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Oticon Launches Ruby Hearing Aid for Budget-Conscious Patients

Oticon Launches Ruby Hearing Aid for Budget-Conscious Patients

 

Oticon Launches Ruby Hearing Aid for Budget-Conscious Patients

For consumers returning to work and social activities in an uncertain economic climate, the newest addition to Oticon’s line of technology offers a combination of “sound quality, sought-after features, and affordability,” according to an announcement from the company.  The new Oticon Ruby “sets a new standard in the essential category, delivering great sound quality, hassle-free rechargeability, and easy wireless connectivity in one complete solution—all within the reach of today’s budget-conscious patients.”

Powered by the Velox S platform, Oticon Ruby introduces the new SuperShield feedback management system that “helps prevent feedback before it occurs, so patients can enjoy hearing without interruptions from unwanted whistling and squealing.” For patients who want the convenience of rechargeable batteries, a new lithium-ion rechargeable option helps provide a full-day’s* charge in a few hours. Bluetooth connectivity helps enable patients to connect to smartphones and other modern devices to stream audio and music directly to their hearing aids.

“After experiencing this time of social distancing, consumers recognise the value of easy access to modern technologies to stay connected with family, friends, and business colleagues,” said Don Schum, PhD, Vice President of Audiology for Oticon, Inc.  “Phone calls, video chats, and other virtual connections have become their lifeline to the world. These connections are enhanced with better hearing. At the same time, despite the start of an economic recovery, some patients may be more careful about spending. Oticon Ruby allows practitioners to offer patients looking for sought-after features, like rechargeability and easy wireless connections, a quality solution at a more affordable price.”

Like all Oticon wireless hearing aids, Oticon Ruby is compatible with Oticon RemoteCare, a new telehealth solution that allows hearing care professionals to follow up online with patients to remotely adjust and fine-tune hearing aids in a virtual appointment. For select patients who have valid audiograms, first fit with Oticon RemoteCare allows hearing care professionals to fit new hearing aids remotely.

Bath hearing centre 

Oticon Ruby and all Oticon hearing aids use BrainHearing technology to “help support the brain in making sense of sound and enable patients to participate in challenging listening environments.” The Velox S platform powers the new SuperShield technology to analyse incoming sound levels, identify feedback, and prevent whistling before it occurs.

Oticon Ruby miniRITE R rechargeable hearing aids offer a full day* of power with an overnight charge. The charger helps provide a stable, reliable magnetic connection for charging that delivers power throughout the day, including streaming, with a three-hour charging time. A 30-minute recharge provides an additional six hours of power, according to Oticon.

With 2.4 GHz Bluetooth low-energy technology, Oticon Ruby helps deliver “easy wireless connectivity with low battery consumption to a wide range of devices such as smartphones, audio or music streams in stereo to both hearing aids from Bluetooth-connected mobile phones, MP3 players, PCs, and more.” Patients can pair Oticon Ruby with multiple TV Adapters and use the Oticon ON App to stream from any TV. The Oticon ON App also lets patients adjust volume, switch settings, check battery level, and access features such as Find My Hearing Aid and Oticon HearingFitness.

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Oticon Ruby is available in a full lineup of styles, including miniRITE, miniRITE T (telecoil), miniRITE R (rechargeable), BTE and BTE Power Plus, and five popular colours. Oticon Ruby is compatible with Oticon CROS hearing aids.

For more information on Oticon Ruby visit: www.Oticon.com/Ruby.

*Lithium-ion performance varies depending on hearing loss, lifestyle, and streaming behaviour

Source: Oticon

Image: Oticon

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Researchers Look at Potential Link between Coronavirus and Hearing Loss

Researchers Look at Potential Link between Coronavirus and Hearing Loss

 

Researchers Look at Potential Link between Coronavirus and Hearing Loss

An article in The Conversation—a network of not-for-profit media outlets that publish news stories written by academics and researchers—provides a systematic review of the literature around COVID-19 and hearing loss.

The authors point out that coronaviruses, in some cases, can cause peripheral neuropathy, and, ”in theory..COVID-19 could cause auditory neuropathy, a hearing disorder where the cochlea is functioning but transmission along the auditory nerve to the brain is impaired.” Further, they say, auditory neuropathy has been linked with Guillain-Barré syndrome, which is associated with COVID-19.

There is no conclusive link between hearing loss and COVID-19 at this time, but the authors stress the need to continue researching and monitoring any potential outcome.

To read the entire article, please click here.

Source: The Conversation

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Apple Takes Another Step Toward Hearing Aid Functionality

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Apple Takes Another Step Toward Hearing Aid Functionality

 

Apple Takes Another Step Toward Hearing Aid Functionality

On Monday, June 22, Apple introduced its latest operating system, iOS14, which includes —among many new features—a substantial move towards its AirPod Pros becoming a hearing-aid-like device. Almost buried as an afterthought at the bottom of Apple’s IOS New Features Preview are identical entries in the “Airpods” and “Accessibility” sections that say:

Headphone Accommodations

This new accessibility feature is designed to amplify soft sounds and adjust certain frequencies for an individual’s hearing, to help music, movies, phone calls, and podcasts sound more crisp and clear. Headphone Accommodations also supports Transparency mode on AirPods Pro, making quiet voices more audible and tuning the sounds of your environment to your hearing needs.

Hmmm…sounds a lot like a basic description of wide dynamic frequency compression (WDRC) or AGC, doesn’t it? Abram Bailey of Hearing Tracker, who broke the news yesterday, stated “This is the extremely exciting part, as it indicates that AirPods can now essentially be used to provide typical hearing aid functionality; applying personalised amplification to make it easier to hear those around you.” Bailey went on to show how the headphone accommodations use a custom audio setup with a listening test that generates an “audiogram” from the Apple Health app that “seems to indicate that the AirPods Pro will be capable of providing a very fine-tuned custom amplification experience, based on the audiogram (pitch-by-pitch hearing abilities) unique to the user.”

It should be acknowledged that Apple has for many years been developing hearing-aid-related features, including Live Listen for hearing aids and cochlear implants in 2014 (and later for AirPods and the Earpods), in addition to speech audiometry and speech-in-noise packages for developers, noise warning apps for its WatchOS, and more. The company sold more than 60 million Airpods in 2019, compared to about 15 million hearing aids worldwide for the entire hearing industry (4.2 million units in the US). Apple’s Wearables, Home and Accessories division had the most significant year-on-year growth for the company last year, with its sales increasing 41% thanks to the Airpod and Apple Watch, and the tech-giant owns an enviable 36.5% of the wearables market, according to CompareCamp. Mind you, this includes the “hearables” market that Nick Hunn predicted earlier this year will reach $80 billion a year by 2025.

As Paul Dybala, PhD, AuD, of AudiologyDesign points out in a recent LinkedIn post about Apple and its threat to the hearing industry, “If none of this impresses you, buy a pair of AirPod Pros and turn on the Active Noise Cancelling feature. Then change them over to Transparency Mode and listen further. Once you wipe your jaw off the floor, continue reading. Take your time, I’ll wait…” However, he then goes on to point out that hearing loss is widely viewed as a healthcare problem that should be addressed by a hearing healthcare professional, as shown in a 2017 survey by a study he did with colleague Brande Plotnick at Healthy Hearing.

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As a side-note, I’ve personally tried several of the products and hearing tests available in some of the better PSAPs. As one example, Alango Technology’s BeHear app did an impressive job of replicating an audiogram of my own mild sloping hearing loss and tailoring the sound to suit my preferences. The idea of an app doing this also reminded me of a September 2018 Hearing Review article by James Jerger, PhD, who—after describing three basic forms of automated audiometry—wrote:

“The most important issue is to catch up with the rest of the automated world…In spite of the many examples of successful automated systems summarised above, I suspect that there will be little further progress in the actual clinical use of automated audiometry of any variety until clinicians become part of the solution. It goes back to their initial educational experience. If the only procedure they learn as students is the manual Hughson-Westlake method on a conventional audiometer, it is unlikely that they will be easily diverted from that familiar path, sophisticated technology notwithstanding. PhD and AuD students—in addition to practicing clinicians—need to understand that automated audiometry can be carried out by less credentialed personnel, resulting in time and cost savings in a clinical setting. It is apparent this testing is moving into the digital/consumer realm [with the link going to Apple’s WDDC 2018 video that includes a demonstration of speech audiometry].

The point is professional hearing healthcare is so much more than automated tests and apps. As Dr Dybala notes in his article, it’s about assessing an often-complex medical problem and applying all of the tools available to tailor an individual solution that works for the patient in all kinds of listening situations, including (and especially) noise. However, as shown by Apple and others, the world of hearables with their automated testing and applied amplification should help millions of consumers make their first moves toward professional hearing care.

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Treatment of Ménière’s Disease and Vertigo

Keynsham Treatment of Ménière’s Disease and Vertigo

Treatment of Ménière’s Disease and Vertigo with Intranasal Betahistine

 

Treatment of Ménière’s Disease and Vertigo with Intranasal Betahistine

Auris MedicalAuris Medical Holding AG, a Swiss-based clinical-stage public company  (NASDAQ: EARS) dedicated to developing therapeutics in otolaryngology, has announced it will develop betahistine dihydrochloride in a spray formulation (with the product name AM-125) for the intranasal treatment of Ménière’s disease and vestibular vertigo. This represents the third clinical-stage development program to Auris Medical’s pipeline, and an expansion by the company into the field of vestibular disorders. Auris is also developing a drug for idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL, sudden hearing loss) and acute inner ear tinnitus.

“We are excited to add AM-125 to our development pipeline as it addresses important unmet medical needs in vestibular disorders and serves as a strategic fit with our existing projects,” said Auris Medical’s Founder, Chairman and CEO Thomas Meyer in a press statement. “While oral betahistine has been a mainstay treatment for Ménière’s disease and vestibular vertigo for many years and in many countries around the world, we expect the novel approach of intranasal delivery to offer significant additional benefits in terms of efficacy and tolerability.”

Auris Medical reports that it has entered into an agreement with Otifex Therapeutics Pty Ltd to purchase various assets related to intranasal betahistine, including preclinical and clinical data, as well as certain intellectual property rights. In a Phase 1 trial conducted by Otifex, intranasal betahistine showed good tolerance and a significantly higher bioavailability than reported for oral betahistine administration. Auris Medical plans to initiate a second Phase 1 trial in 2017.

“As our treatment options for vestibular disorders are currently very limited in the United States, I am pleased to see that betahistine will be developed as a treatment for patients here who are suffering from Ménière’s disease or vestibular vertigo,” said Lawrence R. Lustig, MD, Chair, Department of Otolaryngology at Columbia University Medical Center in the press release. “The compound has an established track record for safety, and the clinical experience suggests that it may help control or ease vertigo attacks in Ménière’s disease. It will be exciting to have a new treatment for this disabling condition.”

According to Auris Medical, Betahistine is a small molecule drug that acts as a partial histamine H1-receptor agonist and a H3-receptor antagonist. The compound has demonstrated increased cochlear, vestibular, and cerebral blood flow, vestibular compensation, and the ability to inhibit neuronal firing in the vestibular nuclei.

Oral betahistine is approved for the treatment of Ménière’s disease and vestibular vertigo in more than 80 countries worldwide, and has been reportedly prescribed more than 130 million patients. However, betahistine has not been approved for marketing in the United States for the past few decades.

The brand Serc (betahistine) was approved by the FDA in the early 1970s as vestibular suppressant for Ménière’s disease, but that approval was withdrawn after about 5 years. Primarily, the drug has had issues surrounding its clinical trials and subsequent proof of efficacy. Even though studies have shown betahistine effective against vertigo attacks, most of these studies have been criticized for design flaws. The Cochrane Library concluded in 2001 that “Most trials suggested a reduction of vertigo with betahistine and some suggested a reduction in tinnitus but all these effects may have been caused by bias in the methods. One trial with good methods showed no effect of betahistine on tinnitus compared with placebo in 35 patients. None of the trials showed any effect of betahistine on hearing loss. No serious adverse effects were found with betahistine.”

Update on Auris Medical Tinnitus Trials

Auris Medical also announced last week that it has resumed patient enrollment in the TACTT3 Phase 3 trial of Keyzilen® (AM-101) in acute and post-acute inner ear tinnitus. According to Reuters, the company experienced a set-back in August when the drug missed the main goals of a late-stage study by failing to meet the two co-primary effectiveness goals of statistically significant changes in tinnitus loudness and tinnitus burden compared to a placebo.

“Following the swift approval by regulatory agencies and ethics committees, we are pleased to resume enrollment under the amended protocol in the TACTT3 Phase 3 clinical trial of Keyzilen,” said Meyer. “We have applied key learnings from the TACTT2 trial that we believe substantially strengthen TACTT3’s probability of success, and we look forward to top-line results in early 2018.”

TACTT3, which is being conducted in Europe, is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 trial in inner ear tinnitus following traumatic cochlear injury or otitis media. The trial previously enrolled more than 300 patients during the acute tinnitus stage (Stratum A) and approximately 330 patients during the post-acute tinnitus stage (Stratum B). As previously announced, the TACTT3 protocol was amended based on analysis of the TACTT2 Phase 3 trial outcomes. The amended protocol elevates the Tinnitus Functional Index score from a key secondary endpoint to an alternate primary efficacy endpoint, includes certain patient subgroups in confirmatory statistical testing, and increases the trial size with the enrollment of an additional 60 patients in each of Stratum A and B.

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IHear Medical Launches Free @Home Hearing Test

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IHear Medical Launches Free @Home Hearing Test

   

IHear Medical Launches Free @Home Hearing Test

iHEAR Medical announced the launch of the Free @Home iHEARtest campaign, offering consumers the ability to test their hearing for free at home with the “only FDA approved home hearing screener.” The iHEARtest is said to “rapidly profile hearing ability based on guidelines by the World Health Organization (WHO).”

Keynsham Hearing centre

“The Free @Home test addresses compromised hearing care during the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic,” said Adnan Shennib, Founder and CEO of iHEAR Medical.

The iHEARtest kit includes “factory calibrated earphones” to ensure accuracy of test results, according to the company. The Free @Home iHEARtest can be ordered online or by phone (1-844-443-2744, Toll-Free) for delivery directly to the customer’s home. Customers pay $9 to cover the cost of two-way shipping and handling, and have 30 days to take the iHEARtest and return it using the provided pre-paid return label and packaging.

Bristol hearing shop

According to iHEAR Medical, the iHEARtest was approved by the FDA following years of clinical research demonstrating safety and accuracy. Additionally, clinical studies under the oversight of an independent Institutional Review Board (IRB) have shown the iHEARtest’s “ease of self-use, accuracy and 96.4% agreement with standard practice audiometry for the assessment of normal versus disabling hearing impairment.”

Source: iHEAR Medical

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ChatableApps Launches ‘Universal Hearing Aid’

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ChatableApps Launches ‘Universal Hearing Aid’

 

ChatableApps announced the launch of “the world’s first universal hearing aid, using neuroscience-led artificial intelligence to enable those suffering from hearing loss to hear one-to-one conversations clearly, using an everyday smartphone and a standard pair of earbuds.”

Hearing loss affects 37.5 million adults in the US* and the World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that 466 million** people globally have ‘disabling hearing loss,’ with this expected to reach 900 million by 2050. However, due to the high cost of traditional hearing aids and lack of inclusion in medical insurance, many of those suffering are currently going untreated.

Ear wax removal Bristol
Chatable Hearing Aid (Photo: Business Wire)

Serial entrepreneur Mark Cuban, who provided early investment in the technology, said: “Chatable is using AI to address growing health care inequality by providing an affordable hearing aid app that helps with conversation.”

Founder and chief scientist at ChatableApps, Dr Andrew Simpson (PhD) has devised a “brand-new way of thinking about AI which reverse engineers the neural processes of the hearing brain and implements them as AI,” according to the company’s announcement.

“Putting an auditory cortex on a smartphone has been a dream for a long time. As far as I know, this is the most advanced real-time AI that has ever gone on a phone,” said Simpson. “It’s been a long road, but our preclinical trials reveal something of a medical breakthrough: A hearing aid that doesn’t need hearing tests and going straight into the hands of people who can’t afford a hearing aid.”

The performance levels Simpson’s approach achieves reportedly “surpass those of a traditional hearing aid when it comes to one-to-one conversation.” The company says this was confirmed in pre-clinical trials where “86% reported that the ChatableApps universal hearing aid was better for conversation than their traditional hearing aid.”

Despite the complex science and AI at work in the app, the company describes its user interface as “simple.”  Once downloaded, the user moves two sliders up and down to find their desired balance. The volume boost slider helps enable “clear and loud voice, while the background noise slider removes background noise, allowing users to hear conversations no matter where they are.”

“Our unique ground-up AI makes our universal hearing aid the first app capable of addressing the global hearing epidemic,” said Giles Tongue, ChatableApps CEO. “Following successful preclinical trials, we have decided to launch immediately due to urgent demand from audiologists to help people struggling because of coronavirus. With many unable to lip-read due to face masks or unable to visit a hearing clinic in an emergency, our app provides a lifeline that will help people communicate.”

The ChatableApps Universal Hearing Aid app is available to download now on iOS and Android. The app is free to access, with the option to subscribe to unlock maximum voice amplification and reduction of background noise. The full version is available for $12.99 /monthly, $79.99 /annual.

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/chatable-hearing-aid/id1494968908 
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hearingaid.volumebooster&hl=en_GB

*Figures taken from – https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/statistics/quick-statistics-hearing 
**Taken from the World Health Organization’s ‘Global estimates on prevalence of hearing loss’ (2018)

In pre-clinical trials:

● 76% said conversation was easier because of our background noise slider, 15% in a life changing way;

● 80% said conversation was easier because of our volume boost (and that was before we beefed it up), 15% in a life-changing way;

● 86% reported app was better for conversation than their hearing aid.

Source: ChatableApps

Images: ChatableApps, Business Wire

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 Company Makes COVID-19 Masks for Hearing Impaired

 Company Makes COVID-19 Masks for Hearing Impaired

    

Thailand-based Company Makes COVID-19 Masks for Hearing Impaired

An article in Voice of America News (VOA) profiles a Thai factory that is producing face masks for the hearing impaired to allow them to lip read.

The factory, run by Thailand’s Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, started making the masks with transparent “windows” to show the lips, about two weeks ago. According to VOA‘s report, “they had to adjust their original design because they found a person’s breath often clouded the window, a problem they fixed by reducing the size of the plastic opening.”

The masks are being marketed and sold through a Facebook page that is geared toward Thailand’s hearing-impaired and sign-language interpreter community

To read the story in its entirety, please click here.

Source: VOA

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Starkey announces..

Keynsham hearing centre

Starkey announces..

Keynsham hearing centre

Starkey hearing aids at the Keynsham hearing centre

Starkey announced that “the world’s first 2.4 GHz custom rechargeable hearing aids” are now available in all configurations and colours.

“We are proud to continue offering industry-leading technology even in this time of disruption,” said Starkey President Brandon Sawalich. “We want to thank our valued partners for their continued business and the opportunity to provide hearing health care to you and your patients. We sincerely appreciate the work you do and are maintaining 98% on-time delivery. How we work is changing, but our mission is the same: to serve our customers better than anyone else.”

To learn more about Starkey’s ground-breaking custom rechargeable hearing aids, please click here.

 

All Starkey hearing aids are available at the Keynsham hearing centre Somerset

Source: Starkey

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Moxi Jump R

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Unitron Wins 2020 Red Dot Product Design Award for Moxi Jump R

 

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Bristol hearing aids

Unitron, a Canadian hearing aid manufacturer, announced that it has won the “Red Dot: Product Design 2020” award for its Moxi Jump R hearing aids. The Moxi Jump R helps provide hearing aid wearers with “easy-to-use technology that automatically adapts to a user’s listening environment.”

The Red Dot Award, which dates to 1955, celebrates “excellence in product design.” This marks the sixth time Unitron has received the Red Dot Award for its inventive hearing instruments.

“To be recognized with this award from a pool of incredible designs is a tremendous honor,” says Sandra Fulton, Unitron Vice President of Global Marketing. “It clearly demonstrates our global leadership in hearing instrument design from the engineering and optimization of features and performance to the final product.”

Launched in 2019, the sound processing system in the Moxi Jump R uses machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence, to “automatically recognize, classify, and adjust sounds based on the user’s listening environments.” This includes seven different listening environments that span quiet, conversation in quiet, conversation in noise, and music.

The Moxi Jump R also helps allow users to connect to Apple and Android devices and participate in hands-free phone calls, video calls, and media streaming to both ears. The rechargeable lithium-ion battery provides 24 hours of amplification, or 16 hours of amplification with 8 hours of media streaming.

“Our user-centric design philosophy is based on the premise that our technology should be easy-to-use and provide optimal sound performance to allow people overcoming hearing loss to reconnect with their lives, their loved ones, and everything in between,” said Banham. “The Moxi Jump R makes this possible, combining aesthetics, comfort, and intuitive functionality into one cutting-edge device.”

The Moxi Jump R can be controlled through the Remote Plus app, which allows hearing aid wearers to control volume, adjust balance, and share real-time impressions of their hearing instruments using their smartphones, according to the company. The app also helps enable clients to connect with their hearing care professionals via cloud technology. The Coach feature on the Remote Plus app sends users notifications for when to charge their batteries, clean their devices, usage details, and much more.

“As we shift to a more technologically-savvy consumer base, our products have to provide users with a range of functionality while optimizing sound performance and user experience. The Red Dot award is further recognition that Unitron is leading the way in the hearing health space,” said Banham.

The international Red Dot jury is made up of 40 independent design experts, educators, and industry journalists who review thousands of submissions annually from manufacturers and product designers around the world. Products are evaluated based on quality, performance, degree of innovation, and ecological compatibility.

Award winners will be celebrated at the annual Red Dot award gala, which takes place in the Aalto Theater in Essen, Germany.

Source: Unitron

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The Challenge of BTE Hearing Aids with Masks

The Challenge of BTE Hearing Aids with Masks

    

The Challenge of BTE Hearing Aids with Masks

Wearing masks have become common practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. For people who use behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids, however, this may be uncomfortable, according to a blog posting by audiologist Sheri Gostomelsky on the ChicagoNow website.

Gostomelsky suggests several creative solutions to the problem which include putting your hair in a bun and looping the elastic around the bun itself; sewing buttons onto a headband that the mask loops over; creating an extension for the mask, and sewing or purchasing a mask with ties instead of elastic.

To read the posting in its entirely, please click here. Hearing Review also recently published a study by Goldin, Weinstein, and Shiman about how medical masks essentially functioned as a low-pass acoustic filter for speech, attenuating the high frequencies (2000-7000 Hz) spoken by the wearer by 3 to 4 dB for a simple medical mask and close to 12 dB for the N95 masks.

Source: ChicagoNow

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