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westone.com

West TonesCOLORADO SPRINGS: 800.525.5071

KALAMAZOO: 800.552.7203

February 2010The monthly resource for the hearing care professional

The Hills Are Still Alive (You Just Can’t Hear the Sound)

ll it takes is a quick look around to see that personal listening is at a record high. Led by Apple’s iPod®, personal listening devices (PLDs) have become incredibly popular. And the trend continues to grow as more and more mobile phones hit the market with music player capabilities. From exercise enthusiasts to frequent travelers and daily commuters (not to mention teenagers!), everyone these days seems to have music in their ears. In fact, an entire ancillary industry has sprung up around PLDs. From customized cases, to miniature speakers and amps, to specially formatted movies, games and apps, the PLD revolution stretches far beyond just sales of the devices. It even has bled over into our industry. Has it reached your office yet?

Consumers dissatisfied with the comfort or retention of stock earbuds are looking for custom adapter earpieces (Westone style #7). Others, frustrated that they cannot appreciate the full fidelity of their music with stock earbuds, have upgraded to higher end universal earphones such as our UM series, and even may have visited your office to order the custom ES1, ES2, or ES3X. The UMs and ESs, however, were designed for the performing musician. While they certainly deliver compelling sound quality, an on-stage musician generally is looking for a different sound signature than an audiophile or recordedmusic lover.

A With that thought in mind, in late 2008 we released the Westone 3, the world’s first true three-way earphone designed specifically for personal listening. And we are pleased to announce that we now offer a full line of high fidelity earphones designed specifically for personal listening devices. Music lovers can upgrade to a great quality earphone from Westone regardless of their budget or level of audio sophistication. They may select from the three-way Westone 3, dual driver Westone 2, or the single driver Westone 1. Each model is compatible with virtually any personal listening device, with unparalleled comfort and high fidelity that make them perfect for anyone seeking great sound and long-wearing comfort.

In this issue

The Hills Are Still Alive...

Back From NAMM And The Winners Are...

FAQ’s Tech Tips

A Word from Lynn

Westone on the roadMarch 18 – 20Mid-Atlantic Hearing ExpoGettysburg, PA

March 24 – 27MusikmesseFrankfurt, Germany

April 14 – 17Audiology NOW!San Diego, CA

April 18 – 21GMA Music WeekNashville, TN

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And The Winners Are...

Many thanks to everyone who participated in our recent customer survey! The response rate was tremendous, and we truly appreciate the time and effort each of you took to provide us with feedback. Your input is very important to us and we will use the survey results as we move forward throughout the year.

The five participants selected at random to receive a set of Westone 3 True-Fit three-way earphones were:

Jill K. Mandel, New York School for the Deaf, White Plains, NY

Michael P. Bernstein MD, Enfield, CT

Amy Goodwine, Au.D., Prince William Speech and Hearing Center, Woodbridge, VA

Todd Sheehy, Heritage Hearing Aid Center, Bethany, OK

Lesly Loiseau, Spokane Audiology Clinic, Spokane, WA

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So what does this all mean for your practice? It’s another great opportunity for you to bring new customers to your door. Who better for a discriminating consumer to see for a high-end earphone than a hearing care professional? And don’t forget the great upsell opportunity for you. Like UMs, our Westone personal listening line can be fitted with custom earpieces (style #56) for even better isolation and comfort.

For more information or to order promotional flyers, please visit westone.com/personallistening or contact us at music@westone.com

Back from NAMM

Last month, Westone was once again a part of The NAMM Show in Anaheim, CA. This show, sponsored by NAMM, the International Music Products Association, represents the country’s largest congregation of musicians and music product retailers.

At NAMM shows, music products of every imaginable sort are represented, from African drums to high end sound systems to hand painted guitar straps. It’s also not uncommon to run into some of your favorite music icons from the last 30 years and beyond. When it comes to music products, this is the place to see and be seen.

Westone has been a part of the NAMM experience for over 10 years, introducing visitors to the benefits of in-ear musicians’ monitoring. On stage performers have traditionally been blasted by both stage monitors and crowd noise. Bringing the monitors in-ear provides them two very important

benefits. First, they are better able to hear and “monitor” themselves and fellow musicians, resulting in a better performance. Second, the monitors provide acoustic isolation to the performer, allowing them to listen at a lower volume level and conserve their long-term hearing.

Although not a new technological development, many musicians have not yet had the opportunity to experience in-ear music monitoring. The Westone booth presents a “silent band” (as seen at AudiologyNOW!) to offer attendees a chance to do just that. Visitors can see the band playing, but they can’t hear anything until they step up to the counter and “plug in.” This year, they got to try out the latest addition to our universal series; the UM3X (introduced April 2009). It’s quite a sight to watch the looks on people’s faces change from quizzical to surprised awe as they hear the clarity and high fidelity of a live performance through our monitors.

The Hills...continued from 1

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FAQs Tech Tips

So this musician walks into an Audiologist’s office… What is the charge for Rush Service?

The Rush Service fee is $12.50 per ear. Please keep in mind that this is only for in-house production turnaround (same day service) and does not dictate how to ship the earmolds. Shipping the product back by FedEx incurs an additional charge. Priority overnight is $14.95 and guaranteed by 10:30 AM the next day. Standard overnight is $13.95 and guaranteed by 3:00 PM the next day. Most importantly, “RUSH” must be marked on the outside of the FedEx bag or there is no guarantee that the order will be completed that same day. Use of the blue RUSH stickers (available from Westone) or printing RUSH on the bag with a permanent marker will assure you of sameday service.

I’m an AuD student in a class that requires me to ask some basic questions about ear impression technique, impression material viscosity and other related topics. Does Westone have any general information about these topics?

The Westone website has a special section just for AuD students as well as a section for ear impression technique. Simply go to westone.com, then to the section “Hearing.” Under Hearing, scroll all the way down to the last two subsections: “Hearing FAQs” and “FAQs- Audiologistsand Students.”

As we mentioned earlier, the Westone Music Products crew recently returned from the 2010 NAMM show and thought it would be good time to revisit our recommended technique on taking ear impressions for musician products.

As an industry leader in manufacturing top quality custom (and also universal-fit) in-ear products for musicians, dispensers often look to Westone for advice and leadership regarding the process of ordering musicians’ earpieces. The most common question we receive is, “What are Westone’s recommendations for taking ear impressions for musicians’ products?”

During the past 15 years there has been quite a bit of research into how changes in jaw movement and position affect the ear canal. (For additional background, please see various articles by Chester Pirzanski and also Robert Oliveira.) To summarize very briefly a portion of their findings, these researchers found that an ear impression taken with the mouth propped open revealed varying degrees of ear canal expansion in most individuals. Depending on the degree of ear canal “stretching,” the canal expansion may have been deemed significant or insignificant. The bottom line, however, is that the vast majority of ears do show some expansion with the mouth open.

Based on our years of experience and supported by these findings, Westone’s

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position is that custom products for musicians are best made from open-mouth impressions. To a certain extent, this is intuitive: many musicians are singers, with their mouths open at least some of the time. Furthermore, musicians generally practice and perform in high sound-level environments. Open-mouth impressions should enable us to manufacturer snug fitting earpieces and thus provide the best attenuation possible for these customers.

An important clarification is that snug does not have to mean uncomfortable. As a matter of record, we have recommended this open-mouth impression policy for musicians for at least five years now. In that time, we have not seen an increase in remakes for comfort reasons. Actually, our clients often contact us to comment on the effectiveness of our custom musicians’ earpieces, and are especially happy that the products maintain their acoustic sealing properties throughout their performances.

For those involved in custom hearing protection, Westone also recommends using an open-mouth impression technique for those applications. The rationale is the same: to get the best acoustic seal, and thus the most effective hearing protection possible.

Bite Blocks for open-mouth impressions

(Part#20251)

A Word from Lynn

Westone Laboratories, Inc.Phone: 719.540.9333Toll Free: 800.525.5071Fax: 800.736.9576

Website: westone.comEmail: westone@westone.comOrder online: westone.com/supply

Westone KalamazooPhone: 269.323.8700Toll Free: 800.552.7203Fax: 269.323.7770

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Follow Lynn on Twitter: www.twitter.com/lynnkehler

FAQ’s...Back From NAMMcontinued from 3continued from 2

Greetings!

As if 2009 didn’t go by fast enough, can you believe that we are already

through the first month of 2010? Things are starting out pretty fast here at the lab. Our new website is up and running and we are constantly tweaking it to make it even easier to use and locate your favorite items. (Those of you that operate a website know that this is a never ending process.) We’re also deep in the middle of “trade show season.” Our music team has already exhibited at two shows (including the Consumer Electronics Show) and will be doing a third show in Germany in late March. The Westone “silent band” really turned some heads at CES! Plans are also underway for AudiologyNOW! in April. It’s about 20 degrees and snowing outside as I’m writing this, so San Diego is sounding mighty good.

On the home front, there’s not much “new news.” Trust me -- that can be a good thing! It’s been too cold for much biking, so I’ve been spending some time on the bike trainer and the elliptical. At least I have some “decent” earphones for listening to my iPod (that’s a shameless plug for our Westone 1, 2 and 3 earphones!). By the way, you get special pricing on these in the event you want a set for yourself or a family member – don’t hesitate to calland ask.

As always, keep those calls and emails coming. I always like hearing your suggestions.

See you again next month,

I occasionally receive requests for your AquaNot swimplugs in a clear material. Are clear swimplugs available?

Due to the production process which makes the earpieces floatable, clear is not an available option for AquaNots. (Not to mention the fact that a clear earpiece would be very difficult to find if it got away from you in the pool.) However, if you have a patient whose heart is set on clear, we can get close. For just a few bucks more, you can order the style #40 in OtoBlast clear and request AquaNot style handles (and a cord, if desired). Keep in mind, of course, that they will NOT float. Unless the patient is looking for an excuse to spend some good quality time on the bottom of the pool with their swim mask, ordering a brightly colored cord might be a very good idea.

While the Universal Series UM monitors are a great option for budget-minded musicians, most of the interest at a NAMM show is centered on our custom Elite Series (ES) monitors. And that works out for all of us. Every visitor leaving the booth with an ES monitor on their wish list will eventually need impressions – which, of course, potentially brings them to your door.