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Special guest: Michael Nilsson, PhD, Vice President-Audiology, Sonic Innovations, Salt Lake City

At the 2009 AAA Convention in Dallas, Sonic Innovations is introducing the industry's smallest receiver-in-the-canal hearing instrument, according to Michael Nilsson, PhD. Called Touch, this new RIC hearing aid will be available in 6, 12, and 24 channels—analogous to the 4, 6, 12, and 24-channel options for Velocity—with each level offering progressively greater features to appeal to each patient's individual lifestyle, budget, and hearing needs. Dr Nilsson also details the company's updated ExpressFit 6.0 fitting software, and its exciting new offerings for sonicBLU, Bluetooth technology that wirelessly sends and receives signals from Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones and devices.

About our Special Guest:

Michael Nilsson, PhD

Michael Nilsson, PhD, joined Sonic Innovations in May of 1998 as a researcher and became director of the Center for Amplification and Hearing Research in January 2006, and then vice president of Audiology in July 2008. Previously, he was a researcher at the Hearing Aid Research Lab at the House Ear Institute, Los Angeles, where he was employed from 1990 to 1998. He earned a bachelors degree, masters degree, and PhD in Cognitive Science from the University of California. He has also worked while pursuing these degrees in Retail at Disneyland, and as coordinator for the Brain Donor Program for the Department of Psychiatry, University of California, Irvine. Dr Nilsson also answers questions about hearing aids on HR's Ask the Expert Web page.

References

Bray VH, Nilsson M. Hearing at the speed of life. Hearing Review. 2009;16(3):30-33. Available at: http://www.hearingreview.com/issues/articles/2009-03_04.asp.

Sonic Innovations Web site. Available at: www.sonici.com.

Podcast interview recorded on February 11, 2009; available online at www.hearingreview.com on March 27, 2009. Podcast produced by Hearing Review Editor Karl E. Strom with Robert Elmquist, Fabian Chung, and Cristina Paraiso. Music (On the Bus) by Terramara available at www.terramara.com.