated in the heart of Europe, Hannover is easily accessible by car, rail, or plane. Moreover, the Congress is ideal for making contacts and exchanging ideas with other members of the industry.

The EUHA has compiled a program with more than 20 lectures, seven tutorials, and a roundtable talk. Additionally, presentations on topics like audiology, science, industry, and acoustics will be included, with renowned lecturers speaking about cognition, teleaudiology, connectivity, and hearing effort. In addition, issues such as cochlear implants and tinnitus will be presented, as well as lectures on data logging, clinical assessment of feedback reduction systems in modern hearing aids, and new findings on earmolds. The focus is on connecting hearing systems to the ear to achieve best possible performance for the patient.

The program is available on the EUHA App and at www.euha.org. In addition to the lecture program, more than 130 exhibitors will be showcasing their latest technologies and innovative products.

The Congress is a good opportunity to communicate in a relaxed, cheerful atmosphere at the evening events such as the FGH Partners Evening and the Congress get-together.

A visit to the Congress is well worth the effort both for a day trip and a three-day trip. With its baroque gardens at Herrenhausen, the zoo, and an excellent cultural itinerary, the city has something to offer for everyone. Deutsche Messe Hannover is prepared to host major international congresses, including “Expo 2000,” and the technology show, “CeBIT,” which takes place there annually.

Program

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

9:00 a.m. – Opening of the trade exhibition of the hearing instruments industry

Noon –  Opening reception

12:30-2:00 p.m. – Opening ceremony and keynote address:

Peter Holzer, Frechen

“Remaining confident under pressure”

2:00-2:15 p.m. –  Break

2:15-2:45 p.m.- Dr Michael Schulte, Oldenburg

“ACALES: A tool to reliably measure subjective listening effort and evaluate algorithms for noise reduction”

2:45-3:15 p.m. – Dr Matthias Latzel, Stäfa (Switzerland)

“Reducing listening effort by using binaural features in hearing aids: An EEG study – the next steps”

3:15-3:45 p.m. –  Dipl.Ing.(FH) Alexandra Winkler, MSc, Oldenburg

“Freiburg monosyllabic speech test in noise”

3:45-4:15 p.m. –  Professor Dr Anke Lesinski-Schiedat,Hannover

“Cognitive abilities in hearing impaired seniors in correlation with specific audiological diagnostics and preoperative MRI scans”

5-7 p.m. –  General meeting of the European Union of Hearing Aid Acousticians (members only)

7:50 p.m. –  FGH Partners Evening

Deutsche Messe Hannover · Convention Center

Thursday, October 18, 2018

9:30-10:00 a.m. – Dave Fabry, PhD, Eden Prairie, Minnesota (USA)

“TeleAudiology improves clinical outcomes at every stage of the ‘patient journey’”

10:00-10:30 a.m. –  Simon Müller, MSc, Stuttgart

“Machine learning in an audiological application”

10:30-11:00 a.m. –  Dr Mariana Roslyng-Jensen, MSc, Tåstrup (Denmark)

“Otoscan transforms the future of hearing care”

11:00-11:30 a.m. – Oliver Nipp, Erlangen

“Bluetooth connectivity for in the ear hearing aids: Development challenges”

11:30-Noon –  Linda Liß, Aalen

“How reliable is the data logging function?”

Noon-2:00 p.m. –  Break

2:00-3:30 p.m. –  Round table talk:

“The digital revolution: Opportunities and risks”

Panelists: Marianne Frickel (biha); Christian Honsig (Sivantos); Peter Kaetsch (BIG direkt gesund); N.N.

Presenter: Martin Blecker (EUHA)

Deutsche Messe Hannover · Convention Center

Tutorials

9:30-11:00 a.m. –  T1: “The changing role of hearing aid acousticians in CI provision from a multidisciplinary perspective” (in German only)

Lecturers: Dipl.Ing. Siegrid Meier, MA, Lübeck; Professor Dr Anke Lesinski-Schiedat,Hannover; Alexandra Gödecke, Mainz

Presenter: Eva Keil-Becker, Koblenz

11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. –  h T2: “Hyperacusis: Sister or distant friend of tinnitus?” (in German only)

Lecturer: Professor Dr Gerhard Goebel, Prien am Chiemsee

Presenter: Dirk Köttgen, Cologne

1:30-3:00 p.m. –  T3: “Audio therapy—benefits for people with impaired hearing” (in German only)

Lecturers: Tobias Gröbe, Pamela Degenfelder, Erftstadt

Presenter: Wolfgang Luber, Planegg

5 p.m. –  General meeting of the biha (members only)

8 p.m. –  Congress get-together

Friday, October 19, 2018

9:30 -10:00 a.m. –  Florian Denk, Oldenburg

“An acoustically transparent hearing system”

10:00-10:30 a.m. –  Micha Lundbeck, MSc, Oldenburg

“Hearing aid evaluation using virtual acoustics”

10:30-11:00 a.m. –  Dipl.Ing.

Horst Warncke, Hamburg

“Can hearing impaired people with hearing aids hear better than ‘normal hearing’ listeners?”

11:00-11:30 a.m. –  Dr Ing

Steven Marcrum, AuD, Regensburg

“A clinical assessment of feedback reduction systems in open fit hearing aids”

11:30 a.m.-Noon –  Dr Hendrik Husstedt, Lübeck

“Can percentile sound pressure levels be used to determine the signal-to-noise ratio?”

Noon-2:00 p.m. –  Break

2:00-2:30 p.m. –  Professor Hubert H. Lim, PhD, Minneapolis, Minnesota (USA)

“Bimodal sensory neuromodulation approaches for treating tinnitus: New possibilities for hearing care professionals”

2:30-3:00 p.m. Professor Dr Gerhard Goebel, Prien am Chiemsee

“When is tinnitus a case for hearing aid acousticians? Notch therapy put to the test: Does tailor-made notched music training keep its promises?”

3:00-3:30 p.m. –  Hashir Aazh, PhD, Guildford (UK)

“Clinical research update on assessment methods used for patients seeking help for tinnitus and/or hyperacusis from an audiology clinic”

3:30-4:00 p.m. – Nicolas Siegert, Düsseldorf, Professor Dr h. c. Ralf Siegert, Recklinghausen

“New universal implant for transcutaneous and percutaneous coupling”

4:00-4:30 p.m. –  Anna Biggins, BSc, Stäfa (Switzerland)

“EasyView Otoblock: Innovative new Otoblock enables deeper impression taking”

4:30-5:00 p.m. Dave Fabry, PhD, Eden Prairie, Minnesota (USA)

“Safe and sound: Development and validation of a hearing aid system for fall detection and safety alerting”

Closing remarks

Deutsche Messe Hannover · Convention Center

Tutorials

9:30-11:00 a.m. –  T4: “What the musician wants” (in German only)

Lecturer: Mag.a art. Esther RoisMerz, Vienna (Austria)

Presenter: Marc Osswald, Stuttgart

11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. –  T5: “Functional check of smartphone-controlled hearing aids” (in German only)

Lecturers: Jan Widmaier, BSc; Professor Dr Steffen Kreikemeier; Torsten Saile, BSc, Aalen

Presenter: Iris Rademacher, Trier

1:30-3:00 p.m. –  T6: “Understanding and implementing percentiles” (in German only)

Lecturers: Matthias Parr, Harald Bonsel, Reinheim

Presenter: Beate Gromke, Leipzig

3:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m. –  T7: “Metrological analysis of functional elements in hearing systems” (in German only)

Lecturers: Harald Bonsel, Matthias Parr, Reinheim

Presenter: Harald Bonsel, Reinheim

Subject to change without notice.

Source: EUHA

Images/Video: EUHA, YouTube