Innovation Unleashed: AI Breakthroughs and CIC Tech Lead the March for Audiology Excellence

Dr. Dave Fabry and Dr. Sara Burdak discuss the recent updates and features released by Starkey. They talk about the advancements in AI and DNN, particularly the evolution of Edge Mode into Edge Mode+, which is now automatic and dynamically adjusts to different listening environments. They also discuss improvements in connectivity, including asynchronous remote programming and direct linking for easier and more convenient adjustments.

Additionally, they highlight the new Signature Series, which includes the world's smallest rechargeable CIC and the implementation of Edge Mode in non-wireless CIC models. They emphasize the importance of high-quality impressions for custom products and the need for professionals to slow down and ensure accurate impressions for better fitting devices. Finally, they touch on the significance of World Hearing Day and International Women's Day, with Dr. Burdak encouraging women in STEM fields to have an open mind and consider various career opportunities within audiology.

Read full transcript here

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome to Starkey Soundbites. I'm your host, Dave Fabry, Starkey's Chief Hearing Health Officer. Now I'm going to borrow a phrase from a good friend of mine who says this is a clappable moment. And Dr. Sarah Burdack, that's her phrase. I would also uh a quote from the philosopher Marshall Mathers. Guess who's back? Back again. And uh Sarah, it's such a pleasure to have you back on the podcast. Sarah is Dr. Burdack is not only Chief Audiology Officer for Starkey, but she's also the executive vice president of product strategy. So welcome back.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

Yes, thank you. It's nice to be back. And I loved that we were talking about my neck of the woods.

SPEAKER_00 0:42

Indeed.

SPEAKER_01 0:42

And where I went to school for my master's rooms. So I thought about that too, saying, guess who's back? Sarah's back.

SPEAKER_00 0:53

Well, it's always a pleasure. You're one of our most frequent guests. Uh fourth time.

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 0:58

When you come back the next time, just like Saturday Night Live, we're gonna have to prepare the five-timer jacket, and uh is always one of our most popular guys.

SPEAKER_01 1:06

I hope that's legit. I'm waiting for this jacket.

SPEAKER_00 1:08

All right, now I'm gonna have to I'm gonna have to go shopping at TJ Maxx.

SPEAKER_01 1:12

Yeah, you might have to think about that one. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 1:15

Well, well, here at Starkey, you know, we've recently uh released some new features and updates that we've been excited to share, and you've already been doing this uh actively for the past month. Uh but joining us today to dive into these details is Dr. Burdack. There's no one better to talk about this with your dual threat from being chief audiology officer and the EVP of product strategy. So, Sarah, let's dive in and talk about the past year, really. It's been a whirlwind. Around here we say what it no rest for the best. So uh you're at the epicenter of that.

SPEAKER_01 1:50

So true. And I think the the past year has been phenomenal. And partially just because we have seen such extraordinary uh testimonials from people that have been using the product. And that's that means we got it right the first time. And the reason that we did that is you've heard me talk about this, is we really, really took input and developed this product over the past few years with professionals, but more importantly with patients in mind. And because of that, everyone has has noticed. And people will say all the time, well, what's the difference? And you know as well as I do, it's really hard to define what the difference is for each individual, but everyone has some commentary on it's transparent, the clarity, it sounds totally natural. And one of the fittings that I loved, and I thought this was the best explanation to date, is the gentleman said, you know, it reminds me of if you have a glass with his previous technology at a glass, and he said it was kind of cloudy water in it. You couldn't really see through it, it wasn't crystal clear. And with the Genesis AA technology, it's a crystal clear glass of water. Yeah. And we hear that over and over again. And it's remarkable at how many emails we get. The sales team gets input from professionals, we have patients uh calling in, telling us how much this technology's impacted their lives.

SPEAKER_00 3:40

Absolutely. For all of life's most important sounds. I mean, the focus is always first and foremost on speech in quiet and in noise. But as you said, it's really bringing in all of the dynamics across the frequency bandwidth and the intensity range. And I think that's what really captures lightning in a bottle with Genesis when we launched it. But we didn't stop there, right? So in August, um we made some important updates to, as you said, I mean, with with last year, roughly a year ago, we started with all new everything, new form factors, new software, new app. How crazy is that? You know, uh new chipset, virtually everything. And as you said, we got it right, right out of the gate, but then we didn't stop there. So talk about some of the improvements that we made last August or so.

SPEAKER_01 4:28

I think you know how passionate I am about having an option for every single patient that is in front of our professional. And I think that's been really clear. Whether you have somebody that needs a power solution, we have it. If you're managing tinnitus, we have it. If you have a single-sided, you know, hearing loss, we have our cross and by cross options. And we have been asked quite a bit to have a zinc air option.

SPEAKER_00 5:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:04

And I know some people are surprised by that. Professionals listening to this will say, no, of course, we get that all of the time. And that's what I think is so great that we've added zinc air options as well. And it's for a variety of reasons. I have people, and so do you, that you've talked to, that that's what they know, that's their experience. And regardless of how we say we have 51 hours of battery life on our rechargeable, and rechargeable is making up more and more of the hearing aid um sales today. There are those people that are still a little, you know, scared of it.

SPEAKER_00 5:45

You know, they suffer range anxiety. They do. And they worry that they're gonna especially those I think of like the people that want small, cosmetically appealing devices, but are worried that they're gonna run out of battery at the end of the day. And I understand that. You know, if you rely on it and and they don't want to be without it, but the 51 hours helps take a lot of that range anxiety away.

SPEAKER_01 6:07

It does. However, there's still individuals who really want to be able to replace the battery. Yeah. They feel more secure with that. And I do feel like sometimes it's dependent on their lifestyle.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

For sure.

SPEAKER_01 6:20

And so that was a big win. We have people that tell me, you know, oh, I'm out, you know, camping for days. I'm in boundary waters or something. And I would just feel better if I can replace the battery. So there's all sorts of uh options for people, and that's really what we're trying to get at.

SPEAKER_00 6:38

Yeah. And really keeping all patients in mind, as you said. I mean, the beautiful thing about the RIC RT is that 51 hours of battery life for a cross or by cross situation, again, means that they can wear them with confidence that they're gonna last all day, every day, both now and three to five years in the future. And and and that's a solution really that doesn't get a lot of use cases, but when you run into a patient who needs that, like you said, we want to have that available for them. The same with zinc air, even though there has been a very rapid transformation from replaceable to rechargeable batteries.

SPEAKER_01 7:17

Yeah, absolutely. And I I think that's critically important because we want to be really the end-all be-all for all of our professionals to be able to, you know, choose what they want to choose and have a great uh experience for their patients.

SPEAKER_00 7:32

100%. And you know, really then that reaction from customers and from patients alike continues to be very positive as we went through the summer last year and then came into the spring. Now this year, we've had again no rest for the best. We continue to adapt and and and improve uh the product and talk about some of those very latest updates. And I know this is where we plan to spend the majority of the time because there's a lot of improvements that just happened with this latest release.

SPEAKER_01 8:02

There are a lot of improvements. And I want to just have a little bit of a shout out if I can. Of course. Because I I really, in my role as the EVP of product strategy, was was put in that position because you mentioned this a little bit that I can bridge the gap between almost all of the elements of RD operations manufacturing and then two professionals and then ultimately patient care because I've done it. Right. And most of our product management team has also done it as well. They are audiologists, they have worked clinically, they have worked uh in the VA, for example, they are, you know, PhDs in psychoacoustics. So they know what it takes to provide exceptional patient care. And so that's what's really fun to see then how we're listening, how they're going into offices, how they're working with our customers to see what do they want? Are there areas that they'd like us to tweak, or can we make some improvements? And I think we've really seen that this release has accomplished that.

SPEAKER_00 9:17

Indeed. And so talk about from a high level, and then we can dig in a little bit on some of the what you see as the most significant um features of the latest products.

SPEAKER_01 9:30

I know. That's so hard. It's so hard to name one or two.

SPEAKER_00 9:33

Yeah. Because there's it's it's a full covered.

SPEAKER_01 9:37

And I laugh at that because you know, at my core, I'm probably the most passionate about education and training. And I'm told often to take the trainer out of me. Right. And and just what are the highlights? That's why when you say what are the one or two things, I think, oh, there's so many. Like this podcast could go on for hours. Um, you already mentioned, Dave, that really our job one has always been sound quality. And one of the biggest advancements in AI and DNN that we've had, uh, probably certainly at Starkey, but likely the industry has been what we've been doing with edge mode.

SPEAKER_00 10:16

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 10:16

And edge mode has evolved into edge mode plus. And now, you know, professionals have said all along, well, if this is using AI, then why isn't it just adaptive and automatic and on all the time? And I'm really thrilled to say, well, now with this release, it is. Exactly. So it is automatic, which means that it's going to be dynamic and actively engaging all of the time. And the the nice thing is our statistics show that 80% of individuals that have used um the automatic, you know, edge mode plus have had benefit in all of their life moments because it can pick and choose between, you know, better hearing or is it more comfort? You know, what what's the focus or is is it noise? Yeah. So that to me is really exciting.

SPEAKER_00 11:16

Yeah. So let's unpack that a little bit more. So when you talked about originally, edge mode was just at the time, they double-tapped uh or then later pressed the button in the app, and edge mode would optimize to that situation. Then, as you said, edge mode plus allowed them to still use that best sound, but also then to enhance clarity or uh make those noisy situations more comfortable. But then, as you said, there's been a constant refrain and drumbeat, people saying, if it's so great, make it on all the time if you want it. Because in the past, with both of those derivations of edge mode, they had to tap out to go back into personal or one of the specialty programs. What I can say is the patients that I've worked with, once they understand edge mode and how and where to use it in quiet and noisy environments, they were very adept at tapping in and remembering that. But for those patients who are sort of experimenting with it, the most frequent concern would be when they come out of that critical listening environment into another dynamic environment. It wasn't optimized again until they did another acoustic snapshot. Now that all can perform automatically and optimize to those uh challenging listening environments on the fly. And I think that's impressive.

SPEAKER_01 12:33

I think it's impressive. And one of the things that we really look at from a patient acceptance and usability is generally the best option is if they don't have to interact with the hearing aid in any way. Right. And you've seen our data that shows that edge mode is replacing the need for multiple memories. Absolutely. It is meaning that it just works, it's doing all the automatic calculations. And I think that's important because again, you do have individuals still with a stigma, which drives me, you know, crazy. And that's something that we're trying to always improve. But there are individuals that don't want to be tapping or you know, making adjustments, pushing and pulling their phone out, et cetera. Yeah, so I think it's important. But one of the things that I also think is important is this still is optional and customizable. And and we have seen this gets back into a little bit with people who still desire zinc air. Sure. Depending on what people have been wearing previously, there are times or instances or circumstances where an individual might not want edge mode on. Right. I can't quite understand why. So what I think might happen in some cases is maybe they're fit and then as they're comfortable, then it's turned on and they'll see the benefit. So I I love that the professional has the option to choose and decide with the patient on the best path.

SPEAKER_00 14:11

Absolutely. And even within the same patient, sometimes they may want to be in more control, other times automatic. You know.

SPEAKER_01 14:18

We've all had that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:19

And so I, you know, I I think, you know, as you said, it's our our priority one is always to focus on outstanding sound quality and speech intelligibility in all environments. One of the things I remember back in 2020 when we first started talking about edge mode, was I presented it as a solution for noisy environments. But just as often I've had patients that tell me, you know, when we went through the pandemic, I hate even going back to that time, but when people were wearing face masks or people that just talk with covering their mouth, um, it sharpens it up. And so it helps in quiet and noisy environments. It's really applicable to all those life's important moments.

SPEAKER_01 15:00

And I I love that you said that because in so many environments they still have the plexiglass up.

unknown 15:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:08

Still.

SPEAKER_01 15:09

Which is challenging.

SPEAKER_00 15:10

And it's challenging when you add a hearing loss on top of that.

SPEAKER_01 15:12

100%. Even if if you aren't wearing a mask, it's still muffled.

SPEAKER_00 15:17

Yes. And it and I have people l like the example you gave, it goes from cloudy to clear. Yeah. And uh and and even within the automatic mode, uh uh the personal program as we call it now, versus uh when edge mode and now edge mode automatic is applied. So I can't wait to start hearing more and more feedback from practitioners and especially patients uh as they experience this new generation of edge mode.

SPEAKER_01 15:43

Oh, yeah, it's a lot of fun, and it's only gonna get better and better. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:47

But wait, there's more. So what else?

SPEAKER_01 15:52

We've only covered one one thing. We we might not get to everything in in the podcast, but we're also evolving what we're doing in the the health space. Yes. And I think that's so important too, because it is all connected. And we say hearing care is brain care, and we want to make sure that we're thinking holistically about it. So we've made changes to even how we're engaging with our motion-based sensor techniques. This is really cool. It is really cool so that we can detect small motions, I'll say, but that would mean we're going to now detect an environment or situation or motion from the patient that where we could put the device into directional, for example. And we can make really smart choices. So again, they're not having to switch to a memory or make an a change. They don't have to do anything. Right. The hearing aid's gonna automatically know that they're they can hear better in a situation if they make those adjustments to the settings.

SPEAKER_00 17:07

Right, by using both the acoustic sensors, the microphones, but also the motions, the IMU sensors that we've employed longer than anyone else in our industry.

SPEAKER_01 17:16

Yes. I mean, that's been several years now. We're we're really experts in in designing around the IMU, the accelerometers, all of the things that we have in our technology to, again, what I love is just make sure everybody's hearing better, living better in every single situation they're in.

SPEAKER_00 17:37

And it's such a subtle um difference, but we know that among the top four drivers of uh expectations that new hearing aid users have, number four is that localization and spatial awareness. And this is a feature that directly applies to that so that they can feel confident when they're in a situation that the adjustments are taking place on the basis of acoustic and IMU input to keep it in omnidirectional when they're having a conversation so that they still have spatial awareness, which can be convenient for some, can be life-changing for others. If you have low vision, you need to know where localization and you need that spatial awareness to survive.

SPEAKER_01 18:21

Well, and I think everybody needs that to survive and to have we talk about this as what's the you know, the 4D sound.

SPEAKER_00 18:30

Yeah, yeah, 4D. Brandon talks about that all the time.

SPEAKER_01 18:35

You know, what's next? But the bottom line is, and I liked what you said, is that it's just easy.

SPEAKER_00 18:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:41

The expectation on all technology, and people will say, you know, what how are you using AI or define AI or define DNN? And to me, it means the systems just work again and they're very easy. Because if we haven't done that, then we haven't done our job well. Because of everything that you're talking about, and when we said hearing care is brain care, with all of the comorbidities and things that we're up against, there are areas of loss in visual acuity, loss of dexterity. We have aging populations that are increasing the incidence of arthritis.

SPEAKER_00 19:21

You're looking at one, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:26

But we have to nail that.

SPEAKER_00 19:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:28

And ease of use is is just as much a sound quality as job one. I think ease of use is there.

SPEAKER_00 19:36

Could not agree more. Yeah. And with that, let's transition into some of the connectivity updates because there's significant ones there as well.

SPEAKER_01 19:44

Well, there's a couple that I'm really excited about. Probably my top, I I could go into this for quite some time, but I know that we had previously asynchronous remote programming. And then we went to synchronous, and we just brought asynchronous back. So that's really nice because I think as we're seeing more professionals embrace this, we heard again loud and clear that they wanted the flexibility of being able to do adjustments anytime. And the nice thing is, is anywhere now. Right. Because this is connected to um our telehere portal, that's how this is deployed. So you have a unique way then to make sure that you're connecting with your patients. And this could be, you know, on an iPad, off your computer, you know, someone was saying, you know, off your Mac, and I'm a Mac user. I'm like, yes, actually off your Mac. So I think that is really a nice ad as well. And then there's a couple things, even with what we're doing from the professional perspective with our synchronous programming. Because people have said too, overall, with any type of remote programming, we've required the security piece of it where you have a code. Right. And now we're doing something called direct link. And the direct linking means that we can send a link to a patient and it auto connects. They don't have to get the code, remember the code. So this gets back into just really making it a a whole lot easier to engage and stay connected to your patient.

SPEAKER_00 21:36

Yeah, I know that's a really welcome feature for for many of those patients and even the providers. And um, I've been a huge fan of Telehere for uh, you know, I I use it as much as anyone does internally here. I use it there's not a day that goes by that I don't have some interaction with one of the people I'm working with who are traveling and I use the the synchronous and I love it. And I love it because I can use it for counseling. Or programming. But not everyone is in a position all the time where they have good a good connection, either a good cell connection or a good Wi-Fi connection. We can program with Telehere on both, but you know, that asynchronous really provides that solution for anytime anywhere, like you said. And it really for those clinicians that embrace it and use it effectively, they can make the adjustments when they have a last-minute cancellation for a patient, when they have set aside time and they can power through a bunch of adjustments. With synchronous, if the patient's late or you go along with the previous patient, it's it's not saving time clinically. You're still delayed. Asynchronous still is a very powerful tool in the tool belt for those people who embrace that asynchronous versus synchronous programming. And I'm I'm glad to see it back.

SPEAKER_01 22:52

I am too. And I want to chime in on something that you said, because you said for those professionals who use this, and I really hope that this has a a spike or an uptick in professionals that are using it, because we have still seen that it was heavily used, and I know you've you know mentioned pandemic, and then there was a decline. And I realized that that was because people were also so hungry for patient interaction. Interaction and contact. And people in some points were like, we can get out of the house and I can go see my provider. However, I think the value added, and I could get into so many things with the caregiver space and all of this, is I I really would like to see all of our providers embracing this.

SPEAKER_00 23:48

Preach. Yeah. I I've thought for I've been talking about telehealth for more than 30 years, believe it or not, and it's hard to believe that that much time has passed. But I've never understood why more people don't recognize it's not for everyone and it's not for all the time. Um but but boy, in a pinch, when you've got someone who's traveling, um, and and to me, I always consider it an honor if they're making a request, because it means they value my expertise and their hearing aids in the moment where they're having difficulty enough to reach out to me and say, can we make can we do something about it? And and so I agree a hundred percent with you. And now we have both a synchronous and again an asynchronous solution. I'm really glad to the team that they were able to bring it back and improve it.

SPEAKER_01 24:35

Yeah. And uh and another, you know, area that you you were talking about connectivity. And I I think we hear so often, how do we, you know, certainly keep professionals connected to their patients? And you said you want them to feel comfortable reaching out to you, and you know, if they need an adjustment, you're their you know provider. But we've also been asked to provide more um for the patients themselves. And one of the things that patients have asked for, but professionals too, is a little more adjustability and the connectivity space within the MyStarky app. And I know when I've talked to product management and the ones who are in app development, they said this is probably their most exciting feature is this equalizer. Yes. And I think from a streaming uh sound quality, there's now an equalizer that really allows uh the patient to be adjusting the bass, you know, the middle and and and then their high frequencies or trouble sounds. And that's so nice too, because we talk about sound quality, but we want the good sound quality in every single way, whether, you know, that's input acoustically or the streamed input to the device.

SPEAKER_00 25:56

Absolutely. And you bring up music, for example. And I remember back when we first started really thinking about music. And I remember classes where we would play three samples, one that had bass emphasis, one that emphasized the mid-range, and one's the highs. And about a third of the people in the class chose each one of those. And it was a third, a third, a third, each each saying, you know, and we said, which one sounds the best? And and a third of the people were adamant that that was the only one that sounded the best, but they were equally divided in almost every class I can remember us doing. So I mean, it it's so personal, even within that context, and that ability to use that equalizer without delay and with an easy user interface for both streaming and ambient sounds is terrific.

SPEAKER_01 26:42

The the app updates, again, are pretty extraordinary from using um patients, you know, in our in our clinical trials and making sure that they were getting it right. And I think it's funny sometimes because you hear this, the professionals might say, oh, the app does this. And it's not designed for them. Ultimately, it's designed for, you know, the patient.

SPEAKER_00 27:08

100%. Yeah. And and and Brandon says this all the time, and he was really the first one to get me thinking about it, that in the old days the patient was really interfacing with the technology through the hardware. Now the app is often as significant or more significant a way for them to really unleash all of those features. And we have to focus on the user interface. I'm so glad that you talk about the user experience, user interface within the context of this development, because it's not just hardware anymore.

SPEAKER_01 27:34

Trevor Burrus, Jr. No. No. Who is it designed for?

SPEAKER_00 27:36

Yeah.

unknown 27:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:37

Well, I kind of feel like we buried the lead on on uh on uh another introduction, if you will, and reintroduction. We've been talking about replaceable, rechargeable batteries, we've been talking about providing solutions for every hearing loss, every patient interest. So what else you got in your in in in new things to announce?

SPEAKER_01 27:59

I know. I again these are all you could tell how excited I get to talk about all of this, any anything new. But we have our new signature series, and that is our line of you know, we have an IIC, um, two CICs, but we have the world's smallest rechargeable CIC. Yeah, it's phenomenal. It's phenomenal. And some of those these things I always tell people they've I have the worst ear. I have a 90-degree bent, a collapsed canal, and these are so elegant and nice. You know, we are the masters in this domain, and they they fit my ear. That's terrific. I've seen them in your ears and they look great. Yeah, they're they're really great. So I I I think that's going to be something that we have been asked for again as far as being able to provide solutions. But what's really nice as well on both of the CIC models, they are non-wireless. However, we do have an implementation of edge mode. And now this isn't the automatic edge mode that we were talking about because they're non-wireless, however, they can be engaged again from the devices with a push button.

SPEAKER_00 29:18

Right.

SPEAKER_01 29:18

And that is revolutionary.

SPEAKER_00 29:20

Absolutely, because it gives that non wireless product the ability to customize, optimize to specific situations.

SPEAKER_01 29:27

Yeah, it's it's truly another innovation. And we just keep getting better and better in this custom space.

SPEAKER_00 29:34

And for those products, no cables to program them either, right? Right. Yes. So even though it's a even though it's a non-weleless product for streaming purposes, it can be they they are programmed without cables.

SPEAKER_01 29:46

Yes, yes. Thank you. I was wrapped up in everything else and all the excitement. I forgot to mention that, but I think that's a big one too.

SPEAKER_00 29:54

For sure. And um but now uh we've talked about the fact that, again, going back to the pandemic briefly, um uh that people uh all of a sudden patients started remembering and recognizing, especially those who'd worn custom products before, that they didn't want to fling their ricks around the room. You know, and we've seen that settle back in, but I think as much, you know, it's been on the part of the clinician uh in many cases, they have to learn or relearn how to make earmold impressions again. Oh, so let's talk a little bit about that in some of the remaining time. I know we could go on with this much longer, but but but talk about you know the need for I say garbage in, garbage out with impressions.

SPEAKER_01 30:35

Yeah. We we need help on the professional side, and certainly from you know the the student side as well, because we want to be a good partner and we're committed to making the small with signature series. We are committed to making the smallest devices that fit comfortably, that can be worn, you know, all day, every day. And we've been seeing a decline, and this isn't anything new. For years, we've been seeing a decline in the impressions that we're receiving to do. The quality of them quality of the impressions. And then often we're told by the professionals when we reach out, oh, just build it up, fill it in, do it anyway, lengthen the canal, do your best, try it, or we'll ask for a new impression. And no, you know, I'm not gonna send in a new impression. And so I always say one of my quotes is slow down, we're in a hurry.

SPEAKER_00 31:33

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:34

And I would rather have a professional take two impressions, slow down, get it right, because then we can get it right.

SPEAKER_00 31:43

For sure.

SPEAKER_01 31:44

When I look at the percentage of incoming impressions that we would grade borderline usable, um the usable ones are 80 percent. So it's pretty good. 20 percent, though, are not.

SPEAKER_00 32:01

Uh and which leads to poor retention, uh discomfort.

SPEAKER_01 32:06

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 32:06

Um if we're filling in for voids that we don't know, we don't have the patient, the benefit of the ear. We'll we will never say your impressions are too deep unless they have ossicles hanging on the end of them. But but I mean, really, I mean, it it it the it's retention, it's comfort, feedback, all with those 20 percent. If the impressions aren't starting us out with a a solid foundation, we're really uh trying to do the impossible, which we will do. Right. And we will we will do that better than anyone, but but let's start by getting people to think, let's work on that 20 percent.

SPEAKER_01 32:39

Yeah, yeah, because it also impacts cosmetics. Yes. When we're told to build it anyway, the chances are it will be taller, it won't look as nice in the ear. And I I think about the thousands of custom products we do. We are the the best, as you know. And what that 20% translates to just in the US, it's thousands of people who may not have the best fitting devices that they could.

SPEAKER_00 33:08

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 33:09

So, again, to be a good partner, we need good impressions. This is an area of focus um for students as well. Yes. I'm so thrilled because we have Starkey University, our workshop coming back. Uh, this this summer. Yeah, and invite invites are going out pretty soon here. But that is one of the areas that we're focusing on is impressions mods because we are seeing, you know, I call it this lost art and audiology, uh, because so often people are getting their experiences as students with ricks and an earbud. Yeah. And they're not thinking about the customization overall, even on how to customize a Rick.

SPEAKER_00 33:53

Right.

unknown 33:54

Right.

SPEAKER_01 33:54

So we can do so much.

SPEAKER_00 33:57

I wear custom uh you know, AP. We used to call them uh uh absolute power, but it's now all purpose. Custom with a big vent. And uh and and and when you have a patient fitted with a RIC where they say it scratches my ear, it's uncomfortable, it works its way out, the best solution is to make an impression, make a custom AP mold, even with a 40, or even with a low M or you know, and certainly the H power and ultra power, um, that we can do it again with every and you need that powerful tool in your toolkit that differentiates you in the market because you're not just hanging uh ricks with dome tips. We want you, we we think we've got great offerings in that area, but always thinking about the customization, personalization, flexing all of your muscles to show your expertise to your patient to deliver solutions that will benefit them in every environment where they want to wear their devices.

SPEAKER_01 34:56

Yeah, that's absolutely what everybody should be doing. And and so I think if you want to order the world's smallest rechargeable CIC, then send us one of the world's best impressions. How about that?

SPEAKER_00 35:11

I love it. I love the challenge. And uh so so stay tuned then for the students who might be listening to this podcast. Invites will be going out, and that will take place this summer. Um, March is is a big month. You just uh came back from JDVAC and you probably ran into maybe some students who were interning at the VA there, but the importance of the VA, you talk about tinnitus already. Hearing loss and tinnitus are the two still most uh frequent uh uh cited issues for for combat veterans and military veterans. Talk a little bit about JDVAC and some of the interactions you have.

SPEAKER_01 35:48

Yeah, it's it's really such a unique meeting because JDVAC, a lot of people don't even know what that means. Around here, we're like, who's going to you know, who's JDVAC? Um but it's the joint defense and audiology meeting.

unknown 36:03

Right.

SPEAKER_01 36:04

And I I think that's what's so unique about it, is it's really the only meeting of its kind, of its kind that's you know combined with both of those organizations. So the focus really fits into everything that we're doing and that we focus on because it's also about prevention.

SPEAKER_00 36:22

Right.

SPEAKER_01 36:23

So it's not just the treatment and rehabilitation, but it's prevention and conservation as well, which I think is really fun. So we are able to go there and showcase again our breadth of products and our uh hearing aids, but as you know, also in what we're doing in the sound gear space and the prevention space. Yes. And I think that's just a unique, you know, opportunity.

SPEAKER_00 36:48

The perfect opportunity at JDVEC to showcase that we're focused on prevention and treatment.

SPEAKER_01 36:53

Yes, yes. And and you mentioned we have um with this recent release also made some really, really nice enhancements to our multiflex tinnitus feature. And that's something that we're always excited to share. And we had some presentations on that as well at JDVAC. And with veterans, we talk about the fact that they have more uh silent injuries. There are more comorbidities and PTSD. Um, there are just different things that maybe we don't always think about in the other um spaces outside of the VA when you're fitting. And so I think our technology fits so nicely just getting back into even the fall alerts and detection and the things that we're working and forward thinking on balance is just a great opportunity to get with the audiology leadership within the VA and share all of that.

SPEAKER_00 38:02

Yeah, stay tuned. We've got some really exciting things coming up.

SPEAKER_01 38:05

I know, I know.

SPEAKER_00 38:06

Well, the last thing, we're out of time, as always. I mean, the time flies so fast, but um you know, March 3rd was World Uh Hearing Day, and March 8th is International Women's Day. And I I I think you know, I'd be remiss not to bring up that as a female leader in um in our organization, a technical and STEM-based organization, you talked about students. Um, what advice would you have and do you provide to some of these students and uh and female students in celebration of International Women's Day who want to follow in your footsteps because you've had an impressive and very cool and very rewarding career. I have. What would you give them advice?

SPEAKER_01 38:48

Thanks for that question. And I've received a few awards over my career. And last year I received a Women in STEM award, and I have to say it was probably one of my prouder moments.

SPEAKER_00 39:03

We were proud of you.

SPEAKER_01 39:04

And I have a daughter as well who I continue to encourage. Um you have to really think about you know, trying and paying attention in these areas because I think so often women aren't given the opportunity and and they should be. So if somebody gets into the profession of audiology, I also encourage them to think a whole lot bigger than they do in academia. And one of the things that you know that I think is so amazing about Starkey, as I already mentioned, we have audiology and product management. We have audiology and quality control in signal processing. It's not only in sales or education and training, it is in marketing. It's everywhere. I think the last number I had is, you know, we were employing over 350, you know, audiologists in these various roles. So I certainly know when I was in school, it was mainly clinical. And of course, the the academic background, you need that. But I really encourage people to have a more open mind because I have been so impressed by where this profession has taken me. And I really wouldn't have thought I would have had all of this, you know, fun and opportunity to really grow and develop. And so have an open mind. I guess that would be my number one takeaway. Have an open mind and maybe a growth um mindset too.

SPEAKER_00 40:47

Yeah. And and you live by that example. And uh thank you for the impact that you've made for being a female leader in a STEM-based company uh as a girl dad and now a girl granddad. Um I love the example you set, and thanks for um uh being on the podcast. Like I said, next time, fifth time, I got to come up with a fifth time uh uh some sort of a jacket or something. But uh uh you know I can't thank you enough for being back. And we'll need a song, we'll work on that. Eminem based. So for our viewers and listeners, thank you for listening to this episode of Starkey Soundbites. Um we really appreciate your audience and your input uh for topics. If you want to send us an idea, we want to know what's on your mind, send us an email at soundbites at Starkey.com. Uh if you like this episode, like it, share it with your friends, share it with your network, and uh we'll bring Sarah back for a fifth time, I'm certain very soon. But thank you. We look forward to seeing you and hearing hearing you again soon. And Sarah, I can't thank you enough.

SPEAKER_01 41:48

Thank you.