Hearing Protection

Phonak Uses World Cup Vuvuzela Noise As Design Laboratory For New Hearing Protection Products

Phonak’s Hear the World initiative got so much attention from its announcement that vuvuzela horns were damaging World Cup attendees’ hearing that the hearing aid company’s product designers sprung into action to adapt Phonak’s popular Serenity industrial hearing-protection products with a new line of consumer devices for fans who need to protect their hearing at stadium events such as major league sports events and rock and roll concerts. Hear the World announced that Phonak customized a new version of its Serenity state-of-the-art hearing protection systems–typically used by helicopter pilots, fire-fighters, industrial staff and security professionals–and sent it to World Cup journalists in Johannesburg, South Africa, to see how well it would filter out the endless drone of the vuvuzela. The noise makers emit sound at an ear-splitting 127 decibels (dB), louder than a lawnmower (90 dB) and chain saw (100 dB). Continuous exposure to noise at more than 85 dB will cause permanent hearing damage, so virtually all fans in a stadium enduring an extended chorus of vuvuzela noise are at serious risk of hearing loss.

As more consumers become concerned about noise-induced hearing loss and get used to the idea of have custom molds taken of their ears enabling them to wear custom earpieces that are comfortable and snug, hearing-aid manufacturers see a potentially large consumer market for hearing-protection devices. Phonak’s Serenity system incorporates slick “dynamic hearing protection” technology, with filters embedded in custom ear pieces and wireless connection to a small digital signal processing unit worn around the neck. In its consumer prototype, Phonak developed a special program program for the filters to dampen stadium noise. The work by damping dangerous impulse noise the moment it occurs while passing through any other sounds that are within safe limits — protecting users’ hearing without diminishing their ability to hear safe sounds. It’s high-end industrial technology which, if Phonak can find a mass market, might ultimately be delivered at consumer electronics prices.

Phonak has a large family of hearing-protection and enhancement devices that take advantage of the company’s hearing-aid technologies. The Phonak Primero DPC communication system has all the protection features of the Serenity system but also includes a wireless transmitter and receiver, so it serves as a custom headset as well for industrial workers and military personnel who must do their jobs and communicate effectively in dangerously noisy environments.

Phonak is a great example of a hearing-aid company that got tired of waiting around for the obvious mass market of aging hearing-impaired baby boomers to take off. By all rights, the market for hearing aids and hearing protection should be growing in double digits but for years has been stuck in single-digit range. Phonak is sparking consumer demand on two fronts: by coming up with creative products that it promotes using exciting advertising and clever consumer marketing campaigns, and by raising awareness through initiatives like Hear the World which serve to educate consumers about the need for hearing assistance while at the same time lessening the stigma traditionally associated with wearing hearing aids.

Vuvuzela Or No Vuvuzela, Ear Plugs Are A Must To Protect Your Hearing At Any Stadium Sporting Event

Phonak’s Hear The World Foundation touched a nerve when it warned World Cup fans of the damage stadium noise can cause to your hearing, especially if you’re in the midst of a chorus of vuvuzela horns. It turns out that, at 127 decibels (dB), a vuvuzela is louder than an air horn. On top of normal cheering in a heated match, the sound can quickly do permanent damage to your hearing. After Hear The World issued its statement, the news of potential hearing loss spread across the media and the web like wildfire — Google the phrase “vuvuzela hearing loss” and you will see 71,000 entries. What’s the best way to prevent hearing loss from noisy stadiums? There’s been talk of banning vuvuzela horns at the World Cup and other sporting events. My preference, though, is to see everyone start using simple ear plugs, which can protect you from all stadium noise at any sporting event, which, vuvuzela or no vuvuzela, often surpasses decibel levels loud enough to cause hearing damage.

With FDA’s Blessing, New Over-The-Counter Hearing Aids And Personal Sound Amplifiers Promise To Disrupt Global Hearing Industry

Improvements in technology and performance have enabled a new class of over-the-counter hearing aids and personal sound amplifiers to gather momentum in the global hearing-aid market. A new breed of manufacturers is bypassing traditional distribution channels with products that have the potential to dramatically change the price/performance equation and disrupt the traditional ways hearing-aid manufacturers have done business around the world.

In the U.S., the powerful Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates hearing aids, has given this new class of of devices its blessing with a new name–Personal Sound Amplifier Products (PSAPs)–and a new set of guidelines for consumers who may want to buy and use them. It has also opened the door for a new class of over-the-counter hearing aids, sold directly to the consumer without the assistance of an audiologist.

The new products cost hundreds of dollars, versus the thousands of dollars that most name-brand hearing aids cost today. They are easy to acquire over the internet or through the mail. And they have the potential to start meeting the entry-level requirements of the largest market of consumers who need hearing assistance–the swelling ranks of fifty- and sixty-something baby boomers who are gradually losing some hearing and in need of mild-to-moderate hearing assistance.

Everyone has seen ads for low cost hearing assistance devices on late-night TV or in the back of the Sunday newspaper, but until recently they had little impact on the hearing-aid industry and even less on customers in need of true hearing assistance. Simple amplification doesn’t do the trick for most people who need to hear better in various situations, especially in challenging listening environments such as restaurants and at work. So while these low-cost sound amplifiers promise to solve your hearing problems, they often fail to perform as promised.

Until recently, there was no mistaking personal sound amplifiers for true hearing aids–sophisticated devices that often cost thousands of dollars, but which provide finely tuned correction to hearing impairments. True hearing aids provide digital sound processing tuned to the user’s hearing-loss profile along with features such as directional microphones, feedback cancellation and noise suppression. But as digital signal processors and other components have gotten more powerful and less expensive, it’s become easier to come up with alternatives to traditional hearing aids that do many of the same things just as well at a fraction of the cost.

Now a few manufacturers are taking the plunge with a new class of devices, sold over the counter rather than through audiologists, that look and feel just like the newest open-fit digital hearing aids from established hearing-aid manufacturers. These higher-end sound amplifiers cost several hundred dollars each, versus the cheaper sound amplifiers that often cost well under $100. But they are fully functional digital hearing aids with many features previously found only in high-end hearing aids costing thousands of dollars each.

The FDA spent a long time struggling with how to regulate hearing aids and sound amplifiers. There is no doubt some level of medical oversight is warranted, because if you over-amplify the sound going into your ears, you can damage your hearing. Just ask any physician dealing with a 20-something patient coping with self-inflicted hearing loss from extended iPod over-amplification. For years the FDA has required manufacturers to get its approval for hearing aids designed to rectify hearing loss in patients, to ensure the devices work without doing additional harm. Therefore it classified hearing aids as medical devices that audiologists would need to prescribed and fit for patients with medically diagnosed hearing problems.

But problems arose in accurately defining what kind of hearing assistance device would be a “hearing aid,” and what other kinds of devices could be sold over the counter without a prescription. Because the foundation technology of a hearing aid is so simple–basically a speaker and a microphone–you could call any amplification device a hearing aid. Radio Shack, for instance, for years has sold a two-by-three-inch microphone with amplifier that you can use with a set of cheap plug-in ear buds and hear much better than you could before. It’s the same technology as the body-worn hearing aids worn fifty years ago. But today you would be hard-pressed to define it as a hearing aid subject to regulation by the FDA.

The FDA finally settled on a definition of hearing aids as any devices whose specific purpose is to rectify medically diagnosed hearing impairments, whereas PSAPs, or personal sound amplification products, are devices used to amplify hard-to-hear environmental sounds for people with perfectly normal hearing:

PSAPs are intended to amplify environmental sound for non-hearing impaired consumers. They are not intended to compensate for hearing impairment. Examples of situations in which PSAPs typically are used include hunting (listening for prey), bird watching, listening to lectures with a distant speaker, and listening to soft sounds that would be difficult for normal hearing individuals to hear (e.g., distant conversations, performances). Because PSAPs are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or mitigate disease and do not alter the structure or function of the body, they are not devices as defined in the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. As such, there is no regulatory classification, product code, or definition for these products. Furthermore, there are no requirements for registration of manufacturers and listing of these products with FDA. (From Guidance for Industry and FDA Staff: Regulatory Requirements for Hearing Aid Devices and Personal Sound Amplification Products, Feb. 25, 2009)

Clarifying the definition of hearing-aid devices meeting users’ needs for hearing enhancement rather than hearing correction opens the floodgates for technology and market innovators. For instance, Cabela’s, the hunting and outdoor supply store, sells behind-the-ear and in-the-ear devices developed by Walker’s Game Ear which integrate sophisticated hearing aid technology that enhances as well as protects the hunter’s hearing. It amplifies the slightest sounds of the forest to help the hunter listen for prey, but instantaneously shuts down when a shotgun fires, protecting the hunter from the noise of the blast, which otherwise can seriously damage hearing. Prices for the Walker’s Game Ear products range from under $200 to more than $600.

The FDA has also clarified regulations on the fitting and distribution of hearing aids it has approved for sale. While it very strongly recommends that consumers get a medical evaluation and hearing test before purchasing either a hearing aid or a personal sound amplification product, it allows them to purchase hearing aids without a medical consult if they sign a simple waiver form:

A prospective hearing aid user must provide to the hearing aid dispenser a written statement from a licensed physician that the prospective user has been medically evaluated and is a candidate for a hearing aid. This evaluation must occur within 6 months prior to the date of purchase of the hearing aid. If 18 years of age or older, the prospective user may waive this requirement for medical evaluation provided that the prospective user signs a waiver statement under the conditions outlined in this regulation. (From Guidance for Industry and FDA Staff…)

Credible manufacturers are emerging who offer fully functional digital hearing aids directly to consumers costing hundreds, not thousands, of dollars. Songbird Hearing, utilizing digital signal processing technology originally developed at the famed Sarnoff Labs in New Jersey, has a line of hearing aids available over the internet. Its Flexfit ($179.90) and Ultra ($269.90) hearing aids offer people with mild to moderate hearing loss good sound processing and enough amplification to help hear the TV and get along better at a noisy dinner table, with the Ultra offering high-end features such as feedback cancellation, noise reduction and a button for four “Sound Boost” settings. Its Flexfit Disposable offers 400 hours of hearing for $79.90, at which point you just order another; it’s good for occasional users who will get many months of use out of the device and don’t want to bother replacing batteries. (We’ve just acquired an Ultra and will be reviewing its performance in Hearing Mojo in the near future).

For higher-end users, America Hears offers premium-performance hearing aids at less than half the cost of hearing aids from the leading manufacturers. America Hears hearing aids use top-end digital signal processors, advanced sound processing software, and include all the advanced features high-end hearing-aid users expect. We’ve written about America Hears before and have tested their products, and found them to be as good as the leading name-brand manufacturers. America Hears requires a recent audiogram that’s been administered by an audiologist or certified fitter, but programs the hearing aids at the factory to your unique specifications. It then ships them directly to you along with a programming kit that you can use to fine-tune the aids yourself, or download changes you want from the America Hears audiologists who will make the programming adjustments for you. America Hears hearing aids range from approximately $800 to $1,300 each, well under half the price of comparable products from leading brands.

These products and others like them have the potential to unleash the growth potential of the global hearing-aid market, which has been stuck with single-digit growth over the past decade even as demographic changes would lead you to expect much higher growth rates. Lower costs and better technology and products add up to a disruptive force that has the potential to dramatically change the structure and growth outlook of the global hearing industry.

At Hearing Mojo we intend to follow the markets for over-the-counter hearing aids and personal sound amplifier products as closely as we follow traditional manufacturers’ products. We will look at all the announcements we see and try our best to determine which products come from credible manufacturers with good technology.

Hearing Aid Technology Is Finally Going To Work In Hearing Protection Market

For a long time, the standard in hearing protection for the military, police and workers in noisy industrial environments was little more than a set of ill-fitting ear plugs. But blocking your hearing is often more dangerous than potentially losing it in noisy environments where inability to hear your colleague’s voices or failure to hear warnings of an imminent threat can put you in harm’s way. It’s no surprise, then, that hearing loss among soldiers who don’t wear their earplugs because they don’t feel safe not being able to hear what’s going on around them has become one of the biggest problems for veterans of the Irag war and other conflicts. That’s why it’s gratifying to see hearing-aid manufacturers have finally start applying advanced hearing enhancement and hearing protection technology to the problem of environmental noise. Phonak is the latest manufacturer to come up with an advanced hearing system for people trying to get their jobs done in noisy and dangerous environments, and it integrates some impressive technology.

The new Phonak primero DPC boomless radio headset features “dynamic hearing protection.” Custom ear molds that sit in the user’s ears integrate wireless technology which measures and dampens environmental noise while enhancing speech tones. The sound-dampening completely protects users from load blasts or noise from heavy machinery while enabling them to continue speaking with others over a wireless link. A tiny microphone integrated within the ear jack and an innovative signal processing algorithm pick up the user’s voice from inside the ear canal. This allows the user to be heard by others over the wireless link more clearly than with previous technologies. Designed with teams such as rapid intervention, SWAT, police, emergency and homeland security professionals in mind, the primero DPC system raises the bar of safe radio communications by enabling conversation in noise of up to 115dB with hearing protection guaranteed even when loud ‘impulse’ noises such as shots or crashes occur.

By integrating both hearing enhancement AND protection, Phonak’s new system is leading the charge for a new class of products that put sophisticated hearing aid technology to work in a market for hearing-protection systems that is potentially even larger than the global market for hearing aids.

Feel Good Department: Super Bowl Heroes Drew And Brittany Brees Give Big Assist To Hearing Protection Advocacy

Credit Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees and his wife and partner-in-parenting Brittany with the biggest assist of the year for hearing protection advocacy. The feel-good story of the afternoon was when the future Hall-of-Fame quarterback shared a special moment with his year-old son Baylen just before hoisting the Lombardi trophy in front of 70,000 fans and millions of TV viewers. The first question out of many viewers’ mouths was, “What’s with the headphones?” Drew and Brittany let everyone who asked know that the huge hearing-protection headset covering little Baylen’s ears has been standard issue since their son attended his first game at the tender age of three weeks. The New York Times parenting blog captured the moment beautifully, giving both parents an A+ for putting their son’s precious hearing first. Now here’s a question: who was the manufacturer of that hearing-protection headset? I can’t tell the brand or model from the pictures. Whoever it is now has the world’s most valuable product endorsement!

02/11/2010 UPDATE: This just in–a Hearing Mojo reader named bob has identified Peltor as the maker of Baby Baylen’s hearing-protection headset. Inc. Magazine got on the story quickly. Peltor, located in the home town of the Indianapolis Colts, apparently had no idea their Peltor Junior Earmuffs would be getting such a great endorsement. For more on Peltor see our previous story on Peltor’s hearing protection headsets.