Brands

Newly Renamed Starkey Hearing Technologies Plans To Keep Putting New Wine In New Bottles

Sometimes when a company changes its name, the first thing you think is “old wine in new bottles.” But when Starkey Laboratories, the 45-year-old hearing aid company, today announced its name change to Starkey Hearing Technologies, it reflected how far the company has come in recent years. It also sent a strong signal on where the company is going–toward a future focused on developing new hearing technologies and integrating them into multiple brands of new hearing products for big consumer markets.

In recent years, Starkey has emerged as one of the top five global hearing aid companies, with nearly a billion dollars of sales from a broad line of products that meet consumers’ entire range of hearing needs. Its five hearing aid brands–Audibel, AudioSync, NuEar, MicroTech and the original Starkey brand–are increasingly driven by a common platform of new technologies in digital signal processing, sound processing, miniaturization, wireless connectivity to your phone, TV and other devices, and wireless binaural communication between hearing aids for a more natural balanced sound.

“Over the past decade, we have gone from a manufacturing company to a global technology company,” Jerry Ruzicka, President of Starkey Hearing Technologies, said in a news release. “The name change better aligns with both who we are as an organization, as well as our focus on innovation, technology and the diverse customers we serve.”

Starkey was founded in Minnesota by William Austin, who has devoted more time in recent years to philanthropy. His Starkey Hearing Foundation to date has given away more than 500,000 hearing aids to people in need in the U.S. and around the world, with a commitment to giving away more than 100,000 hearing aids annually and a goal of one million more this decade. In the meantime, Starkey’s new generation of operating leadership has poured money into R&D and new-product development, and the results are starting to make a big impact on hearing-industry markets.

Once known more for its sales strength than leadership in innovation, in recent years Starkey caught up to and in many instances surpassed other leading hearing-aid manufacturers in developing and promoting hot new technologies. Just this week the company’s new AMP “invisible” hearing aid is being honored at the International Consumer Electronics Show with a 2012 Innovations Design and Engineering Award.

But the newly named Starkey Hearing Technologies won’t be able to rest on its laurels, or its name change, to continue competing successfully in the increasingly competitive global high-end hearing technology industry, where all the leaders are driving the advanced technologies in their hearing aids into consumer products for markets such as high-tend audio, Bluetooth phones, headsets and earphones, and wireless devices.

Industry leader Sonova Group, whose Phonak brand has been both a technology and a marketing leader for years, has continued to drive innovation in sound processing and wireless technologies. GN Store Nord, parent of ReSound hearing aids, also has a Netcom headset division that is driving into industrial hearing protection and consumer markets for earphones and headsets including the popular Jabra bluetooth phone earpieces. And Oticon hearing-aid parent William Demant’s similar push into consumer hearing technologies is led by its high-end Sennheiser headsets and other well-known audio brands.

Cochlear Implant Failure Rates Appear To Be Low In Spite Of Recalls

Results of a study published in the December issue of Archives of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, found that rates of cochlear implant failures in a sample of Canadian children implanted between 1990 and 2010 were less than three percent. It’s one of the few studies I’ve seen that attempts to show how reliable cochlear implants are, and according to the authors of the study, the findings indicate a very low failure rate in spite of publicity over the past two years about cochlear implant product recalls.

Advanced Bionics had a major recall starting in 2010 that kept its leading cochlear implant product line off the market well into 2011, and in October 2011 Cochlear Ltd. announced a voluntary recall of its main implant line after reports of a small percentage of failures in past implanted units. When it announced the recall, Cochlear Ltd.’s share price fell 20 percent, but when it announced in late December it discovered the cause of the product failures, the share price bounced back.

Even though the first cochlear implants were developed decades ago, and even with the enormous progress we’ve seen in their ability to restore hearing, we are still early in the game when it comes to performance of the systems and improvements in implantation techniques. It’s good to see both Cochlear Ltd. and Advanced Bionics voluntarily recalled their products when they discovered problems in a small fraction of devices that had been implanted, rather than waiting for regulators to blow the whistle.

If the three major global players can stay on top of the inevitable problems that arise and continue improving the products and performance at the rate they have over the past decade, we can expect to see a lot more deafened children and adults getting their hearing back.

Advanced Bionics Takes The Plunge With Waterproof Neptune Cochlear Implant Sound Processor

Advanced Bionics (AB), the cochlear implant maker owned by Sonova Group, may have been out of the market for a while due to a product recall last year, but it apparently used the time to catch back up with a hot new product that will pose some competitive headaches for the other cochlear implant makers.

AB’s new waterproof Neptune cochlear implant processor, the first  “swimmable” cochlear implant system, was just approved for distribution throughout Europe, following approval in December by U.S. and Canadian regulators of distribution in North America.

At first look, you might wonder why a waterproof cochlear implant system is such a big deal. I don’t wear my hearing aids when I go swimming, and other than a slight fear that I won’t hear the lifeguard’s warning that there are sharks in the water, I get along well enough without them. So why do you need a waterproof cochlear implant system?

One big reason: consider the fact that babies born deaf are now often fitted with cochlear implants right away to help them acquire language at the same rate as hearing children. Then think back to your childhood days splashing around in the pool or in the water at the beach. Not being able to hear a parent yelling at you is a lot more dangerous than my fears about missing shark warnings.

And whereas most adults take a quick dip, most kids will spend as many hours in the water as they are allowed. And for those adults who like to swim a lot for real exercise, I imagine being able to wear the CI while doing laps might be a benefit as well.

The Neptune product is also a new design. Whereas most CI processors are hung behind the ear, the Neptune is a small, seemingly indestructible unit that can be clipped do your lapel or breast pocket, or attached to an armband, with a wire extending to the magnet connector that’s affixed to your skull behind the ear.

For highly active adults and kids, I can see the armband option as a great way to stop worrying about whether the processor will stay put when you’re running, biking or swimming.

Between the cool design and impressive waterproofing technology, I’m glad to see the Number Two cochlear implant maker, now that it’s back on the market following its recall, competing aggressively with new high-tech product designs.

Lantos Technologies Has A Working Demonstration Of World’s First Digital Ear Canal Scanner

Lantos Technologies, developer of a 3D digital ear canal scanner that could be a game changer for the hearing-aid industry and consumer audio business, has been demonstrating its technology at the Starkey Laboratories 2012 Hearing Innovation Expo in Las Vegas. Audiologists at the conference Tweeted about the “wow” effect of a product that’s slick, comfortable and easy to use. To see a demonstration, click on the video:

The Massachusetts company calls its product “the world’s first intra-aural 3D scanning device.” It is a direct, digital, 3D scanner capable of measuring ear canal shape and tissue compliance to produce a highly accurate map of the ear canal. It will eliminate the uncertainties associated with manual fits, greatly improving the performance of custom made ear products across a wide variety of markets ranging from hearing aids, to headsets and earphones for iPods, MP3 players and high-end audio applications, and industrial hearing protection.

On The Starkey Labs Drawing Boards: New Xperia Brand Of “Instant-Fit Custom” Hearing Aids Will Integrate Wireless Feature Set

Sources at the Starkey Laboratories 2012 Hearing Innovations Expo in Las Vegas report that company representatives today provided a glimpse of a new Xperia brand of “Instant-Fit Custom Hearing Aids” that will integrate Starkey’s popular Wi-Series wireless technologies featuring Bluetooth phone connectivity, TV audio and MP3 streaming, and other communication direct into the hearing aids.

The new hearing aids feature an innovative in-the-canal (ITC) design which has a removable earbud that fits in the ear canal, with a housing for the processor unit that sits in the concha of the outer ear.

The unit looks like a custom hearing aid but can be fitted for most ears. And, rather than an old-fashioned half-shell or full-shell design, it bears more of a resemblance to a contemporary Bluetooth earpiece or high-tech earphones.

A big selling point apparently will be the same Starkey wireless capabilities now found in company’s very popular open-fit on-the-ear Wi series, including pairing with the Starkey Surflink remote streamer for communication direct to the hearing aids with multiple peripheral devices and binaural wireless communication between the left and right hearing aids.

There was also talk of a broader line of in-the-ear products to come, including a completely-in-the-canal (CIC) SecretEar hearing aid with the same complete wireless feature set.

Starkey has raced to compete with other major manufacturers in delivering wireless functionality following major announcements over the past two years by Widex, ReSound, Oticon, Phonak and others. Starkey sources say the Wi Series wireless feature set has proven highly popular with audiologists, who have asked for the same functionality in more form factors, especially in-the-ear custom-style products.

Founding Member Of N.W.A. Rap Group To Move Sonomax Into Consumer Hearing Markets As Creative Director

Sonomax, once a somewhat staid manufacturer of ear plugs and hearing protection solutions for industrial users, has recently moved into the heart of the consumer audio business with its sculpted eers self-fitted custom earphones.

Now, the Canadian company is showing it’s all in to the consumer market with the appointment of K. R. Nazel–a.k.a. Arabian Prince, the West Coast music pioneer, DJ, producer and founding member of the groundbreaking rap group N.W.A. and Stones Throw label–as the new Sonomax Creative Director.

Sonomax is another example of a company with great hearing-enhancement technology that is figuring out how to reach a larger audience with products designed for a broader market of consumers. And Nazel isn’t just a figurehead. He has jumped right into both the marketing and product design:

“I listen and work on music everyday, so I wanted the sound and fit that I use on stage, and when I DJ to carry over to eers™. I have used custom in-ear monitors for years, but there has never been a cost effective solution for the general public until now. Custom in-ear monitors can take weeks to make and cost a thousand dollars or more, but with the SonoFit™ system and eers™ custom earbuds, the general public can get a one-of-a-kind custom fit in just 5 minutes right out of the box for less than 25% of the price.”

The SonoFit system enables you to create a custom set of ear buds at home, without going through an extensive process with an audiologist or ear mold maker.

Starkey Laboratories Research Shows ‘Invisibility’ Is One Of Top Five Factors In Consumers’ Hearing Aid Choice

According to new market research, “invisibility” is one of the top five factors customers consider when buying a hearing aid, according to a presentation by a senior Starkey Laboratories executive yesterday at the 2012 Starkey Hearing Innovations Expo in Las Vegas. The research (Chart 1) reveals that consumers are less interested in what brand of hearing aid they are buying than other factors such as: 1) price; 2) sound quality; 3) form factor; 4) visibility/invisibility; and 5) customer service.

More than most other major global hearing aid manufacturers, Starkey Labs has focused development and marketing resources on the invisible hearing aid market over the past two years. Now the presentation by Dennis Van Vliet, Au.D., Starkey’s Senior Director of Professional Relations, explains why: the prized Baby Boomer market segment is far more receptive to “invisible” high-tech solutions than the previous generation of hearing aid users. In addition to the cosmetic appeal of a hearing aid no one knows you are wearing, today’s techno-savvy Boomers, who are attracted to high-tech gadgetry in general, are fascinated by the tiny new hearing systems that can pack more power and performance into a tiny package that sits deep within your ear canal than the huge behind-the-ear models that were the norm only a few years ago.

I’m not at the conference but received a copy of the presentation, which is packed with interesting new information, including a fascinating comparison (Chart 2) between consumers above 65 years old, who are generally averse to technology and less interested in fashion and an active lifestyle, versus Baby-Boom generation consumers aged 41 to 64 who are overwhelmingly interested in new tech solutions that fit in with an active lifestyle. My take on the data is that the Boomers are not put off by the “stigma” of being seen wearing hearing aids so much as attracted to slick new well-designed products that combine superior form with high-tech function.

Starkey’s “invisible” product line now includes the entry-level AMP hearing aids and its high-performance Soundlens products, both of which sit deep within the ear canal. Starkey’s Xino product family is a on open-fit, behind-the-ear, receiver in the canal (RIC) product that is so tiny it is also marketed in the “invisible” category. Starkey has marketed the AMP system aggressively as a first-time solution for users who would not otherwise want to wear hearing aids.

I’ve gotten comments on my previous posts about Starkey’s invisible hearing aid marketing campaigns from readers who say the company is playing into stereotypes about hearing aids as something to be ashamed of and something to hide from others. I’m sure there are plenty of consumers out there worried about the lingering stigma of having to use hearing aids, but I think something else is going on in the market as well. I like to think tech-savvy Baby-Boom consumers are attracted more to the positive aspects of well-designed hearing products that push the limits of miniaturization and performance than to the fact that they are afraid of being seen wearing hearing aids.

Richard Branson Gets Hands-On With Hearing Aids On Starkey Hearing Foundation Mission To South Africa

Media mogul, airline magnate, and high-altitude explorer Sir Richard Branson got hands-on with hearing aids on a recent Starkey Hearing Foundation mission to South Africa that the jet-setting celebrity philanthropist called “one of the most rewarding weekends of my life.”

“Seeing kids who had never been able to hear or speak doing so for the first time. Old men completely deaf dancing with joy at suddenly being able to hear again. Incredible,” Branson said in a post on his Virgin Companies blog entitled “Giving the Gift of Hearing.”

William Austin, founder of Starkey Laboratories and the Starkey Hearing Foundation, led the mission, which set up 500 hard-of-hearing South African citizens with hearing aids.

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