Hearing Aids

Why The Hearing Aid Industry Ignores Black Friday

Even as I get tired of all the hype about Black Friday, I wonder why the hearing aid industry is conspicuous by its absence on the biggest shopping day of the year in the U.S. Today is the big day, the day after the Thanksgiving holiday when shoppers flock to the malls as retailers cut their prices and offer the best price-cutting and one-day sales events of the year.

But while my email inbox is full of offers from every retailer and manufacturer I’ve had contact with in 2011, I haven’t heard a peep from the many hearing aid manufacturers and resellers that send me sales pitches on other days of the year.

But on reflection I realize it should be no surprise. Why? Because manufacturers only reduce prices and put their products on sale when demand is weak and there’s enough competition in their market to make them worry. A little price incentive, especially in the holiday selling season, can be a great way to win a point or two of market share in a hotly contested market.

But the hearing aid industry is more like an oligopoly. Each of the five or six major manufacturers has a comfortable market share, and price comparison shopping is a rarity. Instead, sales channels are limited mainly to audiologists and hearing-aid dispensers, each of whom often only carries one manufacturer’s product line. People shopping for hearing aids usually get a referral to a good audiologist, and if they engage and start the process of buying a hearing aid, they often simply stop shopping around.

Lack of price competition or active consumer product comparisons means the price reduction curve that we see in other industries, especially during slow economic times, is a lot less pronounced in the hearing aid business. Customers who can afford to buy hearing aids still pay many thousands of dollars, while those who can’t afford them spend what money they have looking for Black Friday deals on other less expensive goods.

I’m wondering if Black Friday in 2012 will be any different for the hearing aid industry. In 2011 we’ve seen a number of “over the counter” hearing aid manufacturers enter the market, including UnitedHealth Group insurance company’s hi HealthInnovations subsidiary. These vendors are bypassing the traditional audiology sales channel and selling direct to consumers over the internet. They are trying to reach the tens of millions of Americans with mild hearing loss that can be treated with open-fit hearing aids providing a modest degree of amplification. The new products are less expensive and easy to purchase.

Hearing aid industry groups and professional audiology groups are up in arms about the new competitors, saying that without a full hearing exam and professional fitting, hearing aids can often do more harm than good. But U.S. regulators, who several years ago gave a green light on the internet sale of Personal Sound Amplification Products (PSAPs) directly to consumers, may not be inclined to intervene.

So, don’t be surprised if on Black Friday 2012, your email inbox is full of offers not only from your favorite department stores, but also with offers from some new competitors in the staid old hearing aid industry.

W.L. Copithorne, RIP — He Left A Pile Of Unused Hearing Aids In The Dresser Drawer

My 94-year-old father died recently, and as we were going through his things we discovered a collection of unused hearing aids sitting in his drawer. So it can happen to anyone, even someone whose son has spent the last five years writing a blog about the wonders of hearing aids.

In recent years I had spent a lot of time helping Dad search for solutions that would alleviate his mild hearing loss, but I never knew how many times he had tried hearing aids in the past. Last year, I got him an over-the-counter Songbird Ultra hearing aid that used replaceable Number 10 hearing aid batteries, and a couple of years before that, I had gotten him a Songbird disposable hearing hearing aid that he never replaced after its battery ran out. Though he heard better with both these lower-cost products, he never got comfortable with them and they ended up in the drawer.

At that time, I knew there was already another pair of hearing aids in his drawer. Shortly after my mother died 10 years ago, he went to an audiologist for a full workup and came home with a nifty pair of completely-in-the-canal (CIC) hearing aids that set him back several thousand dollars. But he stopped using that pair, complaining about feedback and discomfort. But it wasn’t until I cleared out his home that I found yet another pair of hearing aids he had purchased a number of years earlier and never used.

In spite of the fact that he had a son who’d long gotten past the stigma of wearing hearing aids, and who was a walking example of how helpful hearing aids can be once you get up the learning curve with them, he never found a pair that did the trick for him.

You would think that in this day and age of comfortable, open-fit hearing aids with sophisticated sound processing and advanced feedback cancellation, the unused-hearing-aids-in-the-dresser-drawer syndrome would be a thing of the past. But it’s not. I chalk it up to the fact that until you really, really need hearing aids, you’ll often find it easier to cope with poor hearing on your own than going through the learning curve required to use hearing aids effectively.

It takes a while for your brain to adjust and get used to the amplified sound coming into your ears, and a lot of users don’t realize that the brain eventually filters out the distracting sounds of your feet sliding on the carpet or the keys jangling in the ignition that you first experience with a new pair of hearing aids. And even with today’s much easier-to-use hearing aids, older users like me father in their 80s and 90s still often have some dexterity issues getting the hearing aid placed correctly in their ear and the volume adjusted to their liking.

In the final decade or more of his life, my father, like so many others, suffered with less than adequate hearing and never found a pair of hearing aids that he liked. It’s too bad, as it’s been shown time and again that users of all ages who make the effort and get up the learning curve end up with much better hearing and a higher quality of life.

But there’s good news to this story, too. Alongside my dad’s unused hearing aids were two pairs of my long-deceased mother’s hearing aids as well. When she hit her late sixties she decided to do something about the mild hearing loss that she had suffered for years. She went to Sears and got a pair of inexpensive Miracle Ear in-the-canal hearing aids and wore them at church and dinner parties. Among the collection I also found a nicer, and newer, set of Phonak hearing aids that were clearly hers as well — she must have graduated to a more expensive set along the way without my having noticed.

So while Dad never got the hang of his hearing aids, they seemed to work well for Mom. Maybe she had more patience than he did. Or maybe she was just a better listener!

ExSilent Ytango Is First Behind-The-Ear Hearing Aid To Place Both Microphone And Speaker In The Ear Canal

ExSilent, an independent hearing aid company which was an early entrant in the invisible hearing aid market, has expanded its product line with the Ytango, the first behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid to integrate both the microphone and speaker in an earpiece that sits within the ear canal.

By placing the microphone with the speaker in the ear canal while letting the small unit that sits on the ear handle all the digital sound processing tasks, the Ytango lets the concha and the ear canal provide the ear’s more natural acoustic sound-enhancing properties. The patented design enables the wearer to better pinpoint where sound comes from, experience less wind noise and better understand conversation in noisy situations.

ExSilent calls its new technology “MaRIC,” for Microphone and Receiver in the Canal. Many other companies have put the hearing aid’s speaker (receiver) in the ear canal, but none to date have also put the microphone there in a behind-the-ear device. In addition to acoustic benefits, eliminating the microphone from the behind-the-ear processor unit reduces its size and improves its cosmetic appeal. The module in the ear fits deeply, so it is nearly invisible as well. ExSilent has also developed a new soft dome that, like other manufacturers’ receiver-in-the-canal products, does not require a custom ear mold impression.

A Ytango Pro model adds AirTAP™, another technology first from ExSilent that was first introduced on its Qleaf Pro CIC in February 2011. AirTAP lets you select programs with a slight touch or pat on ear. The AirTAP switch lets users move smoothly through four personal preset programs to adapt to different listening situations. The Ytango Pro-T also adds a telecoil, that transfers signals from mobile phones, MP3 players and other audio equipment, through a Bluetooth-enabled neck loop directly into the user’s hearing aids.

ExSilent is demonstrating the Ytango at the American Academy of Audiology (AAA) AudiologyNOW conference in Chicago this week and will start shipping the new product this spring. At a show marked by fewer major new technologies and new-product introductions from hearing aid manufacturers than in previous years, the new ExSilent Ytango behind-the-ear hearing aid should stand out.

New Siemens Aquaris Hearing Aids Are Waterproof

The new Aquaris waterproof hearing aids from Siemens Hearing Instruments have taken the recent industry trend toward more durable, water-resistant hearing aids to a whole new level. Siemens says the Aquaris hearing aids are fully waterproof to depths of three feet for up to 30 minutes.

The new hearing aids promise to eliminate the repair problems associated with sweat, dirt and humidity, in addition to expanding their functionality: Siemens has even developed a sound-processing program that can be switched on while swimming to help the hearing aids adapt to the sound of water splashing and other acoustic challenges.

The company describes the technology developed for the new waterproof hearing aids in its news release:

A scratchproof, rubber-like surface holds the device securely behind the ear and prevents it from slipping. The battery compartment is equipped with a waterproof but air-permeable membrane. As a result, environmentally-friendly zinc air batteries can be used, which always require “air to breathe”. The cover clip is attached to the top of the casing via ultrasound. It also protects the waterproof but acoustically transparent microphone membrane, which was specially developed for Aquaris. A nano coating and a seal protect the earpiece.

As with its other latest-generation hearing aids, Siemens equipped Aquaris with its BestSound Technology, which improves speech understanding, the wearer is able to make adjustments using Siemens “Tek” and “miniTek” remote operation, and the hearing aids link wirelessly with modern communication and entertainment electronic devices.

ReSound’s Water-Resistant “iSolate Nanotech” Coating Is On Cutting Edge Of A Revolution In Hearing Aid Materials

ReSound’s announcement that its iSolate Nantotech protective coating has reduced moisture-related repairs to its hearing aids by 50 percent since its introduction six months ago is the latest example of a quiet revolution in modern materials that is transforming the hearing aid industry.

As the spotlight has been shining on new sound processing systems and other software-driven bells and whistles that have improved digital hearing aids enormously in the past two years, the leading manufacturers have also been experimenting with nanotech-based materials, water-resistant coatings, and ceramic housings that have made hearing aids more comfortable, more durable, and far less likely to require repairs. In an industry historically marked by unusually high product return rates and high numbers of customers who stop wearing their hearing aids shortly after buying them, this revolution in materials is driving higher levels of customer satisfaction with more comfortable and reliable products.

ReSound’s iSolate nanotech coating, now used in all of ReSound’s hearing aids, establishes a thin protective layer that bonds at the molecular level with the internal and external components of the hearing aid, shielding them without affecting their performance. The application process, which is done in a vacuum chamber, ensures global coating of all components inside and out. Liquids or moisture coming into contact with the hearing aids simply roll off without being absorbed.

Because moisture related failure is one of the main causes of hearing-aid returns, the innovation has had a dramatic impact on product reliability. ReSound said that in a review of 50,000 hearing aids sold in the first six months since its introduction, it found that the iSolate nanotech protective coating decreased moisture and debris related repairs by 50 percent.

ReSound’s innovation is only the latest in a series of new materials and manufacturing processes announced by industry leaders.

• Starkey Laboratories’ Advanced HydraShield moisture protection system “integrates nano-coating, unibody construction and smart component placement,” which the company claims “provides 100 percent resistance to water, humidity, perspiration and corrosion, both inside and out.”
• Phonak’s “high-tech ceramic housings” are more attractive and comfortable because they are scratch resistant, they adapt to body temperature more quickly and help prevent perspiration in or behind the ear, they are hypo-allergenic, and they are shock-resistant.
• Oticon says its new super-power Chili hearing aid’s “unique shock absorbing receiver mounting prevents it from breaking should the instrument be dropped or fall off the ear,” while a “full body nano-coating” and internal seal protect the electronic parts from water, moisture, and dirt.
• And Cochlear Ltd says its Nucleus 5 cochlear implant, made with high-tech materials including water-resistant batteries, can be submerged in water for up to 30 minutes without failing.

And we can expect to see more announcements like these–although ReSound is the first manufacturer I know of who has actually documented the benefits of new materials by tracking a reduction in repair rates–because reliability is a critical factor in the success of any new in-ear or behind-the-ear product. Any audiologist or hearing aid designer can tell you that the inner ear is one of the most hostile places on the planet for miniature, high-performance, digital electronic devices. It’s wet, humid, and full of potential infectious agents. And because the devices themselves are so tiny, they are far too easy for large human fingers (especially for those of us who are “all thumbs”), to drop on the floor and otherwise abuse. Therefore the space-age materials that are making today’s hearing aids more durable and comfortable than ever before may be as important to their acceptance by more users as their ability to provide high-quality amplified sound.

Miracle-Ear Mirage Is The Latest Entrant In The Burgeoning Market For Invisible Hearing Aids

With its introduction this week of a very small digital hearing aid that sits deep enough within the ear canal to disappear from sight, Miracle-Ear is the latest entrant in the burgeoning market for “invisible hearing aids.” The Miracle-Ear Mirage is a digital hearing aid with many of the advanced features customers expect in full-featured digital aids, including feedback cancellation and digital noise reduction, programmable settings, intelligent peak smoothing, and “SoundBoost” volume control.

Miracle-Ear hearing aids have been on the market since 1948, when Ken Dahlberg, a World War II aviator turned electronic inventor, started manufacturing the first in-the-ear hearing aid, which he called “The Miracle Ear.” Since then the company has not been known as an innovator in digital hearing aids, but with the backing of corporate parent Amplifon, it has maintained a strong presence in retail channels including an exclusive relationship with Sears Hearing Aid Centers.

Today the entire line of Miracle-Ear hearing aids extends from entry level devices to the high-end ME-1 hearing aids with advanced noise reductdion, speech enhancement, Bluetooth compatible connectivity, optional remote control, multiple listening programs, and other features.

Other invisible hearing aids include the SoundLens and other branded solutions from Starkey Laboratories, Lyric Hearing’s extended-wear invisible hearing aids, ExSilent’s QLeaf invisible hearing aids, and ReSound’s Alera Remote Microphone hearing aid.

Oticon’s New ConnectLine Microphone Completes End-To-End Connection Between Hearing Aids And Your Conversation Partner

Oticon’s ConnectLine communication devices have made it easier for users of hearing aids to listen to their Apple iPods and personal MP3 players, their TVs, and their Bluetooth mobile phones for a while now. But with yesterday’s introduction of the Oticon ConnectLine personal microphone, you’ll finally be able to hear your dinner companion as well, even in a noisy restaurant.

The new wireless Oticon ConnectLine Microphone clips to your conversation partner’s lapel and picks up his or her voice while filtering out unwanted background sounds. It transmits the audio directly to the ConnectLine Streamer, which you wear on a loop around your neck, and the streamer transmits the unadulterated audio signals directly into your Oticon Agil hearing aids. It can also be adjusted to transmit at frequencies most compatible with the listener’s hearing-loss profile and hearing aids.

Ever since the big hearing aid makers began incorporating communication receivers directly into hearing aids, there’s been a not-so-quiet revolution in people’s ability to connect to more of the sounds of the modern world. But strangely enough, it’s taken some time for the major manufacturers to come up with workable assistive-listening solutions for the most common complaint of hearing-aid wearers–comprehension of speech in noisy surroundings. The ConnectLine Microphone is one approach to the speech-in-noise problem that is small and easy enough to actually be useful in the real world. When you add to the Oticon ConnectLine solutions for your TV, phone and personal listening system, you end up with a complete, end-to-end listening and comprehension system. Read more

Hearing Mojo Publishes Hearing Aid Comparison Chart With Data On Leading Global Manufacturers’ Flagship Hearing Aid Brands

NOTE: Due to a bad WordPress Plugin, the chart comparing premium hearing aid brands is temporarily unavailable. We’re working to develop a new, better chart, but in the meantime have taken this page off our navigation menus. However, it’s still available through search engines, so if you’ve reached this page and are disappointed the chart is not here, we apologize. We’ll get a new chart up as soon as we can.

THANKS

Shopping for hearing aids and other assistive listening technologies can be confusing and intimidating. With our focus on products and technologies for hard-of-hearing consumers, Hearing Mojo has gathered a lot of information on the leading brands of hearing aids and other devices and technologies that are available. Now we’ve organized data on the flagship brands from the world’s six largest hearing aid manufacturers and presented it in our first hearing aid comparison chart.

While the hearing aid comparison chart is by no means an exhaustive list, it does give consumers shopping for hearing aids an idea of what high-end features and functions are available from the world’s leading hearing aid brands. It also provides estimated prices for the premium brand hearing aids. Most important, it offers multiple links to other Hearing Mojo articles about the hearing aid products and brands, and the companies behind them, as well as direct links to the manufacturers’ product web sites.

The only way hard-of-hearing consumers can assure themselves they will get products at appropriate prices that will help them the most is to do extensive research. The comparison of six of the best-known premium brands is a good place to start. They include Oticon Agil (William Demant Holding), Starkey Wi Series (Starkey Laboratories), Phonak Ambra (Sonova Holding), ReSound Alera (GN Store Nord), Widex Clear440 (Widex), and Siemens Motion (Siemens Hearing Instruments).

Just keep in mind that there are dozens of other manufacturers who offer high-quality hearing aids with comparable price/performance, and each listed company offers numerous other hearing aids at other price/performance levels as well. So look carefully at the information on the chart, visit the multiple links, then look beyond this short list if you are serious about buying hearing aids.

We would love reader feedback on this first hearing-aid comparison chart, as we expect to develop additional comparison charts on other types of hearing aids and assistive listening devices.

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