Starkey continues to innovate as it expands its outreach efforts for the hearing impaired.
Written by Amanda Smith & Produced by Tom Cunningham
Starkey Laboratories is an international hearing technology company based in Eden Prairie, Minn., operating 22 facili¬ties and conducting business in more than 100 markets worldwide, including a location in Mis¬sissauga, Ont. (Starkey Labs Canada Co.) With 3,500 employees around the world, Starkey is uniquely positioned to deliver the best hearing aid technology to people who need it.
From its humble beginnings in hearing aid repair, Starkey has done things differently. Its focus is not just manufacturing hearing aids; it’s improving the hearing lives of people around the world through technology and innovation. To this end, it has created the most-advanced Research and Development department in the industry and continues to make life-changing advances year after year — this translates into hearing aids that deliver the best sound experience available.
Starkey’s hearing instruments create an unparalleled listening experience while eliminating some of the most frustrating charac¬teristics of older hearing aids. For the first time ever, hearing aids are virtually feedback-free, so they don’t whistle when you hug someone, touch your hair, or put on a hat. In addition, a telephone response system automatically rec¬ognizes when you raise a phone to your ear and adjusts accordingly.
These and other innovations are designed to provide the hearing impaired with the ultimate in performance, comfort and personalization to ensure the best hearing experience possible. From custom hearing aids to standard prod¬ucts, virtually no hearing need goes unmet.
Researching the future
The company is now working well into the future at the Starkey Hearing Research Center in Ber¬keley, Calif. Here researchers explore medical and technological breakthroughs in two areas: auditory perceptual science — how the auditory system perceives sound, and signal processing technology — how hearing aids can modify sound to enhance auditory perception.
Working with leading researchers and univer¬sities around the world, Starkey continues to seek ways to better understand the science of hearing loss and its impact on peoples’ lives, so it can con¬tinue developing the technology to improve it.
In May, Starkey introduced a brand new line of hearing aids — S Series with Drive Architecture. S Series melds industry-leading technology and the patient’s lifestyle to create an unparalleled listening experience. Designed to perform in the most challenging listening situations, S Series offers options for people with any type of hearing loss — delivering maxi¬mum performance, comfort and personalization — while overcoming the challenges that hearing aids have traditionally presented.
Historically, some of the most common complaints include not being able to hear in noisy situations; whistling – referred to as feedback; occlusion, or the feeling of the ears being plugged; and poor performance when the wearer is talking on the phone. S Series uses the most advanced technology available to address all of these noise issues.
“S Series by Starkey provides the most inno¬vative technology used in hearing aids today,” said Jerry Ruzicka, president of Starkey, on the occasion of the announcement. “Our successful meld of style and advanced science has allowed us to create hearing aids that truly address all of the challenges users have traditionally had, giving them the most advanced performance, comfort and personalization available.”
Outreach missions
Starkey takes its leadership role seriously, and mission trips aimed at globally address¬ing the concerns of the hearing impaired are ongoing. In 2008 alone, Starkey Hearing Foun¬dation sponsored several international hearing missions to countries like Egypt, Malawi, Bot¬swana, Mozambique and many more. Again and again, mission volunteers are rewarded with the smile on a child’s face as they hear for the first time.
Since 2000, the company has distrib¬uted more than 338,595 hearing instruments around the world to people in need. Starkey founder, Bill Austin, is an enthusiastic advocate for hearing-impaired children, personally fitting thousands of hearing aids each year.