ENTtoday
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • Practice Focus
    • Allergy
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Departments
    • Issue Archive
    • TRIO Best Practices
      • Allergy
      • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
      • Head and Neck
      • Laryngology
      • Otology/Neurotology
      • Pediatric
      • Rhinology
      • Sleep Medicine
    • Career Development
    • Case of the Month
    • Everyday Ethics
    • Health Policy
    • Legal Matters
    • Letter From the Editor
    • Medical Education
    • Online Exclusives
    • Practice Management
    • Resident Focus
    • Rx: Wellness
    • Special Reports
    • Tech Talk
    • Viewpoint
    • What’s Your O.R. Playlist?
  • Literature Reviews
    • Allergy
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Events
    • Featured Events
    • TRIO Meetings
  • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
    • Triological Society
    • Advertising Staff
    • Subscribe
  • Advertise
    • Place an Ad
    • Classifieds
    • Rate Card
  • Search

Smartphone-Linked Hearing Aids Empower Hearing Impaired Patients

by Thomas R. Collins • September 8, 2015

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version

Both hearing aids are priced within a range that begins at just under $2,000 and goes up to $3,000; the price varies with market conditions and according to the retailer.

You Might Also Like

  • There’s a (Medical) App for That
  • Thinking of Adding Hearing Aids to Your Practice? Experts Dispense Advice
  • Hearing Aid Update
  • FDA Works to Increase Consumer Access to Hearing Aids
Explore This Issue
September 2015

The LiNX2 also offers a few more sizes. But the basic choices—an in-the-ear-canal style or a behind-the-ear version with a tube entering the canal—are common to both. Smaller hearing aids have less battery life—enough for several days—and the larger ones have batteries that last about a week.

Mixing Technology with Style

As a class, the manufacturers say, the devices represent a dramatic step forward in hearing-aid technology. Previously, hearing aids have had wireless capability but required users to wear an accessory around their necks or clipped to their shirts, which many felt was undesirable.

“There still, of course, is a stigma associated with hearing aids, and one of the things that’s so nice about these types of hearing aids is you never have to reach up to adjust [it],” said Laurel Christensen, PhD, chief audiology officer at GN ReSound. “You are adjusting your hearing aid on your phone, and guess what? Everyone else in the world is on their phone, too.”

Dave Fabry, PhD, vice president of audiology and professional relations at Starkey, said that the ease of adjustment can help avoid a common challenge for people who use hearing aids: Their hearing aids sound fine when they’re in the clinic but require additional adjustment once they are out in the “real world.”

“It represents a frustration and an opportunity for both the clinician and the patient,” Dr. Fabry said. An “important capability relevant to the otolaryngology environment is the ability of patients with fluctuating or progressive hearing losses to optimize hearing aid settings beyond the clinical environment.”

The smallest behind-the-ear styles have become the most popular, Dr. Christensen said. “They’re very comfortable to wear, and they’re very, very small, and that has become a very popular style,” she said.

Jill Gruenwald, AuD, assistant director of the adult hearing aid program at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., said wireless ability without a neck accessory is a big deal for many patients. “Many patients found the additional accessory useful for smartphone streaming but cumbersome to charge or wear,” she said. “Patients also felt that the accessory drew attention to their hearing aids or hearing loss. I have had more than one patient state [that] he or she is asked consistently, ‘What are you wearing?’”

User Experience

Dr. Fabry said that, although it’s tempting to assume the devices are only for technophile baby boomers, some patients in their later 70s and 80s have embraced the technology. “I would say that there is some basic technical or electronic know-how required to use the iPhone features,” she said. “For patients who are not comfortable with iPhone apps or technology, they may not be able to use as many of the functions as patients more comfortable with the technology.”

Pages: 1 2 3 | Single Page

Filed Under: Departments, Otology/Neurotology, Practice Focus, Tech Talk Tagged With: app, device, hearing aid, hearing impaired, smartphone, technologyIssue: September 2015

You Might Also Like:

  • There’s a (Medical) App for That
  • Thinking of Adding Hearing Aids to Your Practice? Experts Dispense Advice
  • Hearing Aid Update
  • FDA Works to Increase Consumer Access to Hearing Aids

The Triological SocietyENTtoday is a publication of The Triological Society.

The Laryngoscope
Ensure you have all the latest research at your fingertips; Subscribe to The Laryngoscope today!

Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
Open access journal in otolaryngology – head and neck surgery is currently accepting submissions.

Classifieds

View the classified ads »

TRIO Best Practices

View the TRIO Best Practices »

Top Articles for Residents

  • Do Training Programs Give Otolaryngology Residents the Necessary Tools to Do Productive Research?
  • Why More MDs, Medical Residents Are Choosing to Pursue Additional Academic Degrees
  • What Physicians Need to Know about Investing Before Hiring a Financial Advisor
  • Tips to Help You Regain Your Sense of Self
  • Should USMLE Step 1 Change from Numeric Score to Pass/Fail?
  • Popular this Week
  • Most Popular
  • Most Recent
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment
    • Vertigo in the Elderly: What Does It Mean?
    • Experts Delve into Treatment Options for Laryngopharyngeal Reflux
    • Otolaryngologists Have a Major Role to Play in Treating COVID-19 Long-Haulers
    • Some Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Resists PPI Treatment
    • Vertigo in the Elderly: What Does It Mean?
    • New Developments in the Management of Eustachian Tube Dysfunction
    • Some Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Resists PPI Treatment
    • Eustachian Tuboplasty: A Potential New Option for Chronic Tube Dysfunction and Patulous Disease
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment
    • Podcasts Becoming More Popular Method of Education for Otolaryngologists
    • How to Embrace Optimism in the Midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic
    • Tips on How to Approach Conversations with Patients about the COVID-19 Vaccine
    • Steps You Should Take to Protect Your Voice and Hearing During Telemedicine Sessions
    • Routine Postoperative Adjunct Treatments Unnecessary for Idiopathic Cerebrospinal Fluid Leaks

Polls

Have you spoken with your patients about receiving the COVID-19 vaccine?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
  • Polls Archive
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Visit: The Triological Society • The Laryngoscope • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology

Wiley
© 2021 The Triological Society. All Rights Reserved.
ISSN 1559-4939

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
This site uses cookies: Find out more.