Press room

MINNEAPOLIS, January 21, 2020 – Thousands of hearing professionals from around the world gathered in Las Vegas, Nevada last week for the 2020 Starkey Hearing Innovation Expo to explore what’s on the horizon in hearing health care. In the immediate future, Starkey customers will soon have access to a new premium technology called Livio Edge AI. It includes an adaptive tuning feature called Edge Mode that delivers unprecedented performance in the most challenging listening environments instantaneously.

“We are in the midst of a seismic shift in the hearing industry,” said Starkey CEO Bill Austin. “While the hearing industry has undergone a number of changes since I first began working with hearing aids more than fifty years ago, they’re insignificant compared to the monumental transformation we are experiencing at Starkey today. When it comes to revolutionizing the hearing aid, we are just getting started.”

Growing evidence shows treatment of hearing loss with hearing aids can improve or limit health issues such as cognitive decline. As the world’s first Healthable hearing aid, Livio AI is the only hearing aid to use artificial intelligence to monitor brain and body activity, allowing people of all ages to take a proactive approach to their overall wellness. It was named to TIME’s list of Best Inventions of 2019 and The Verge’s list of 100 best gadgets of the decade.

“Bill Austin is truly a visionary. By intersecting hearing aids with artificial intelligence, he has changed the course of the industry as we know it,” said Starkey President Brandon Sawalich. “While we can only imagine what Livio AI will look like ten years from now, the innovative work we’re doing today is already defining the future. The possible ways in which this will improve people’s lives are endless.”

The Starkey Hearing innovation Expo is a biennial event that provides hearing professionals with educational opportunities to learn about the latest technologies on the market and how they can be applied in real-world scenarios to help patients hear better, so they can live better. Over the course of four days, from January 15 – 18, attendees also heard from a variety of inspirational and motivational presenters, including Sir Richard Branson, Gen. Colin Powell and award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey.

About Starkey Hearing Technologies
Starkey Hearing Technologies is a privately held, global hearing technology company headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Founded by Bill Austin in 1967, Starkey is known for its innovative design, development and distribution of comprehensive digital hearing systems. Led today by President Brandon Sawalich, Starkey is the only American-owned and operated provider of hearing technologies. The company has more than 6,000 employees, operates 26+ facilities and does business in more than 100 markets worldwide. Learn more at starkey.com.