Behind-the-scenes of Pure Sound: Starkey Training Event

(Left) William Austin, CEO and President of Starkey, (Right) Sean Mark, BC-HIS, of Pure Sound Hearing Aids.

This past Fall of 2018, Sean Mark BC-HIS of Pure Sound Hearing Aids, underwent three days of intensive training at the Starkey Livio Hearing Aid training event at the Starkey Headquarters in Minneapolis, MN.
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In attendance of this event was William Austin, CEO and President of Starkey.  
Mr. Austin has helped change countless of lives around the world through better hearing for over 50 years.  His leadership and commitment to Starkey Hearing Technologies has guided the company to become the largest hearing aid manufacturer in the United States, and a global leader in innovation.

Hundreds of hearing aid professionals were welcomed to kickoff Starkey’s three day Liveo AI training event, and over 1400 Starkey employees work at this campus.    

Dr. Achin Bhowmik, Ph. D., Chief Technology Officer & Executive Vice President of Engineering at Intel, where he worked for 17 years and was Vice President, also attended the event. Intel made computers small and powerful, and Dr. Bhowmik was involved with helping computers interact with humans and the environment, which is a perfect match for hearing aids. He assisted Starkey in applying this technology to Starkey’s Livio AI.

Mr. Austin’s objectives for the company are to help human communications to reduce conflict, improve human health and wellness, and use technology to help humans interact with their world better. He developed Starkey because he wanted to create a “company with a soul”, and he felt he could turn Bill Austin’s vision into a reality.

Key features of Starkey's Livio hearing aid:  

• Best sounding hearing aid they’ve made
• Body and brain fitness tracker, includes step tracking data synced with smartphone apps
• Brain fitness

• Social engagement
• 7 environments of interactivity
• Aids quantify and score you, to make sure you are keeping your brain active, helping reduce cognitive health risks
• Time spent wearing aids
• Fall Detection

Language Translator:

• Type question with smartphone, which translates for listener,  the hearing aid translates their response in English
• 27 languages
• Can also see translations on app screen of smartphone

Dr. Sara Burdak, Au. D., conducted the Livio AI training, and announced that this was the biggest technology release in Starkey’s 50+ year history.  The importance of that training was to make this complicated device very simple for the hearing aid wearer. The hearing aid has two radios. One radio is for streaming and the other radio is used so that the aids can communicate with each other.

The sensor has two features: the Accelerometer, which is used to track your steps, and the Gyroscope, which is used to track falls. There is also a health and wellness tracker smartphone display. It features a Geotagging environment and a feature that helps find your hearing aids. There is also an Amazon Echo compatibility.

By using your Apple or Android smartphones, this app works with the Livio AI to keep your mind and body fitness goals on track.  It can also sync to other apps, such as Apple Health. The app includes “Find my Hearing Aids”, which has a map that appears to show you the location of your lost hearing aids.

The event also recognized Tani Austin, Chief Philanthropy Officer at Starkey Hearing Technologies, who was honored by the U.N. for helping millions hear better around the world. She spoke about her journey developing hearing aid programs in 61 countries around the world. 

If you are interested in learning more about Starkey hearing aids, schedule an appointment with one of our hearing instrument specialists at Pure Sound Hearing Aids.

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