June 15, 2022
Earlens Announces New COO: Connon Samuel
J. Connon Samuel joins Earlens as Chief Operating Officer, bringing more than a decade of hearing-healthcare industry leadership to the company.
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Approximately 1 in 7 American adults struggle with hearing loss. While the resulting communication challenges can be frustrating, research suggests that hearing loss has an impact that goes beyond annoyance. Fortunately, technology can help. Appropriate hearing aids are widely accepted as valuable and effective assistance, but why is treating hearing loss so important?
Healthy hearing is vital to a person's overall well-being. When left untreated, hearing loss can significantly impact quality of life, and is associated with depression, anxiety and social isolation. A landmark study published in 2020 even noted that early treatment of even mild hearing loss was important for the prevention of cognitive decline and dementia.
Finding a hearing aid that provides the best quality sound, helps in challenging listening situations and is comfortable to wear is essential. The wide range of device styles and technologies may seem overwhelming for some, and a new device category has emerged that will likely create additional confusion.
This month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Final Rule to establish a medical device category for over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids. This is the result of a 2017 Federal law that directed the FDA to establish a new category for non-prescription hearing aids. Before selecting an OTC product as a solution for hearing challenges, it is essential to understand the available options, benefits, and potential drawbacks of OTC and prescription hearing devices.
Over-the-counter hearing aids are non-prescription hearing aids available at general retailers and online. Intended for use by adults with perceived mild to moderate hearing difficulty, the new rule from the FDA applies to certain types of air-conduction hearing aids that differ from prescription hearing aids in a number of ways. These include a lower maximum output volume and user-adjusted volume controls, and are intended to help ensure that individuals do not over-amplify the sounds around them, which could actually worsen hearing loss.
These over-the-counter hearing-aid devices are typically worn behind the ears or in the ear, and essentially work the same way that wireless headphones do. They capture outside sound and amplify the sound into the user's ear canal. Some over-the-counter hearing devices can connect to Bluetooth devices such as mobile phones and tablets, allowing a variety of uses including phone calls and audio streaming.
Because hearing loss tends to develop over long periods of time, it is difficult to accurately assess the severity of your own hearing loss. For this reason, it is recommended that people experiencing a hearing difficulty seek a medical professional's advice before choosing an OTC hearing aid. Hearing-care specialists (audiologists and hearing-aid dispensers) can test hearing and diagnose different types of hearing impairment. This information can help people make informed decisions regarding selecting appropriate devices and managing their hearing loss.
Only about 1 in 5 people who could benefit from hearing aids use them, and untreated hearing loss is the #1 modifiable risk factor for dementia later in life. Approving over-the-counter hearing aids is intended to make hearing aids more accessible for those people with mild to moderate hearing loss by removing the requirement to visit a doctor or other hearing-healthcare professional, and, by removing the professional services, the overall cost to the consumer can be significantly reduced. It is not yet clear whether the over-the-counter devices will provide adequate benefits to users.
Selecting an appropriate device for the hearing loss of the user, and a style and features that fit the physical and lifestyle needs of the user, and customizing the adjustment of the device may require more time, effort, and expertise than a quick trip to the local drugstore. Prescription devices are dispensed only by hearing-healthcare professionals and can provide users with an enhanced experience due to the customized adjustment or 'fitting' process, which should include verification testing to demonstrate the benefit of using the device in a variety of situations.
At Earlens, we are leading the revolution in hearing technology with a unique and superior technology. We have developed a tiny lens that operates as a superior hearing aid — our product provides users with a rich and natural sound that is not achieved with conventional acoustic devices.
The Lens is placed directly on the eardrum, and high-fidelity audio sounds are transmitted to the Lens from a behind-the-ear Processor and custom-fitted Ear Tip. The Lens gently vibrates the user's eardrum across the full frequency range. Using the Lens to directly activate the ear eliminates the need to rely on speakers to produce the amplified sound — the method used by acoustic hearing aids that may result in challenges with whistling feedback and overall disappointing sound quality.
Unlike traditional hearing aids, Earlens works with the natural hearing system by gently vibrating the eardrum via a tiny, custom-built Lens, which delivers 2.5× the audible bandwidth of traditional hearing aids, resulting in significantly better speech understanding in background noise and improved clarity compared to conventional hearing aids.
Contact a participating provider in your area today to learn more about Earlens and our approach to hearing loss solutions.
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