SoundBite™ Hearing System Offers Unique, Non-Surgical and Removable Hearing Solution for Single Sided Deafness or Conductive Hearing Loss

Hearing is precious. Without it, patients find it difficult to fully connect with the world around them. The SoundBiteTM Hearing System is the world’s first non-surgical and removable hearing device to use the well-established principle of bone conduction to imperceptibly transmit sound via the teeth. SoundBite allows patients with single sided deafness or conductive hearing loss to rejoin the conversation of life.

San Mateo, California (October 2011) – Sonitus Medical, a privately held medical device company, has created the world’s first non-surgical and removable hearing prosthetic to transmit sound via the teeth. The SoundBite Hearing System is now FDA cleared for the treatment of single sided deafness and conductive hearing loss.

Hearing loss is an isolating condition that can make life’s simple tasks very difficult. Single sided deafness, also known as sudden hearing loss, is a type of hearing loss where there is significant or total hearing loss in one ear, while the good ear has hearing within normal limits. Today, by some estimates, there are over nine million Americans who suffer from the condition, which is caused by a problem in the inner ear or cochlea. Conductive hearing loss is caused by a problem in the outer or middle ear, when sound cannot efficiently travel from the outer ear canal to the eardrum and tiny bones of the middle ear. Both conditions can severely impact quality of life for patients.

SoundBite Hearing System works by making innovative use of the well-established, natural principle that hearing professionals call bone conduction – the transmission of imperceptible sound vibrations through bones to the inner ears. Nearly invisible when worn, SoundBite Hearing System consists of two components. The first is an easy to insert and remove in-the-mouth hearing device that is custom made to fit around the upper, left or right back teeth. The second is a small behind-the-ear microphone unit worn on the impaired ear. Sound waves from the outer ear are picked up from this microphone unit, digitally processed, and sent to the in-the-mouth hearing device. Here, they are converted to imperceptible sound vibrations that travel via the teeth, through bone, to the cochlea. In this way, sound is re-routed from the impaired ear directly to the good cochlea. Sound bypasses the middle and outer ear entirely to effectively restore the perception of hearing from the impaired ear.

SoundBite received FDA clearance for the treatment of single sided deafness in January of 2011. Principal Investigator for the studies was Michael Murray, M.D., an Otologist with Camino Ear Nose and Throat of San Jose, CA. “My patients were extremely happy with the SoundBite system in terms of how well it addressed their hearing problem without requiring them to undergo an invasive surgery,” said Dr. Murray. “This new approach gives me a great new treatment option for my patients. Until now, these patients have chosen to go untreated due to the lack of an acceptable alternative.”

In July 2011, SoundBite received its second FDA clearance for the treatment of conductive hearing loss. “We are pleased that the uses of the SoundBite system continue to expand,” said Amir Abolfathi, CEO of Sonitus Medical. “As we begin the roll out of our product in partnership with otologists, ENTs, and audiologists, we remain committed to increasing the number of patients who may benefit from our non-surgical treatment option.”

The SoundBite hearing system is available now through physicians and audiologists in a few select markets in the US (see where at www.soundbitehearing.com/find/), with planned expansion to additional markets nationwide over the following several months.

About Sonitus Medical
Sonitus Medical (www.sonitusmedical.com) is a privately held medical device company committed to providing advanced hearing solutions that hearing professionals such as otologists, ENTs, and audiologists can use to help their patients rejoin the conversation of life. Founded in June 2006, the company is headquartered in San Mateo, California. Its SoundBite Hearing System is the world’s first non-surgical and removable hearing solution that relies on bone conduction to imperceptibly transmit sound via the teeth. Currently FDA cleared for the treatment of both single sided deafness and conductive hearing loss, SoundBite Hearing System has intended future indications for hearing disorders such as mixed hearing loss and tinnitus, as well as consumer and covert communications. Additionally, the company has received its CE Mark certification, which indicates Full Quality Assurance System Approval and that Sonitus Medical’s design and manufacturing processes for the SoundBite system comply with certain manufacturing and design standards under the European directive concerning medical devices.

Holland (2009) notes that degraded sensory input from eyes and ears, when combined with degraded impulses from the end-organs to the brain and processing demands within the brain all contribute to cognitive decline. She notes that when sensory input is degraded, people need to spend so much effort hearing, that there may not be enough cognitive ability left to process or store information. The author also notes that two factors present in all perceptual situations that likely interact and result in slower processing, decision making, and reactions.

1. Age-related declines in sensory perception (hearing and vision).
2. Age-related declines in central information processing (cognition).

Holland reports that some authors have previously stated the majority of age-related differences in intellectual functions are “related to differences in vision or auditory function.” Among the possible explanations, she reports continual sensory impoverishments from reduced, degraded, and impaired visual and hearing systems gradually reduces the sum-total cognitive stimulation people receive, resulting in a permanent reduction of cognitive function. Further, as people age, they are more likely to expend significant cognitive effort to make sense of peripherally impoverished information, termed “cognitive permeation hypothesis.” Thus, older people use more cognitive resources to process and store information than younger people to compensate for visual and auditory impairment.

For More Information, References, and Recommendations:

Holland CA. (2009) The Relationships Between Sensory and Cognitive Decline in Older Age. ENT & Audiology News. (18)4:94-95.

Comment by Dr. Sims:

“The conclusions reached by this report are well supported by multiple researchers and they clearly indicate how critical it is for people who have hearing loss to wear appropriate hearing aids”.

Performance, Comfort and Personalization in Tampa and Sun City Center Florida

Monday, May 11th 2009

Today’s hearing aid wearers are often surprised when they learn the price of high-end quality hearing aids but once these prospects discover the importance of quality, reliable performance, natural sound, all-day wearing comfort and the ability to personalize the hearing aids to the hearing needs and preferences of the wearer, the quality quickly takes precedence over price. In fact, first-time hearing aid buyers usually place price at the top of the priority list until a hearing care professional explains how price does affect quality and satisfaction. Today’s hearing aid shoppers want performance, natural hearing, wearing comfort and automated convenience in an affordable package. Oh, and it would also be nice if the hearing aid was smaller than a Buick hub cap for those who want a low-profile (invisible) look. Not everybody wants the world to know they wear hearing aids, so for these consumers, discretion is a top priority.

Starkey S Series™ Hearing Aids from Dr. Jeff Clark and Dr. Scott Sims

Introducing S Series™ with Drive Architecture™ by Starkey, a well known designer and manufacturer of quality hearing aids available from PHYSICIAN’S CHOICE HEARING & DIZZINESS CENTER.  With all Starkey hearing aids from PHYSICIAN’S CHOICE HEARING & DIZZINESS CENTER, quality and reliability come standard. No worries there.  However, Starkey is also known for innovative hearing solutions, not just quality hearing aids. So it is no surprise this premier company launched the S Series – the latest in real world technology that provides real world performance no matter what your listening environment may be.

Drive Architecture™

Starkey S Series RIC
If you know anything about computer technology, you’re familiar with dual core and quad-core technology. This technology is faster and enables computers to multi-task, performing two or more tasks with equal efficiency. And, in the business realm, dual core computer processors are the standard.  Starkey has taken dual core technology and created Drive Architecture. Drive Architecture delivers three times the processing power of previous Starkey hearing aids. Its multi-tasking capability improves hearing in virtually all listening environments.

In an interview with AudiologyOnline, Starkey’s President Jerry Ruzicka had this to say about the S Series™ processing capabilities:  “With Drive Architecture, we’ve enhanced the overall platform, so we have more than three times the processing power than we had before to enable high-speed multitasking of signal processing algorithms for better performance. We also have a very powerful integrated circuit, or you could think of it as a very powerful engine. Within the engine, we use a couple of techniques that are rather unique: we have multi-core digital signal processing (DSP) and we have BluWave 2.0. Multi-core DSP means we’ve got multiple DSP engines working in the background. In order to make everything work in concert, we’ve enhanced our BluWave operating system. BluWave 2.0 uses a technique called SMT, simultaneous multi-threading, which allows us to access the multi-core processors to process signals and routines in parallel with one another.”
This level of performance taking hearing aids to the next level in regards to satisfaction and sophistication – they truly are minicomputers working to improve and enhance hearing capabilities of those with hearing loss.

Choose Your Style Of Digital Hearing Aid From Physician’s Choice Hearing & Dizziness Center

Starkey’s S Series also delivers options in the style that best suits your hearing needs and personal preferences.
 
Starkey S Series CIC
The Receiver-in-Canal (RIC) unit provides discreet power and a long menu of features to improve your listening experience. By utilizing Starkey’s proven feedback technology, Pure Wave Feedback Eliminator, the S Series RIC device is able to achieve levels of gain other RIC devices have not been able to in the past.
The S Series Completely in the Canal (CIC) delivers complete invisibility AND the power to address even moderate hearing loss.
As well as the choice of physical style, you also have a choice of model based on your hearing needs, personal preference and budget. The S Series is available in four models to choose from based on your lifestyle and listening demands: Series 11 – Vibrant, Series 9 – Active, Series 7 – Social and Series 5 – Calm.  Each S Series model offers a list of advanced features, with the S Series 11 packing the most advanced features to improve listening for the most “vibrant” lifestyles.  So depending upon your cosmetic preferences, hearing loss, lifestyle and listening demands, there is an S Series for you.

Hearing Comfort with Physician’s Choice Hearing & Dizziness Center

Although hearing aids have come a long way in providing quality amplification, they do not replace our natural hearing. But hearing comfort – organic sound quality – is a reality within the Starkey S Series.
By using advanced technologies such as Comfort Control and AudioScape Environments, the S Series hearing aids adapt to the listener’s environment engaging technologies that work to reduce noise and improve listening comfort.
Hearing comfort that doesn’t distract from whatever your activity may be is essential in today’s hearing aids. You’re not “hearing” the device deliver a highly processed sound signal to your ear. You’re just hearing the world around you, whether you’re at a loud roundtable at work or taking a quiet walk through the woods. The S Series delivers listening comfort in each of the models in the series.

Complete Customization

Finally, the S Series provides for complete customization to address your specific hearing needs. Example?  Well, no two people experience hearing loss in precisely the same manner.  Some lose the ability to hear the high notes. Others lose the ability to hear frequencies needed to understand speech.
Working with a hearing professional, your Starkey S Series hearing aids will be tuned to your needs based on testing and real life. After a hearing evaluation is conducted (don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt), the hearing aid practitioner will program the hearing aids using Starkey’s computer-based programming software so your units are tuned to your precise needs.

To ensure an accurate fit, Starkey has developed what is called “Integrated Real-Ear Measurement” which allows the clinician to assess the sound that is being amplified into the ear once the hearing aids have been fit based on the wearer’s hearing loss. Although the hearing aids may appear to be programmed correctly, once fit on the hearing aid wearer’s ear, physical difference such as ear canal length or shape can affect the acoustics of the sound being delivered. The Integrated Real-Ear measurement tool in the S Series allows the clinical to make any further adjustments to ensure the most optimal sound quality for each individual wearer.  The Audiologists at PHYSICIAN’S CHOICE HEARING & DIZZINESS CENTER are trained to fit Starkey S hearing aids utilizing these advanced approaches.

Phone Use Made Easy

The S Series makes it easy to simply pick up the phone and begin talking without making manual adjustments due to Automatic Telephone Solution (ATS) technology. With ATS, as soon as the phone is held up to the S Series product the hearing aid automatically detects the telephone and adjusts to the optimal response for telephone use.

Remote Control

Many hearing aid wearers desire the ability to adjust their hearing aids by using a remote control or other accessory; however, utilizing a remote control means one more piece of equipment for the hearing aid wearer to carry around.
The S Series is changing that. Introduced with the S Series, hearing aid wearers can now control the settings of their hearing aids with their touch-tone phone. The T2 remote allows a wearer’s touch-tone phone to become a remote for their hearing aids.
According to Ruzicka, “There are millions of people out there who walk around with cell phones every day, including most if not all people who wear hearing aids. Their cell phones can now be used as a remote control to adjust volume, adjust memory, or power their hearing aids on or off.” This feature does require the hearing professional to program both the hearing aid and phone by using the Starkey programming software.

Experience S Series

Starkey has built its reputation on innovation and client care. The newly-launched S Series will only enhance that well-earned reputation.
Talk to your hearing professional about the Starkey S Series. For many, it’s just what you’re looking for.  Starkey hearing aids are available in Tampa, FL and Sun City Center, FL at PHYSICIAN’S CHOICE HEARING & DIZZINESS CENTER.

Source:http://www.healthyhearing.com/articles/38036-starkey-series-hearing-aids

PHYSICIAN’S CHOICE HEARING & DIZZINESS CENTER is pleased to announce that they have become one of the first providers in the country to offer the new, revolutionary Lyric hearing device.  Lyric is the world’s first and only 100% invisible extended wear hearing device and has recently been featured on CNN, Fox News, and in the New York Times.

Lyric® is the world’s first and only 100% invisible extended wear hearing device.  The device is comfortably placed in the ear canal and is worn 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for up to 4 months.  No surgery or anesthesia is required.  Unlike many other hearing devices, Lyric is positioned deep inside the ear canal, so it uses your ear’s anatomy to provide exceptional sound.  Lyric lets you hear better and live life to the fullest!

Once placed, Lyric is 100% invisible, allowing you to enjoy all the benefits of better hearing without anyone knowing you’re using a hearing

Device.  There are no batteries to replace and no repairs to make.  Just visit the offices of PHYSICIAN’S CHOICE HEARING & DIZZINESS CENTER as needed to receive new devices with the latest Lyric technology.

Lyric is programmed for your specific hearing needs.  You can adjust the settings and volume on your device as needed, as well as turn the device on and off.

Lyric was developed by InSound™ Medical, Inc.  The company was founded by ENT physicians, hearing specialists, and engineers from the University of California, San Francisco and Silicon Valley.  For more information and to watch a video on how Lyric works, please visit www.lyrichearing.com.

Sonic Innovations, manufacturer of high fidelity hearing devices, broke new ground with the release of ION, the world’s smallest hearing aid.

Following that exciting accomplishment, a December 22, 2008 press release indicated that Bose Corporation entered into a patent purchase agreement with Sonic Innovations, Inc to purchase Sonic’s advanced acoustic technology.  In the agreement, Sonic Innovations retains the right to use this revolutionary acoustic technology to provide superior listening experiences for their hearing aid users.retains the right to use this revolutionary acoustic technology to provide superior listening experiences for their hearing aid users.

Lyric is the world’s first 100% invisible extended wear hearing device, The device is comfortably placed in the ear canal, no surgery or anesthesia is required. Lyric can be used 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for up to 4 months at a time (individual replacement needs may vary.) Unlike many other hearing aids, Lyric is positioned deep in the ear canal and uses your ear’s anatomy to provide exceptional sound quality. Lyric lets you hear better and live life to the fullest! Lyric is not appropriate for all individuals; make an appointment with us today to determine if Lyric is right for you.

For more information about Lyric, please visit www.lyrichearing.com.

By Jeanna Bryner, Senior Writer, Livescience.com

The gooey, golden stuff that builds up inside your ears should stay there, according to national guidelines on earwax removal released today.

"[Earwax] is not intrinsically evil stuff, and consequently does not have to be removed merely because it’s present," said Peter Roland, an ear, nose and throat doctor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. "In fact, it serves a function and so if you don’t need to take it out, you should just leave it alone."

Roland chaired a panel of doctors in charge of the new guidelines for earwax removal issued by the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF). The guidelines are intended to serve two purposes: to determine under what circumstances earwax needs to be removed, and to give doctors the scoop on which removal methods work best.

They hope the guidelines won’t fall on deaf ears: About 12 million people a year in the United States seek medical care for impacted or excessive earwax. Impaction, they say, can cause pain, pressure, itching, foul odor, ringing of the ears, ear discharge and, in extreme cases, hearing loss.

Good-for-you goo
So there’s a reason for the goo. Earwax is a self-cleaning agent, with protective, lubricating and antibacterial properties, doctors say.

That’s why tiny glands in the outer ear canal constantly pump out a watery substance, which gets mixed with bits of dead hair and skin and together is called earwax or cerumen. Excess earwax normally treks slowly out of the ear canal, with an extra boost from chewing and other jaw movements, carrying with it dirt, dust and other small particles from the ear canal. Then, dried-up clumps of the stuff fall out of the ear opening.

When this natural earwax train malfunctions, or when individuals poke around in their ears with cottons swabs or other foreign objects such as bobby pins or matchsticks, earwax can build up and block part of the ear canal.

"Then there are lots of people wearing earplugs for one reason or another, either because they’ve got hearing aids or they’re transcriptionists at work or because they’re addicted to their walkman," Roland told LiveScience, "and that can increase the likelihood that the wax doesn’t come out on its own."

Older adults are more prone to earwax buildup then younger individuals.

"The wax gets much thicker and drier, and plus you actually end up with more hair in your ear, when you’re older, and so it traps it," Roland said.

He added, "Unfortunately, many people feel the need to manually ‘remove’ cerumen from the ears. This can result in further impaction and other complications to the ear canal." He said the saying, "Don’t put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear," holds true.

Leave your ears alone
For the everyday individual, the new guidelines suggest you leave your ears alone unless you experience symptoms that you think are associated with too much wax.

"If they’re going to do something at home, they should probably use drops of some sort," Roland said. The panel found no evidence that one type of over-the-counter drops works better than another, or better than just plain sterile water or sterile saline, he said.

The drops help to loosen the earwax and then the ear often can do the rest, he added. The guidelines also state that cotton-tipped swabs or other objects should not be used to remove earwax.  Oral jet irrigators and the alternative medicine technique called ear candling are also strongly advised against.

Ear candling involves making a hollow tube from fabric and soaking that in warm beeswax, which is cooled and hardens. Once cooled and hardened, the beeswax cone is stuck into the ear. The outer end of the tube is lit and burns for about 15 minutes, a process that supposedly draws the wax out of the ear.

Studies have shown, however, that the drawn-out stuff is material from the candle itself. Doctors have also reported seeing patients who have burned the outer parts of their ears with this method.

If the drops don’t relieve your symptoms, or if you dislike drops but still have symptoms, it’s time to see a doctor, Roland said.

The panel found that three common techniques for earwax removal at the doctor’s office work best, with no single method outshining the others. These include flushing the ear out with a water solution; manually removing the earwax under a microscope using medical instruments; and sending the patient home with ear drops.

While at the doctor’s office, Roland urges patients not to be embarrassed by a little earwax.

"I get a lot of people in here who are horrified when I see a little wax in their ear, and then they start apologizing for being dirty and they’re just very upset it’s present at all," Roland said. "And I think the big message there is that it has a physiological function, and unless there’s a reason to remove it, you should just leave it alone. It’s OK."

Obtained from: http://www.livescience.com/health/080829-earwax-removal.html

Have you – or has someone you know – lost the ability to hear on one side? If so, you’re not alone. Over 50,000 individuals are diagnosed with "Single Sided Deafness" (SSD) every year in the U.S.

Single Sided Deafness is characterized by a significant sensorineural hearing loss in one ear, and normal hearing for most speech frequencies in the opposite ear.

TransEar is an elegant, affordable, and effective answer to SSD. It looks like a conventional BTE (Behind-the Ear) hearing aid, but instead of simply amplifying sound, it relies on bone conduction to transmit the sound to the better ear.

TransEar is not the first bone conduction hearing aid, but it is the first to overcome Single Sided Deafness

• without surgery;
• without bulky headbands;
• without having to wear another hearing aid in the "good" ear.

How it works:
Just like a conventional hearing aid, a custom shell is made to fit in the ear canal. However, unlike a conventional aid that would simply amplify the sound, TransEar has a miniature oscillator embedded in the shell. The oscillator is positioned in the shell in such a way that it makes contact with the bony portion of the ear canal. When sound is "received" on the side of the dead ear, it’s converted to mechanical energy that drives the oscillator. Those signals are then transferred via the bones of the skull to the cochlea in the opposite ear.

All of this happens nearly instantaneously, but your brain knows the difference. It learns to distinguish between sounds coming in on the side of the good ear versus sounds coming in from the opposite side.

The ability to determine the specific source of a sound – left side / right side, front / back, and everything in between – is called sound localization, and many TransEar users report that they have regained this ability with TransEar.

Will TransEar work for me?
TransEar’s effectiveness depends on a specific threshold of hearing in the "better" ear, so your hearing healthcare professional will evaluate your hearing in both ears. Each patient’s physiology and medical conditions may also be factors in the fitting.

The following is a link to the TransEar site for a news story featuring this exciting new approach to treating Single Sided Deafness:
http://www.transear.com/files/Albany_News_TE_Flash.swf

Important note: Because there may be an underlying condition requiring medical treatment, it’s important to report the onset of SSD to a medical professional such as an ENT doctor or otologist for a thorough examination. Your doctor may in turn work with a hearing healthcare professional to determine if TransEar is appropriate for your type of hearing loss and medical considerations.

As drummer for the legendary rock group The Moody Blues, Graeme Edge has spent the better part of the last forty years recording and touring, playing hits like Nights in White Satin, Tuesday Afternoon, and Your Wildest Dreams to ecstatic audiences worldwide.

Like many in his profession, however, Graeme found himself with the beginnings of hearing loss. “I’ve been tested regularly over the years, so I knew I was heading towards it,” says Graeme. “I was starting to experience difficulty with conversations, especially in crowded rooms, and sometimes had trouble hearing conversations on the television. ”The problem did not affect Graeme during live performances, thanks to the expertise of his crew. “I get a boost on all my equipment on stage, because I have direct in-the-ear monitoring,” he explains. For Graeme’s offstage listening needs, they directed him to Physician’s Choice Hearing & Dizziness Center, with offices in Tampa and Sun City Center. “The people doing the in the-ear monitoring on stage suggested I get in touch with them,” he confirms. “It was a professional recommendation.”

Hearing is believing
“Hearing aids are so easy to use now and so much better than they have ever been before,” says certified clinical audiologist Jeffrey Clark, AuD. “At Physician’s Choice we pride ourselves on offering the highest quality of care, professionalism, and products, and on ensuring patient satisfaction.” For many hearing aid users Oticon hearing instruments prove the best choice. “Oticon provides revolutionary hearing devices specifically designed for people who find noisy situations challenging at work or when socializing,” explains Dr. Clark. “Never before has a device looked so good and had so much power to improve patients’ understanding in challenging noise environments. “The Oticon Delta fits about eighty percent of people, which is just phenomenal,” reports Dr. Clark. “I’ve been fitting hearing instruments for twelve years now and have never worked with a product that is so successful for so many patients.” “We are finding that the Delta is what hearing aid wearers always hoped hearing aids would be,” adds certified clinical audiologist Scott Sims. “They put them on, other people don’t notice them, and they hear naturally. ”The Delta is a tiny device that fits partly in the ear and partly on top of the ear, basically hidden by the ear. The high-tech triangular design propels hearing devices into the 21st century, setting a new standard for aesthetics. “Speech comes through more clearly,” says Dr. Clark, “whether someone is in a quiet or noisy environment. Thousands of subtle digital adjustments every second keep every listening experience clear and effortless.” “This device offers the most sophisticated sound processing technologies available today,” assures Dr. Sims. “From advanced noise management to voice detection systems, Delta has all that’s necessary to help someone hear better in noise.”

“Brightness and sparkle”
Graeme appreciates what Physician’s Choice Hearing & Dizziness Center was able to do for him. “I worked with Jeff, and it was all very quick, very efficient. He tested my ears, saw the problem, and I walked out with my new hearing aids that same day.” Like others, Graeme had been unimpressed with “old school” hearing instruments and was pleased to see what the newest technology can deliver. “Up until now, hearing aids had always been large and cumbersome, and to be frank, I hadn’t found them very effective,” he says. “All they seemed to do was just turn things up louder, which is not what I needed. “With these new ones, I’m finding brightness and sparkle in everything!”

FHCN–Michael J. Sahno

Tampa Health Care News | Fall 2008 | North Tampa Edition

By TARA PARKER-POPE

Published: April 15, 2008

A device, called the Lyric, is being used in only 500 patients, it appears to have overcome many of the problems associated with traditional hearing aids — without the expense and uncertainty of surgery and anesthesia.

The Lyric, made by InSound Medical of Newark, Calif., is hidden deep inside the ear canal, just four millimeters (about one-sixth of an inch) from the ear drum. While doctors for years have been implanting hearing devices in the middle ear, the Lyric is not an implant: it can be removed with a small magnet. It is worn 24 hours a day, and its batteries last one to four months.

Typically, anything that clogs the ear canal would trap moisture and pose an infection risk, but the Lyric is surrounded by a spongy material that allows moisture to escape. Because it sits so close to the ear drum, doctors say that it works more efficiently and that sounds are more natural because they don’t have to be amplified as much.

When the Lyric’s battery dies, the entire device is replaced. Patients do not pay for a new device every time; instead, they pay an annual subscription fee of $2,900 to $3,600 for both ears (less if the hearing loss is in only one ear). Insurance plans typically do not cover the cost of the Lyric, or any other hearing device.

A magnet is used to control the volume, turn it on and off and remove it when the battery runs out. It takes only a few minutes for a doctor to insert a replacement device.

The Lyric does not work for everyone. In particular, some ear canals are too narrow to accommodate it, and the company estimates that it is not suitable for up to half of potential patients. A planned newer version should work for about 85 percent of patients, it says.

Still, it is already getting an enthusiastic reception from patients and from hearing specialists not connected with the company. “There are a certain number of patients who just can’t get over having something in their ear, just as there are a certain number of patients who can’t wear contact lenses,” said Dr. Chester F. Griffiths, chairman of the department of surgery at the Santa Monica U.C.L.A. Medical Center. “But that’s the minority. The patients that have them love them.”

Dr. Griffiths says he has no financial ties to the Lyric, nor does he receive a commission for referring patients.

One patient who swears by the device is Mike Waufle, the 53-year-old him. Using a traditional hearing aid, he found it difficult to control his own voice.

“I teach a lot in a classroom as a coach, but when I would wear a hearing aid my voice pattern wasn’t very good,” he said. “It was all over the place. I just took it out most of the time. I missed an awful lot.”

As it happened, a team doctor was one of a handful of physicians test-marketing the Lyric, which has been available for about 16 months. Mr. Waufle tried it, and he says it has changed his life.

“My voice pattern is so natural, and I hear so much better,” he said. “Obviously, it’s easier to carry on normal conversations without having to always say, ‘Huh? What did you say?’ And it helps just enjoying life over all and being able to hear the simple things like birds and other sounds you take for granted.”

Mr. Waufle says he has no financial ties to the company and receives no benefit for talking about his experience with the device. (The company says none of the people featured in testimonials on its Web site, www.lyrichearing.com, receive any form of compensation for their endorsements.)

Right now, the Lyric is offered only through a dozen clinics in California, Florida and New Jersey, but it should be available at about 100 sites by the end of the year. Some patients who don’t live near a clinic simply fly or drive to a site four or five times a year. InSound is a privately held firm, although the pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson is a major investor.

Dr. Robert A. Schindler, a co-founder of InSound and chairman emeritus of the department of otolaryngology at the University of California, San Francisco, says he has had hearing loss most of his life and has worn a Lyric since 2005. He says he remembers listening to an orchestra and hearing the light ping of the triangle.

“I realized I hadn’t heard it before,” he said. “That was a very exciting moment for me.”