A holistic perspective on hearing technology
Episode 3 with Brent Edwards and Stefan Launer. Moderator Jan-Willem Wasmann
In this episode, Brent Edwards from NAL and Stefan Launer from Sonova take us through their careers and share lessons and perspectives on the development of hearing technology. We discuss how the development of technology becomes more holistic, design thinking, standardization, and what’s needed to get to new service models and innovation.
Listen to this podcast episode on Spotify or iTunes:
Time index of content:
Early career learnings – 3:20
Factors important for career success – 6:40
Hearing healthcare trends over past 30 years – 9:10
Design thinking and unmet needs in hearing – 14:00
Barriers to adoption of hearing innovation – 19:05
Hearables and alternatives to conventional hearing aids – 25:15
Hearing health data ownership, sharing and privacy – 28:50
Hearing manufacturer ecosystems and harmonization – 39:40
Threats and opportunities with OTC hearing aids – 44:50
Final points – 55:55
Advice for people early in their career – 57:05
Brent Edwards is Director of National Acoustic Laboratories (NAL, Sydney). Brent studied electrical engineering and obtained a PhD at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He worked for various companies in the hearing aid industry, including Resound, Starkey, and Earlens. He is author of innovation blog and producer of several NAL soundbites.
Stefan Launer leads the Science & Technology program within Sonova. Stefan studied Physics and conducted a PhD thesis in Hearing Science and Psychoacoustics at the Universities of Göttingen and Oldenburg. He joined Phonak in 1995 as a member of the research team. During his career at Phonak, now Sonova, Stefan managed various teams, including Audiological Engineering, Digital Signal Processing & Microelectronics, and Acoustic Design.