Our managing director Mark Scutchings attended the British Academy of Audiology conference earlier this month in Coventry. He was accompanied by Hannah Harris, senior audiologist at Hearbase One Ashford Hospital and Chloe Gilliam, Hearbase senior audiologist and NHS team lead.
We were at the conference to find out about the latest thinking in the management of hearing loss and tinnitus and to see the latest hearing aid technology and diagnostic equipment.
The conference attracts a wide range of professionals from the world of audiology from both the private sector and NHS, as well as researchers, academics and others with an interest in the world of hearing and hearing loss.
New developments
As a hearing aid provider, our main interest was in seeing what was new in the field of hearing aid technology and diagnostic equipment. You can read about some of the new developments in the two accompanying posts, where we talk about the Starkey Genesis AI range of hearing aids and the article on how we will test your hearing in the future and how the technology has changed and will continue to change.
It was clear from this year’s conference that the trends that are visible in other areas of our life influence the world of hearing too: the need for environmental awareness, particularly around the safe disposal of waste that we create as a by-product of or actives.
Intelligent hearing aids
The impact of artificial intelligence on hearing aid development and the ever greater effect of increasingly powerful and miniaturised electronics is another trend.
It is good to remember that despite the concerns expressed for the implications of artificial intelligence and where it might lead, there is a positive side to the story and the development of intelligent hearing aids that can help understand what you want to listen to and what you want to ignore, is part of this development.
