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.

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

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.

Siemens Plunges Into Invisible Hearing Aid Market With New iMini, A 16-Channel Device Featuring Siemens BestSound Processing

With the launch of its new iMini hearing aid family this month, Siemens Hearing Instruments will take the plunge into the hot market for invisible in-the-canal (IIC) hearing aids.

While pre-announcement details are sketchy, enough information has trickled out to confirm that the tiny Siemens iMini hearing aids will sit so deep within the ear canal as to be virtually invisible while still offering premium 16-channel programming and Siemens BestSound sound processing features, including advanced feedback cancellation and a SpeechFocus algorithm that makes it easier to understand speech in noisy environments. The company has staged a limited rollout of the brand in several locations including France and Ireland and is promising a global rollout—with a snazzy design and choice of multiple colors—on February 21.

The Siemens foray into invisible hearing aids follows the success of Starkey Laboratories, which last year entered the market with a device marketed by multiple Starkey business units—most notably the flagship Starkey SoundLens IIC hearing aid—that sits within the “second bend” of the ear canal. ReSound also recently introduced an invisible hearing aid with innovative remote microphone that extends via an invisible wire from the processing unit deep in the ear canal to a location hidden under the outer ear’s cymba concha.

Siemens’ entry into the invisible hearing aid market indicates there is strong demand for cosmetically appealing solutions that eliminate the stigma of wearing hearing aids. Other entries in the segment include Lyric Hearing, which offers an extended-wear hearing aid that is replaced by your audiologists every few months.

HearUSA Lashes Back At Siemens With A Lawsuit And Gets Support From A Principal Investor

HearUSA to Siemens: Right back at you! Responding to an SEC filing in which Siemens Hearing Instruments threatened an unfriendly takeover following a dispute over the terms of a loan payment, hearing-aid retail chain HearUSA said it filed a suit in the Supreme Court of the State of New York seeking a declaratory judgment to prevent Siemens from making good on its threat. At the same time, Arcadia Capital Advisors, one of HearUSA’s largest institutional investors, issued a news release supporting HearUSA and accusing Siemens of “a ruse so that they can steal the company at depressed valuations.”

In a Schedule 13D filing on Jan. 18 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Siemens said it was considering exercising an option to buy out HearUSA following the Orlando, Florida-based company’s failure to make a timely debt payment. HearUSA Chairman and CEO Stephen Hansbrough responded immediately, scolding Siemens for a “negative and heavy-handed approach,” before following up with its announcement this week of the New York Supreme Court suit. Arcadia Capital Advisors chimed in with its own public statement, saying Siemens “is choosing to play the role of a bully” and accusing Siemens of trying to acquire HearUSA at a fire-sale price: “The recent SEC filing by Siemens smells strongly of market manipulation,” said Arcadia Capital Managing Director Richard S. Rose. “We believe their actions are a self-serving scare tactic, so don’t be surprised if Siemens comes out with a low-ball offer for the company.” Read more

Siemens Considers An Unfriendly Takeover Of Leading Hearing Aid Retail Chain HearUSA

Siemens AG is considering expanding its footprint in the hearing-aid industry with a potentially unfriendly takeover of HearUSA, one of the largest hearing-aid retailers in the United States. Siemens last year moved to exit the industry when it put its Siemens Hearing Instruments subsidiary up for auction but subsequently reversed course and recommitted to its hearing-aid business. Now, in a Schedule 13D filing on Jan. 18 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), it says it is considering exercising an option to buy out Hear USA following the Orlando, Florida-based company’s failure to make a timely debt payment. In the filing, Siemens said that in a Dec. 22 meeting, Hear USA had asked to defer some part of its debt payments scheduled for the end of December (approximately $1.9 million USD) and the end of January (approximately $2.2 million). Siemens, which already has a 14.9 percent stake in HearUSA, indicated in its SEC filing that rather than allow future deferment of debt payments, it would consider acquiring the company.

HearUSA Chairman and CEO Stephen Hansbrough responded quickly with a news release saying that “statements made by Siemens in its Schedule 13D fail to provide all of the facts about our relationship with them and our position.” Indicating that there were disagreements about “legitimate contract issues” that the two parties had yet to resolve, Hansbrough said “we are very disappointed that Siemens has taken this negative and heavy-handed approach.”

Siemens and Hear USA have a long-term relationship, with Siemens providing substantial funding to Hear USA in return for the retailer’s promise to re-sell Siemens’ hearing aids. HearUSA has struggled through the recession to grow profitably, but Hansbrough said in his statement that orders for new hearing aids are running approximately 13 percent ahead of a year ago, and that the company expects to return to profitability in 2011. In the past several years HearUSA has expanded its sales for managed care organizations through its network of more than 2,000 hearing care providers and 176 company-owned retail locations. It is also the administrator of the AARP Hearing Care Program, which reaches millions of potential hearing-aid customers.

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.

Race To Acquire Siemens Hearing Aids Heats Up As Cochlear Ltd. And Synthes Join Fray

Reuters quotes sources saying Cochlear Ltd., one of three global suppliers of cochlear implant devices as well as a leader in bone-anchored hearing aids, intends to join two private equity firms in making a multi-billion dollar bid for Siemens Hearing Instruments, which is being spun off by its parent company. The report also says Synthes, a global medical equipment manufacturer, also will join the bidding.

This is a huge story for the hearing aid industry, which is going through a wave of consolidation as the leading global players try to simultaneously gain market share by broadening their distribution at the low end of the market while building war chests for a new generation of R&D-led innovation at the high end of the market. Putting the very high end digital technologies required for cochlear implants under the same roof as mainstream digital hearing aids will give a shot of much-needed energy into high-end hearing-aid innovation. Read more

Six Bidders Compete To Acquire Siemens Hearing Instruments

Siemens has narrowed down the list of potential acquirers in its auction of the Siemens Hearing Instruments business to five private equity firms plus one strategic acquirer. Siemens is among the top five hearing aid companies worldwide but, according to news reports, its shrinking sales and profit margins lagged industry leaders Sonova and William Demant in 2009. News reports put the value of the unit at more than 2 billion euros ($2.88 billion US). The winning bidder is expected to be picked by the end of February. I can’t wait to see whether the newly independent entity will inject a shot of investment and growth into a hearing-aid industry that’s badly in need of new competitive energy.

The Seven Sisters of the Hearing Aid Industry

When you start thinking about buying a hearing aid, the choices can be dizzying. On first look, you would think there are hundreds of manufacturers. The reality is simpler. While there are scores of name brands, in fact only seven manufacturers control about 90 percent of the worldwide market for hearing aids. Read more