Showstoppers: From the Floor of the Annual Convention of the American Academy of Audiology
Minneapolis, a unique metropolis with over 60 blocks of “skyways” providing pedestrians with protection from exposure to the cold, hosted AudiologyNOW, the 18th annual convention of the American Academy of Audiology, in April. Hell’s Kitchen alone is worth the trip to Minneapolis! “Trends” reporters went to Hell’s – and back again – making the three-block trek from the convention center to enjoy the ambiance of the historical, renovated brick building and its famous Mahnomin porridge: a warm, native-harvested, hand-parched wild rice concoction with berries and roasted hazelnuts, drizzled with warm maple syrup and cream. Our bellies full, we were off to scout the exhibit floor of AudiologyNOW for the best and brightest products of 2006 for people with hearing loss.
AudiologyNOW opened with keynote speakers James Jerger, Ph.D., the one and only editor of the Journal of the American Academy of Audiology, and John Sweeney, author of Innovation at the Speed of Laughter. Then more than 4,000 audiologists, ENTs and students poured out of the general assembly and into the exhibit hall where some 3,000 exhibitors wowed and wooed convention attendees.
As we took it all in, it struck us that more design changes have occurred in the last 10 years than in the previous 90-year history of hearing aids. Baby boomers, get ready! These aren’t your grandpa’s hearing aids. Stylish new models have completely neutralized objections about hearing aids being unfashionable.
Internal changes are also keeping pace with the external. New hearing aid technology includes features to alleviate occlusion (the hollow, boomy, barrel sound of your voice) and enhance sound clarity without feedback. The concept of open-ear (OE) hearing aids, introduced a couple of years ago, has spread like wildfire while relatively new buzz words like “receiver-in-the-ear (RITE)” and “slim tube” are just starting to gain popularity.
Not long ago, there was a paucity of OE products available to meet the hearing needs of people with normal or near-normal hearing in the low frequencies in conjunction with steeply sloping losses in the high frequencies. Not so anymore! At this convention, many hearing aid manufacturers introduced their OE version of the cosmetically appealing, high-frequency-enhancing and occlusion-eliminating miniature device with feedback management.
RITE technology uses a deep-fitting receiver in the ear canal attached to a behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid by a slim tube insulating the wire. The slim tube further reduces occlusion and feedback by increasing the distance between the microphone and receiver. In conjunction with advanced digital signal processing strategies, what results is a discreetly fitting BTE without the adverse effects of occlusion or feedback.
Trends reporters zoomed in on these technologies to bring you a “who’s who” of OE, RITE and slim tube technology. Table 1 shows hearing aids with optional OE/slim tube technology; Table 2 shows hearing aids with OE/slim tube technology; and Table 3 shows hearing aids with RITE technology (open and closed).
