Industry

Will HearingPlanet Still Give Objective Advice About Other Hearing Aid Brands When It Is Owned By Phonak Parent Sonova?

Audiology Online published an intriguing interview yesterday with a senior executive of the The Sonova Group, parent of the Phonak, Lyric and Unitron hearing-aid brands, among others, on why Sonova acquired HearingPlanet, the popular web site that provides detailed information on multiple hearing-aid brands for potential customers. In the AudiologyOnline Q&A, Sonova Group Vice President Alexander Zschokke says the acquisition will enable Sonova to “provide more leads” to the audiologists and other hearing health care professionals who dispense Sonova’s hearing aids. But the one question the interview doesn’t ask is, “Will HearingPlanet still give objective advice about other hearing aid brands when it is owned by Phonak’s parent company?”

HearingPlanet’s success for more than a decade has been based on its ability to offer objective advice to potential purchasers of hearing aids who may be confused about the many choices among different manufacturers’ brands, form factors, product types, and prices. On its web site, HearingPlanet notes that with “numerous brands and styles available,” hearing-aid buyers should “compare prices and technology across brands” and “choose a hearing care provider which offers multiple brands and models so that you can find the right hearing aid for your needs.” It goes on to provide a wealth of information that will help you research the various choices in the market, including a fact-filled comparison chart on 18 different hearing-aid brands that includes major features and pricing.

So there seems to be a potential built-in conflict between Sonova’s stated desire to use HearingPlanet to send more buyers to dispensers of Sonova-owned hearing aid brands, and HearingPlanet’s traditional mission to provide objective advice about multiple brands so customers will find the product that suits them best, regardless of the brand. Of course, this is the real world of commerce, where conflicts of interest abound (see: Goldman Sachs), and it would be self defeating for HearingPlanet to change its winning formula for one that favored one manufacturers’ brands over all others. As of today, the only possible sign of favoritism is the fact that Phonak is the first brand name on the HearingPlanet comparison chart, but that’s not a big deal — anyone who doesn’t look past the first entry on a comparison chart isn’t really looking for comparative information anyway. Otherwise HearingPlanet looks much the same, and we will see if the site changes at all over time.

The acquisition is an interesting example of the consolidation trend in the hearing-aid industry. Phonak’s CEO Valentin Chapero several years ago unsuccessfully attempted to reduce the number of hearing-aid manufacturers with global reach by making a bid to acquire GN ReSound (the acquisition was thwarted by a German antitrust court ruling, which, though later overturned, ended the acquisition bid for good). Since then, financial analysts have said the global hearing aid industry might consolidate through other mergers, through the leading manufacturers increasing their market share, and through the major players acquiring their distribution channels to capture more revenue and gain leverage from vertical integration.

HearingPlanet is a spectacularly successful generator of highly qualified leads to audiologists — in the interview, Sonova’s Zschokke notes that even though most of the people who go to HearingPlanet have never worn a hearing aid before, more than fifty percent of the patients HearingPlanet refers to a hearing health professional in its network go on to purchase hearing aids. So Sonova is smart to want to own HearingPlanet to make sure the leads keep coming to Phonak and its other brands. But let’s hope Sonova doesn’t kill this golden goose by undermining HearingPlanet’s traditional objectivity, depth of information, and excellent advice in any way.

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.

Sonic Innovations’ Super-Power Endura Hearing Aid Has All The Bells And Whistles Patients With Severe Hearing Loss Need

With the first shipments of its new super-power Endura behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids this month, Sonic Innovations is providing a satisfying high-end bookend to its line of hearing aids spanning the needs of all users.

The market for hearing aids for patients with severe-to-profound hearing loss is smaller than the markets for patients with mild-to-moderate hearing impairments, and sometimes manufacturers’ high-end product lines lack the bells and whistles available to their mainstream customers. But features such as adaptive directional microphones, Bluetooth capability, multiple programs for different listening environments and the latest and greatest feedback cancellation and noise-reduction algorithms are just as if not more important to people with severe hearing impairments as they are to those with more moderate hearing loss.

Sonic Innovations Endura hearing aids provide a maximum gain of 140 decibels, enough power to fit even the most profound hearing loss. They provide adaptive and automatic directional microphones and utilizes the company’s latest “Sonic Sound” digital sound processing software. They also feature integrated Direct Audio Input (DAI) for external personal sound amplifiers, cell phones, MP3 players and other devices. Because DAI provides a hard-wired connection rather than the wireless connection through a telecoil favored by many mainstream hearing aid systems, it can provide a more reliable signal that provides a welcome improvement in comprehension to severely impaired users who need as clear and undistorted audio as possible.

“With the addition of Endura to our family of products, we offer high quality, cutting-edge products for people with all levels of hearing loss,” said Sonic Innovations CEO Sam Westover.

The Endura family rounds out a line of hearing aids that also includes Sonic Innovations Touch, a receiver-in-the-canal product, Velocity, and open-ear “ion” hearing aids. The Touch microRIC was recently named as the Best of Innovations Design and Engineering Awards winner at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show.

Sonic Innovations’ parent company Otix Global Inc. is banking on new products to turn around a slump in sales it attributes to the recession and to legislative changes in Germany that impeded sales there. Annual sales fell by 23.3 percent in the year ended Dec. 31, 2009 over 2008, but the trend improved somewhat in the first fiscal quarter of 2010 with a 15 percent sales decline over the same period in the previous year.

Can Hearing Aids Make You Smarter? Research On Cognitive Hearing and Listening Fatigue Says They Can — Is The Industry Finally Listening?

Hearing aid manufacturers have finally started listening to ten years of academic research into concepts known as “cognitive hearing,” “listening fatigue” and “cognitive fatigue.” It took them long enough, but I’m not complaining, because at least they are finally claiming to attack the problem of hearing loss at its roots.

In recent announcements of their next-generation hearing aids, industry leaders Starkey Laboratories and Oticon both claimed their new products would ameliorate “cognitive fatigue” and therefore improve not only hearing but also the ability to listen and understand. Since the invention of the hearing aid, the industry has focused mostly on simple amplification that makes noise louder and therefore easier to hear. Too often, hearing aids amplify the noises uses don’t want to hear and actually make it more difficult to comprehend the sounds — speech — they do want to hear. Now the industry is finally trying to address the critical issue of better cognition.

While neither Starkey nor Oticon went so far as to say their hearing aids would make you smarter, that’s really the value proposition the industry should start trying to deliver. No, hearing aids can’t make you smarter all by themselves. But hearing well can enable you to listen well, and listening well can enable you to better understand what you hear, better understanding makes it easier for you to communicate in real time with other people, and intelligent communication lets your brain be as smart as it naturally wants to be. Now think of the same scenario in reverse: no hearing assistance means less listening means less understanding means less intelligent communication. In other words, failure to get a good pair of hearing aids can make you appear to be a whole lot stupider than you really are.

The catch is what constitutes a “good pair of hearing aids.” Dr. Brent Edwards at the Starkey Hearing Research Center in Berkeley, California has been looking at the issue of “cognitive hearing” for years, and his work is finally working its way into the products Starkey is delivering to the marketplace. Instead of looking at the problem from the outside in with the mechanics of replacing lost hearing with amplified sound, Edwards and other researchers have looked at it from the inside out by studying how the brain interprets sounds and uses them to create understanding and intelligence. Critical, previously ignored issues –  such as how the brain processes and then ignores background noise, how it picks up nuances in timbre and tone to make fine distinctions between similar-sounding consonants in speech, and how the mental overhead required to compensate for hearing loss affects overall cognitive performance — are now providing guideposts for product developers deciding on how to use the new wealth of digital technology and software to process sound in helpful ways.

A four-year old presentation Edwards gave at the American Academy of Audiology conference is available here. It’s a good starting point for anyone who wants to understand issues surrounding cognitive hearing and hearing-aid product development better. It also points to the research of others in the field, especially Robert Sweetow, who did pioneering studies on how therapeutic training in hearing and listening can dramatically improve comprehension, a concept embodied in Neurtone’s LACE training software.

Will the new hearing aids from Starkey and Oticon prove to be revolutionary, game-changing breakthroughs in delivering on the promise not just of better hearing but of better cognition? More likely, they will be incremental but important advances in today’s hearing-aid technologies. But I’m more optimistic now that with a new awareness of and focus on the core issue of better hearing — better performance in life through better cognition and understanding — the industry will eventually find ways to deliver on the promise.

Able Planet’s Noise-Canceling Headphones Introduce True Hearing-Aid Technology To Consumer Electronics Industry

Able Planet has been around a long time developing assistive listening products for the hearing-assistance industry based on its Linx Audio sound processing technology. But recently it has taken on a new look with a high-profile branding campaign and a new, broad line of high-end noise-canceling headphones, earphones and accessories attacking the heart of the consumer electronics market. At the AudiologyNOW! conference they stood out with a booth promoting “I Am Able” professional athletes who endorse their products, and they were showing new headphones and headsets that are successfully competing head-to-head with Bose and other popular high-end brands.

I caught up with Able Planet’s CEO Kevin Semcken and Chief Audiology Officer Dr. Christoper Schweitzer. Both have vast experience in the health care, medical device and hearing-aid industries. But what stood out for me is their commitment and savvy about what high-end audio consumers are looking for, and how previously arcane hearing-aid technologies such as digital signal processing will play an essential role in consumer electronics. By integrating Linx Audio into all its headphones and headsets, and promoting the technology as its critical advantage, Able Planet is distinguishing itself as one of the very few companies driving high-end hearing technology into mainstream products.

Able Planet’s noise-canceling headphones are head-to-head competitive with Bose, the gold-standard in noise-canceling headphones. Don’t ask me, ask CNET, which did a review of one of Able Planet’s earliest noise-canceling headphones as long ago as 2007 and said that it provided better noise suppression than Bose and an equally rich if not superior listening experience. The only negative in the review is that Able Planet wasn’t a known consumer brand and therefore would have a difficult time overtaking Bose, even with a better product.

Able Planet will continue to differentiate its products by providing value-added features that enable users to customize their listening experience — with what Dr. Schweitzer calls “chameleon-like” digital platforms that are easily modified based on the user’s unique hearing profile. Things as simple as plug-replaceable cords that can provide volume control, left-right balance and equalization adjustments can make all the difference for a boomer suffering unequal levels of hearing loss in one or both ears. Able Planet is also looking at ear-cup sizes that can accommodate behind-the-ear hearing aids on certain models. And it is working on wireless technologies that will enhance the chameleon capabilities of its products even more in the future.

I’ve used headphones from Sony, Sennheiser, Bose and others. Each has its advantages and all provide pretty good sound. But none of the brands has ever made me feel they are focused enough on people with mild or severe hearing impairments to give me any comfort that they are developing products that will continue to meet my needs better and better as new hearing-enhancement technologies become available.

The traditional hearing-industry leaders are no better, by and large choosing to focus on a narrow market of hearing-impaired patients served by audiologists rather than aggressively pushing new products into consumer channels. There is no doubt that within the hearing-aid industry there is enough mind-blowing new technology which, if packaged and promoted properly, could change the landscape of consumer electronics. It continues to amaze me that, as the baby boomer generation continues to lose its hearing at predictable rates, so few manufacturers are positioning themselves to meet the needs of high-end consumers of electronic products who need better and more intelligible sound. By showing up at AudiologyNOW! positioning itself to serve that broad space between high-tech hearing aids and high-end consumer electronics, Able Planet is showing that it “gets it.” Let’s see how many others in the industry follow their lead.

As The Economy Turns: Audiology NOW! Exhibitors Promise To Feed Hearing-Aid Market Turnaround With New Products And Technology

I just arrived in beautiful San Diego to attend the American Academy of Audiology’s annual conference, Audiology NOW!, which has become the premier North American showcase for new products and technologies from large and small hearing-aid manufacturers. There seems to be a little more excitement from an industry that has been pummeled by the recession and held to low-to-no-digit sales growth in the past couple of years. This year, the big players have come locked and loaded. Everywhere one turns there seems to be a promotion for Oticon’s new Agil flagship product line. Panasonic will be making its formal U.S. market debut Thursday evening where Panasonic hearing’s US chief Delain Wright will share more of the company’s plans. Siemens has a huge booth in what will surely be a show of commitment to its hearing-aid business following its recent apparent decision not to spin off Siemens Hearing Instruments to private equity investors. Starkey is promising a slew of announcements Friday night in a function on the deck of the USS Midway aircraft carrier. And that’s just scratching the surface. I’ll be posting more news on everything that seems to be either interesting or important, or both.

Let’s Hope Siemens’ Decision To Stay In The Hearing-Aid Business Signals A Commitment To Innovation And New Products

It’s pretty certain now that Siemens will not divest its multi-billion-dollar hearing-aid business after all, having tried and failed to get its nearly $3-billion asking price from the private equity firms and other industry players that were in the bidding. It’s too bad none of the serious industry bidders would step up to the plate, because new management and an infusion of new capital might have revitalized a global hearing-aid industry leader that, given the vast potential in its aweseome R&D resources and market clout, sometimes looks too much like a sleeping giant. Let’s hope Siemens’ decision not to spin out the unit signals a re-commitment to a true leadership of the hearing-aid industry, which will require an investment in innovation and new products that have the potential to jump-start industry growth and deliver a new generation of customer benefits.

How Big A Splash Will Panasonic Make In The U.S. Hearing-Aid Market?

Panasonic’s announcement this week that it will start selling its line of hearing aids in the U.S. is huge for three reasons.

Distribution: If Panasonic makes a serious investment in getting its products out to audiologists and consumers, it could dramatically realign the competitive landscape in the hearing-aid industry. North America is the world’s largest market for hearing aids but is currently dominated by a small handful of major manufacturers. Panasonic has an extremely strong brand name, a massive distribution channel, and credibility in consumer electronics. In terms of market presence alone, it could be an overnight 800-pound gorilla that will force the other competitors to sit up, take notice, and respond by accelerating development of their own new, competitive products and looking hard at pricing and better value propositions for their customers.

Product: Panasonic has the R&D resources to lead the long-awaited move to more user-friendly hearing-assistance products that further blur the line between complex, high-end hearing aids requiring customers to make large investments in time and money vs. more accessible multi-function consumer products that expand the overall market by enhancing and protecting hearing and communication at lower price thresholds. A lot has been done by the current hearing-aid manufacturers about easier-to-wear form factors, a broader variety of solutions for different levels of hearing loss, integration of Bluetooth and other wireless technologies, and attractive design. But it remains to be seen what kinds of exciting technical innovations and new products a heavyweight consumer electronics leader will deliver to this market. Yoshi Yuasa, Corporate Senior Vice President of Panasonic North America, noted that with its combination of global consumer electronics experience and long history providing hearing products to the Japanese market, “Panasonic is well positioned to participate in the convergence of audio products and hearing aids.”

People: Panasonic made the smart move of hiring Delain Wright to lead the charge into the U.S. market. Wright, who previously led Siemens Hearing Instruments in the U.S. and held senior management positions with Siemens Hearing in Europe, started his career fitting patients with hearing aids in his own private practice and knows the business from top to bottom. He is a bona fide hearing-aid industry leader who knows exactly who he needs on his team and what Panasonic needs to do to hit the ground running the the U.S. market. “With the recent development of its own proprietary digital sound processing devices and algorithms and sleekly styled products coupled with the powerful consumer brand’s strength, I think Panasconic is in a strong position as we launch local operations in this country,” said Wright, whose title is Director of Sales for Panasonic Corporation of North America’s Healthcare Group.

Panasonic will hold a kick-off event Thursday at the American Academy of Audiologists AudiologyNOW industry conference in San Diego.

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