This Week in Hearing

Hearing loss often develops gradually, which means many people may not recognize changes until they begin interfering with everyday communication. A new national initiative is looking to change that by making hearing screening a routine part of healthy aging.Shari Eberts is joined by Dr. Jill Davis, President of the Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA), and Mike O’Neil, U.S. Wholesale President at WSA, to discuss 'Listen Up', a public awareness campaign encouraging adults to begin routine hearing screening at age 50.The conversation explores why age 50 was selected as a starting point, the value of establishing a hearing baseline before noticeable problems emerge, and how screening can support prevention and earlier intervention. Davis and O’Neil also discuss the campaign’s grassroots approach, its expansion following an initial Kentucky pilot, and efforts to bring hearing screening into primary care and other settings where adults already receive routine health screenings.They also address hearing protection, online and remote screening options, when a comprehensive audiologic evaluation may be appropriate, and how Listen Up aims to make hearing health a more familiar part of the broader healthy-aging conversation. The initiative is currently expanding into Texas, Florida, Colorado, and Illinois as ADA and WSA test locally focused approaches to increasing public awareness.The goal is simple: make checking your hearing at 50 as routine as other health screenings—and give people a baseline they can track over time.Learn more about Listen Up and access campaign resources, consumer materials, and downloadable PSAs: https://audiologist.org/listenupBe sure to subscribe to our channel for the latest episodes each week and follow This Week in Hearing on LinkedIn, Instagram and X.- https://x.com/WeekinHearing- https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinhearing/- https://www.linkedin.com/company/this-week-in-hearingVisit us at: https://hearinghealthmatters.org/thisweek/

Oticon’s new Reveal hearing aid platform introduces a Dual AI approach designed to manage speech and contextual sounds while preserving the broader sound environment around the listener. Andrew Bellavia visits the Oticon Reveal U.S. launch at OticonNext in San Diego for an in-depth look at the technology with Michael Lamberson, President of Oticon USA, and Thomas Behrens, Vice President of Hearing Aid Audiology.They explore how Reveal differs from Oticon Intent, including two deep neural networks running on a single processing chip. Speech AI identifies and tracks speech across frequencies, while Context AI uses that information to manage surrounding sounds and noise. Rather than completely isolating a speaker, Oticon’s approach aims to create greater contrast between speech and background sound while maintaining contextual information from the surrounding environment.The conversation examines how clinicians can personalize the balance between speech and contextual sound, 360-degree access to the listening environment, and automatic adaptation across situations ranging from restaurants and group conversations to music. Bellavia, Lamberson, and Behrens also discuss listening effort, cognitive load, memory, and Oticon’s research into how hearing aid processing affects the brain.They also take a closer look at Reveal’s expanded fitting range, feedback management, IP68 rating, battery life, and wind noise processing, with Oticon reporting up to 10 dB of additional wind noise suppression compared with previous devices. The discussion also covers updated connectivity hardware, Auracast, LE Audio, MFi, and other wireless protocols, before concluding with a broader look at how Oticon is approaching the continued use of AI and deep neural networks in hearing aids.Be sure to subscribe to our channel for the latest episodes each week and follow This Week in Hearing on LinkedIn, Instagram and X.- https://x.com/WeekinHearing- https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinhearing/- https://www.linkedin.com/company/this-week-in-hearingVisit us at: https://hearinghealthmatters.org/thisweek/

Pediatric cochlear implant candidacy has expanded significantly in recent years, creating opportunities for earlier intervention and opening the door to implantation for children who may not have been considered candidates in the past.Dr. Bob Traynor is joined by Dr. Samantha Scharf, Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, to discuss recent changes to FDA indications for pediatric cochlear implants and what they mean for audiologists, cochlear implant teams, and families.Scharf explains how pediatric candidacy has evolved, including the reduction of the minimum implantation age to 7 months for certain children with bilateral profound sensorineural hearing loss and the expansion of audiometric criteria to include children with more residual hearing. They discuss the research supporting earlier implantation and why providing consistent access to sound during critical periods of auditory and language development can have an important impact on long-term listening and spoken-language outcomes.The conversation also examines cochlear implantation for children with single-sided deafness, the evidence supporting implantation in younger children, and ongoing research evaluating whether candidacy for single-sided deafness could eventually extend below the current minimum age of 5 years.For clinicians, Scharf emphasizes the importance of beginning the referral process early rather than waiting until a child reaches the minimum implantation age. She also discusses the Pediatric CI 3-60 Guidelines, which recommends referral for a cochlear implant candidacy evaluation when a child meets any one of three measures in the ear being considered: an unaided four-frequency pure-tone average (4FPTA) of 60 dB HL or greater, an aided Speech Intelligibility Index (SII) of 0.60 or less, or a word recognition score (WRS) of 60% or less when available. These measures are intended to help identify children who warrant a comprehensive CI evaluation—not to determine candidacy on their own.Scharf also offers guidance for families navigating a new diagnosis of profound hearing loss and discusses why timely evaluation and intervention can be particularly important when listening and spoken language are among a family's goals.Read the referenced article, “New Cochlear Implant Candidacy Criteria for Children,” in The Hearing JournalBe sure to subscribe to our channel for the latest episodes each week and follow This Week in Hearing on LinkedIn, Instagram and X.- https://x.com/WeekinHearing- https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinhearing/- https://www.linkedin.com/company/this-week-in-hearingVisit us at: https://hearinghealthmatters.org/thisweek/

For people with hearing loss, many of the biggest challenges happen outside the clinic—from navigating difficult listening situations to managing the emotional and social impact of hearing loss.Shari Eberts is joined by Dan Reiner, Director of Communications and Marketing at the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), to explore how the organization can complement clinical hearing care and help support patients between appointments.They discuss HLAA’s network of 125 chapters and state associations, Hearing Life magazine, peer support groups, educational webinars, practical toolkits, workplace resources, Walk4Hearing events, and other free materials that hearing care professionals can share with patients and families. Dan also offers practical suggestions for audiologists interested in incorporating HLAA resources into their everyday patient care.The conversation highlights the role that community, education, peer support, and accessible resources can play in helping people live well with hearing loss—long after the clinical appointment ends.Resources Mentioned:Hearing Loss Toolkit: https://www.hearingloss.org/resources/hearing-loss-toolkit/Hearing Life Magazine: https://www.hearingloss.org/media-and-publications/hearing-life-magazine/Be sure to subscribe to our channel for the latest episodes each week and follow This Week in Hearing on LinkedIn, Instagram and X.- https://x.com/WeekinHearing- https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinhearing/- https://www.linkedin.com/company/this-week-in-hearingVisit us at: https://hearinghealthmatters.org/thisweek/

Fortell is taking an unusual path for a hearing aid startup: entering the prescription hearing aid market with proprietary AI technology, its own clinics, and a care model built around audiologists.Shari Eberts speaks with Fortell co-founders Matt de Jonge and Cole Morris about the company’s approach to one of the most persistent challenges in hearing care—understanding speech in environments with multiple competing talkers.The conversation explores Fortell’s use of source separation and Spatial AI, including its Front Voices mode, which is designed to prioritize speakers in front of the wearer while reducing competing voices from other directions. De Jonge and Morris also discuss clinical studies evaluating speech intelligibility and listener preference in multi-talker noise, along with the limitations of the technology and why some of its more aggressive processing remains under manual control.The discussion also examines Fortell’s decision to enter the prescription market through company-operated clinics rather than the more typical manufacturer distribution model. The co-founders explain the role audiologists play in fitting and optimizing the technology, how the company approaches pricing and ongoing care, and the challenges of building and scaling a new hearing aid company in a market dominated by established manufacturers.Looking ahead, Fortell plans to expand its clinical footprint while continuing to develop its AI-based hearing technology. Since the conversation was recorded, the company has also introduced AI 2.0, a software update that Fortell says further improves speech-in-noise performance through expanded real-world training data and updated signal processing.Learn more about Fortell AI 2.0 update here:https://hearinghealthmatters.org/hearing-technologies/2026/fortell-ai-2-update-hearing-aids/Be sure to subscribe to our channel for the latest episodes each week and follow This Week in Hearing on LinkedIn, Instagram and X.- https://x.com/WeekinHearing- https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinhearing/- https://www.linkedin.com/company/this-week-in-hearingVisit us at: https://hearinghealthmatters.org/thisweek/