Hearing Aids 1000 » hearing aid

California Hearing Aid maker fined $1.2 million

Jason — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:10:44 +0000

Rest assured, the FDA is policing the companies that manufacture hearing aids. This is very good to know. Makers of hearing aids need to know that they are being monitored and held to a very high standard. These are expensive and complicated devices that can damage hearing and health if not built 100% as ordered by the FDA.

A good example of a company trying to break the rules and being caught occurred in California in 2008. The FDA had approved the parts and process being used by Advanced Bionics. However, they learned that the company had changed vendors for a few of the key pieces of the hearing aid without going to the FDA for approval. Clearly Advanced Bionics hoped to save costs and not draw the attention of the FDA.

It didn’t work out well for the company. The FDA caught them and fined them well over one million dollars. This is huge becasuse not only does it punish this company it also sends a message to all hearing aid makers: We are the FDA and we are watching you. Step out of line and you will be whacked!

Nice work FDA – thank you from Hearing Aids 1000.

Grew up in the 60s? Reach for a hearing aid!

Jason — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 21:33:01 +0000

Being a teen or college student in the 1960s meant listing to and playing a great deal of loud rock and roll. The Beatles and the Stones were the loud sountrack to a rocking generation. Now, consequently, many of this generation are reaching out for hearing aids to enjoy simple conversation.

The people of this generation who find their hearing loss attributed to outside causes not only have trouble hearing conversation but the consonants seem to blend a bit. ‘Hs” begin to sound like “Fs” and other similar changes occur. All of which can be aided by the use of a hearing aid.

This hearing loss in the baby boomer generation is going to rocket the number of hearing aid users in the US. Some predict the number of hearing aid users to rise 8 million from 32 million to 40 million in 2025. These numbers will only increase with the modern use of the ear buds to push loud music directly into ears.

Certainly this is good news for the makers of hearing aids which already participate in the 4 billion dollar industry. Not only are the numbers of sales going to increase so are the prices. People are growing more and more happy to pay over $3,000 for smaller, customized and “cool” hearing aids. Long story short, the massive hearing aid industry is only going to get bigger over the next 20 years.

Are you angry with your hearng aid?

Jason — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 01:14:23 +0000

More and more I am reading articles and blog entries which are people complaining about the hearing aid industry. We have looked at the less-than-perfect insurance issues regarding hearing aids. Let’s talk a bit about quality in general from hearing aids.

The NY Times posted a (not very funny) joke today in an article looking at people’s frustration with hearing aids. It went something like this. Man says to his buddy “I just got an amazing new hearing aid. Brand new technology and it cost me $3,300″ Man two says “Cool – what kind is it” Response “2:30″

Well, maybe it is kind of funny.

This blog entry is meant to be less scientific and more feeling based. How are people feeling about their hearing aids? Are you happy? Are they getting better? Are they frustrating??

Lions Club Hearing aid project should be the model

Jason — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 21:11:07 +0000

In 2004 the Lions club actually put up $600,000 in an effort to develop a low cost hearing aid for low income people. The Lions recognized the fact that way too many people around the world who need hearing aids are simply not able to afford them and therefore go without. This isn’t acceptable and this project by the Lions club should be the model for many companies moving forward.

The Lions club and many other organizations have been providing used hearing aids and other health related devices to low income people around the world for years. The concept of taking the giving one step further by actually manufacturing a low cost hearing aid is brilliant, aggressive and worth emulating outside of the hearing aid space. I am going to do some research on the success of their project and will report back. If anyone knows how it went or how similar projects in other verticals have faired, please comment.

Open Fit hearing aids and restaurants

Jason — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 00:42:34 +0000

It is no secret that many people who wear hearing aids have simply chosen to avoid restaurants all together. Many agree that the noisy, hectic atmosphere of a busy restaurant poses the greatest challenge for a hearing aid wearer. If you think about the hundreds of sounds all happening at once this is no surprise.

Certainly open ear hearing aids are the best option for such an environment but a study a Washington University went further to attempt to find the best solution.

Washington University went so far as to record the sounds of a busy New York restaurant to recreate in their labs.

The experiment/study showed that open canal hearing combined with a hearing aid with a directional mic provided 20% better results than the others.

The open fit hearing aids have been around for over 5 years now and are truly are designed for people who have solid low frequency hearing but suffer in the higher ranges where conversation often occurs.

End of the day, if you or a loved one is using a hearing aid and frustrated with the loud-restaurant experience, be sure to recommend that they tray an open fit hearing aid with a directional microphone.