Happy New Year and welcome to 2020.
In this video I'm gonna take a look at what's new
in the world of hearing loss and hearing aids
as we enter the new year, coming up.
(upbeat music)
Hi guys, Cliff Olson, Doctor of Audiology
and founder of Applied Hearing Solutions
in Phoenix, Arizona.
And on this channel, I cover a bunch
of hearing related information
to help make you a better informed consumer.
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All right, so before I head out this evening,
to celebrate the new year, I wanna go ahead
and talk a little bit about
what I expect to see upcoming in 2020.
Now, 2019 didn't really show us a whole lot
in terms of hearing aid technology.
But what we did see was a lot of hearing aid companies
actually updating the apps for their hearing aids.
We've seen several hearing aid manufacturers
update smartphone apps
that are used to interact with their hearing aids.
We saw this with Phonak, we saw it with Signia,
and we saw with Oticon.
Each one of these companies
making improvements to their existing applications,
and it's definitely leading us to believe
that it's one of the most important things
that consumers are looking at right now,
when choosing the actual devices that they're gonna wear.
Now, I still think that a lot of these manufacturers
have a long way to go to make sure
that their apps are functioning appropriately,
and to give users enough control,
and help hearing-impaired individuals
maximize their hearing treatment.
In 2020 I also expect that
we're gonna see improvements in rechargeable technology.
Lithium really took the world by storm
in the last couple of years, it's definitely been something
that's been building inside of the hearing industry.
And I continue to expect to see rechargeable technology
overtake disposable hearing aid technology
as we enter into 2020.
If we're really lucky, we'll actually get to see
Fuel-Cell technology this year,
which is basically kind of like a rechargeable hearing aid,
but instead of having to plug in your hearing aid
for a couple of hours,
you can actually just recharge the fuel-cell
which takes about 20 seconds.
And of course, I couldn't talk
about things to expect in 2000
without talking about the Over the Counter Hearing Aid Act.
We were expecting to see
the Over the Counter Hearing Aid Act,
the guidelines be released in late 2019.
But the FDA actually postponed this release,
so we're expecting to see it sometime early in 2020.
This will basically start the comment period as well,
which will take an additional six months.
So even though we are expecting to see
over-the-counter hearing aids come out in 2020,
at best we're gonna see it late in 2020.
Now, overall, this Over the Counter Hearing Aid Act
could have an impact in the overall hearing aid landscape,
but I don't really expect it
to have a massive impact right off the bat.
After all, you can already purchase hearing aids online,
that isn't really a barrier for consumers already.
Basically, what this is gonna probably
have most of an impact on
is when companies like Bose and Samsung get into the space,
but I'm not expecting them
to release really traditional hearing aids,
I'm expecting them to release more of a cross
between consumer electronic, listening devices,
and hearing aids themselves.
The main reason I want to see
the Over the Counter Hearing Aid Act in 2020
is because I really want to see regulation
inside of the online hearing aid space.
So a lot of these unscrupulous online hearing aid dealers
that are just selling you pieces of junk from China,
actually get regulated.
One of the other things that I really hope to see in 2020
is more data about frequency therapeutics
and their FX-322 drug that is designed to restore hearing.
If you've been following along the FX-322 drug
was given Fast Track designation by the FDA
to really speed up this process
of trying to find a cure for hearing loss.
We should expect to see more data
on these clinical trials towards the end of 2020.
And finally, I expect 2020 to be the year
where individuals with hearing loss start to expect more
out of their hearing care professionals.
It is an unfortunate circumstance
that in the hearing care industry,
we do not have any standards.
So basically, you have to get lucky
and find someone who follows best practices,
and best practices are the single most important factor
to ensure that you're getting the most
out of your hearing treatment with hearing aids.
This is precisely why I started
the Dr. Cliff Aud Approved Provider Network.
This is a group of hearing care professionals
who have committed to following best practices,
as well as some other key criteria
to ensure that they're acting in your best interest.
This at least ensures to the best of my ability
that these hearing care professionals
are gonna do the things necessary
to maximize your performance with hearing treatment.
And while there are excellent hearing healthcare providers
out there who are not a part
of the Dr. Cliff Aud Approved Provider Network,
this network just helps make it a little bit easier
for you to find a great hearing healthcare provider.
To find a provider in the network,
all you have to do is go to DrCliffAuD.com,
and click on the Find a Provider tab.
This will bring up a map
of all available approved providers.
Then all you have to do is search by your zip code
or zoom in on your area to find your closest provider.
Now, if by chance there are no approved providers near you,
the next best thing that you can do
is print off those best practice checklists
that I also have on my website, and take them with you
when you go in and see a hearing health care provider
that's in your local area.
This will help you determine
if the hearing care professional that you're going to
is actually following best practices or not.
All that being said, 2020 has the opportunity
to be the absolute best year
for individuals with a hearing loss,
and I for one am looking forward to it.
That's it for this video, if you have any questions
leave them in the comments section below.
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I'll see you next time.
(upbeat music)