Category: News

Hearing care professionals from across Europe are in the running for a top industry award after nominations flooded in from hundreds of grateful patients. With the prestigious Audiologist of the Year competition now closed for entries, judges now have the difficult task of deciding who will be crowned this year’s winner.

The award, now in its ninth year, is run in partnership between Rayovac, the world’s number one hearing aid battery manufacturer* and a division of Spectrum Brands Inc., Audio Infos, a leading international hearing publication for the audiology industry, and the European Hearing Instrument Manufacturers Association (EHIMA), which represents Europe’s major hearing instrument manufacturers and promotes ongoing research related to hearing instruments.

Each year, the three organisations come together to celebrate the very best in the hearing care profession, inviting patients from 10 countries across Europe to nominate their hearing care professional for the inspiring hearing industry accolade.

This year, people from the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Switzerland all shared their hearing stories, describing how their audiologists have changed their lives for the better.

An independent panel of hearing professionals from across Europe are now hard at work, tasked with the difficult challenge of selecting the very best from hundreds of entries. Judges will first select a winner from each of the 10 countries taking part, before deciding who from that elite group will go to take the European title.

In particular, judges are looking to reward the audiologists who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to provide exceptional levels of support and service to their patients.

This year’s winner will follow in the footsteps of Austrian audiologist Herdis Menhardt, who was crowned as 2015 European winner after an emotional nomination from her patient, Susanne. Susanne’s son was treated by Herdis shortly after he was born, changing his life for years to come.

Country winners will be announced in September, before these 10 country champions go head to head to battle it out for the title of European Audiologist of the Year. The overall European winner will be revealed at the upcoming EUHA Congress in Germany this October, when the winning audiologist and their nominating patient will also scoop an incredible prize bundle.

Paula Brinson-Pyke, Marketing Director at Rayovac, said: “Everyone at Rayovac is incredibly proud to be part of a competition that rewards such worthwhile work and we wish all of this year’s nominees luck in the judging process.

“Rayovac has worked closely with the hearing care industry for almost 80 years and we know just how much of a difference audiologists can make to a person with hearing loss. The fact that patients take the time to enter on behalf of their audiologists, sharing stories of care and dedication, highlights just how life-changing the work of hearing care professionals is.

“With so many worthy nominations, the judges always have an incredibly difficult time in deciding a winner and this year will be no different. We’re thoroughly looking forward to seeing the country winners announced in September and celebrating along with the overall European champion when they’re crowned the following month.”

* Based on internal company estimates

There’s still time for hearing care professionals to be in the running for a prestigious industry award that sees the best of Europe’s audiologists compete to be crowned Audiologist of the Year.

Audiologist of the Year, which attracts hundreds of nominations from patients across the UK and Ireland every year, celebrates and rewards hearing care professionals who go above and beyond the call of duty in caring for their patients.

The competition invites patients from 10 European countries to nominate their hearing practitioner by describing the difference they have made to their lives.

Now in its ninth year, Audiologist of the Year is run by Rayovac, the world’s number one hearing aid battery manufacturer and a division of consumer products company, Spectrum Brand Holdings Inc., Audio Infos, a leading international hearing publication for the audiology industry, and the European Hearing Instrument Manufacturer’s Association (EHIMA), which represents Europe’s major hearing instrument manufacturers and promotes ongoing research related to hearing instruments. With the search for this year’s winner already underway, entries are coming in thick and fast from patients who have nominated their hearing practitioners as a means of saying ‘thank you’ for their care and support. These heartfelt stories highlight the hard work of the country’s best audiologists and why they deserve to be rewarded on an international stage.

The winning audiologist will receive £250 plus a generous PR package to help them promote their practice or department, while the patient who wrote the winning entry is also eligible for a cash prize and a gift bundle worth £200.

After the 8th July 2016 deadline, a panel of industry judges will decide on a winner from each of the 10 participating countries in September. Once these winners are announced, the top audiologists from the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Switzerland will battle it out for the title of European Audiologist of the Year.

This year’s winner will join an impressive list of audiologists to have already held the title. Last year, it was Herdis Menhardt from Austria who was crowned as European winner after an emotional nomination from her patient, Susanne. Herdis treated Susanne’s son shortly after he was born with hearing difficulties, changing his life forever.

Paula Brinson-Pyke, Marketing Director at Rayovac, said: “The Audiologist of the Year competition is always a highlight of our annual calendar and 2016 already looks set to be bigger and better than ever. The hearing industry contains some truly outstanding professionals and it is fantastic to be part of something that recognises and rewards their dedication and hard work.”

“Every year we look forward to entries coming in, they’re always inspirational and illustrate the profound effect that audiologists have on their patients’ lives. While it is patients who nominate, audiologists are encouraged to promote the competition in their practice as this is the first step to possibly being crowned Europe’s best.”

Entries can be submitted online at www.audiologistoftheyear.co.uk

Entries close on 8th July 2016. All nominations must be submitted by patients, however audiologists can promote the competition in their practice by downloading promotional materials from the competition website.

A leading industry competition is once again open for entries as the 2016 Audiologist of the Year launches to the public.

The competition invites patients from across the UK and Ireland to nominate their hearing practitioner by describing the difference they have made to their lives. These heartfelt stories highlight the hard work of the country’s best audiologists and why they deserve to be rewarded on an international stage.

Audiologist of the Year is run by Rayovac, the world’s number one hearing aid battery manufacturer and a division of Spectrum Brands Inc., Audio Infos, a leading international hearing publication for the audiology industry, and the European Hearing Instrument Manufacturer’s Association (EHIMA), which represents Europe’s major hearing instrument manufacturers and promotes ongoing research related to hearing instruments. Each year, the three organisations come together to support Audiologist of the Year in 10 countries across Europe.

2016 is the competition’s ninth year, and with another impressive batch of entries submitted in 2015, the judges are gearing up for a bumper crop of stories from across the globe.

The competition celebrates and rewards audiologists who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to provide their patients with an exceptional level of care. It’s the perfect way for grateful patients to say ‘thank you’ to the practitioners that have made a difference to their lives through dedication to their field. Not only that, but the winning audiologist and the patient that nominated them will scoop an incredible prize bundle.

The winning audiologist will receive £250 plus a generous PR package to help them promote their practice or department. The patient who wrote the winning entry is also eligible for a cash prize and a gift bundle worth almost £500.

After a summer of reading and scoring patient entries, a panel of industry judges will decide on a winner from each of the 10 participating countries in September. Once these winners are announced, the top audiologists from the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Switzerland will battle it out for the title of European Audiologist of the Year, announced at Rayovac’s Celebration of Excellence during the EUHA congress in Germany in October.

The 2016 European Audiologist of the Year winner will sit with the great company of the previous winners. In 2015 Herdis Menhardt from Austria was crowned as European winner after an emotional nomination from her patient, Susanne. Susanne’s son was treated by Herdis shortly after he was born.

Paula Brinson-Pyke, Marketing Director at Rayovac, said: “We are thrilled to be launching our Audiologist of the Year competition once again in 2016. Each year we are excited to receive a high volume of entries, and reading stories from patients whose lives have truly been changed by their practitioner just further reinforces what we already know – that the hearing industry contains some truly outstanding, dedicated professionals.”

Secretary General of the EHIMA, Søren Hougaard, said: “We’ve been supporting the competition for the past few years and it’s been really rewarding for both us and our members. We’re thrilled to be supporting Audiologist of the Year once again, and hope for even more entries than ever before this year.”

The Audiologist of the Year competition, which first ran in 2008, is the leading industry award for hearing professionals, and is judged by a panel of independent industry experts. All nominations are scored anonymously, with judges looking for audiologists who demonstrate:

• Outstanding commitment to the patient
• Support for the patient and family
• Making a difference to the patient’s life
• Knowledge about new technologies
• Working closely with other specialists, providing a team approach
• Working within the community / industry to raise awareness of hearing matters

Entries can be submitted online at www.audiologistoftheyear.eu

Entries close on 8th July 2016. All nominations must be submitted by patients, however audiologists can promote the competition in their practice by downloading promotional materials from the competition website.

A hardworking hearing care professional from Austria has been presented with a leading industry award, after beating off stiff competition from audiologists across Europe.

The coveted title of European Audiologist of the Year 2015 has been awarded to Herdis Menhardt, who works at Hör-Akustik Döbling, and comes just weeks after Herdis was announced as the Austrian Audiologist of the Year.

Herdis was nominated for the prestigious competition by one of her patients, Susanne, who submitted her hearing story as testament to the superb treatment Herdis provided her hearing impaired son, and the impact this had on her family’s lives.

Now in its eighth year, the Audiologist of the Year competition – which is run in partnership between the leading hearing aid battery manufacturer, Rayovac, (a division of Spectrum Brands Inc.), Audio Infos Magazine and the European Hearing Instrument Manufacturer’s Association (EHIMA) – celebrates the exceptional work of hearing care professionals across Europe. An independent judging panel of 17 industry professionals worked throughout the summer to whittle down the anonymous entries and find a worthy winner.

Each nominee is scored on the dedication, commitment, knowledge and levels of care demonstrated in their patient’s entry, with judges scoring entries from the UK, Ireland, Austria, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Netherlands, Denmark and Switzerland. A winner is selected from each of the participating countries in September, with one of these going on to become European champion.

Herdis was unveiled as the European Audiologist of the Year during Rayovac’s annual Evening of Excellence, held during the EUHA congress in Nuremberg, Germany on October 14th.

Herdis said: “I’m really thrilled that Susanne nominated me for Audiologist of the Year, it’s been a pleasure to support her and her family through her son’s hearing difficulties and I’m delighted he is doing so well. Being an audiologist means I get to meet so many wonderful people every day and it really is a joy to see them thriving, winning this award is just the icing on the cake!”

In her nomination for Herdis, Suzanne described how her audiologist had supported her family after her baby son was born with a hearing situation. The life-changing effect that Herdis has had on the lives of Suzanne and her family, along with Herdis’ commitment to the hearing community outside of her every day job, led the judges to select her as this year’s worthy winner.

Paula Brinson-Pyke, Marketing Director at Rayovac, said: “The Audiologist of the Year competition is the perfect way for patients to give something back to their hearing care professional, and thank them for their care and support. Every year we receive more and more hearing stories from across the continent, and it never ceases to amaze us how much of an impact these hearing doctors have on the lives of their patients – they are truly inspirational.

“Reading Suzanne’s hearing story was incredibly heart-warming, Herdis is a very worthy winner.”

Other country winners who were in the running for the European title were:

• Michael Bjerregaard, Denmark
• Nicholas Derumaux, France
• Maryem Wolff, Germany
• Enda Dooley, Ireland
• Henny Holwerda, Netherlands
• Jose Maria López Vilches, Spain
• Ingo Pälchen, Switzerland
• Sarah Baumann, UK
• Anna Kennryd, Sweden

Suzanne’s story

“I nominate my audiologist, because she accompanied me through a difficult time and was a true support thanks to her incredible dedication.

“When my second son was born, he was diagnosed with a hearing impairment while we were still in hospital. This was a severe shock, followed by many appointments at an otologists and in the hospital. Then came the next shock: we were told my son was almost deaf. This hit us hard, because we were also informed that with this diagnosis he would not be able to learn to hear and speak with hearing aids, but that Cochlear Implants would have to be surgically implanted.

“I cried nearly every day for the first 10 months because I did not know whether he would ever be able to hear. I was concerned about how he would communicate within our family and with his grandparents. How would he cope with the psychological burden of not being able to hear? Would this have any impact on his education or ability to make friends?

“I was incapable of fighting the tears during my first phone call to my audiologist. She immediately gave me an appointment. She was extremely empathetic and explained all the possibilities to me in long conversations, requested precise diagnostic reports from the physicians to determine the correct device and corrective setting, gave me advice regarding possible measuring methods other than the ABR used in the hospital and recommended physicians from whom I could obtain a second opinion (who were really excellent!).

“Thereafter I visited her at least once a week to discuss new results, have devices adapted or ear impressions made. The amount of care involved was immense, because our son refused to accept the devices and constantly tore them out and threw them away or needed new ear moulds due to growth, which he then broke again within the shortest time. The ear moulds are, by the way, very, very good. My early intervention specialist and audio paediatrician often approach me, because they are also of the opinion that they have seldom seen such good ear moulds.

“The setting of the device also sounds very good. No rustling, no shrill tones, just a pleasant listening. Our son nevertheless refused to accept these “things” on his ear and a device was soon lost, and another one broken due to a night in wet grass. I could always give her a call and rely on obtaining a new appointment, often on the same day. She also had an understanding for our son’s sleeping and meal times and also tried to consider these. She organised everything with the insurance company and with the hearing aid manufacturer. Simply great!

“Furthermore, she is extremely well connected because of her commitment and personal interest. She has regular contact with my early intervention specialist, audio therapist and otologist to arrange my son’s reactions to the hearing aid and his development. She informs about interesting events, and she furthermore organised a discussion afternoon in her surgery where I could meet other children with a hearing impairment and their parents. This was an incredible help because I was able to gain important information about the support options available, learned about other mothers’ personal experiences and saw children who coped well with life despite their hearing impairment.

“It was also thanks to her insistence that a secretory otitis media, which had been overlooked by the physicians, was finally surgically rectified. From then onwards, our son’s hearing improved with every passing day. Today my son is 21 months old and can hear relatively well even without a hearing aid. He speaks and responds wonderfully. The last measurement by the speech therapist disclosed that he is moderately hard of hearing.

“An inconceivably heavy burden has fallen off our chests and we are overjoyed to have such a communicative and happy child. We are eternally grateful to my audiologist for her terrific support in this, for us, extremely turbulent time, for all her efforts, her sympathy and above all else her terrific commitment! She thus more than deserves the title “Audiologist of the Year 2015.” We have personally already long since acknowledged her as such.”

The world’s number one selling hearing aid battery manufacturer has officially been recognised by the Queen.

Rayovac, the world’s longest standing hearing aid battery manufacturer and only UK-based one, has been given the royal seal of approval and awarded the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise.

The Queen’s Award for Enterprise is one of the highest honours that can be bestowed on a UK based company and is awarded each year to those demonstrating outstanding achievement.

Rayovac, a division of Spectrum Brands UK Ltd, is one of a select band of top companies to win and has picked up the prize for Innovation 2011 for its commitment to product development.

In scooping the award, Rayovac has been rewarded for its success in pushing back the boundaries of battery technology since manufacturing its first zinc air battery in the UK in 1989. Most recently, with its new Mercury Free AVA (Added Voltage Agent) battery which has been engineered over a 7 year period and at a cost of more than £3m. The battery combines clean technology with high performance and has been developed over several years. It is the most powerful mercury free product on the market – lasting 30 per cent longer than competitor batteries.

It is one of many batteries developed in Washington – which employs over 160 staff – and is Rayovac’s global metal parts production headquarters. Hundreds of millions of batteries are manufactured each year here and exported to Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific.

Vince Armitage, divisional vice president at Rayovac, said: “This is great news for Rayovac. The Queen’s Award is one of the highest accolades a company can win and a real reward for the efforts we have made to innovate and enhance battery technology over several years. “The pace of change in battery technology is increasing all time as manufacturers of hearing aids continue to add new digital features to their devices which need more power. We’re working hard to anticipate these developments by constantly improving the power and reliability of batteries.”

Rayovac Mercury Free AVA is the latest in a long line of product innovations the company has introduced by working closely with hearing aid manufacturers and hard of hearing groups to improve the power, reliability and lifespan of batteries. It has responded to the increasing power demands of today’s hearing devices by boosting the capacity of the battery through new proprietary technology – changing the internal structure of the battery with new designs, thinner materials and new chemical formulations. This has resulted in a series of market leading products including Rayovac Advanced and Cochlear Plus, a specialist battery for those with cochlear implants.

Other innovations including a stainless steel shell casing and new air management system have significantly enhanced performance too.

Vince added: “The market is growing steadily due to a host of factors such as ageing populations, advances in technology and emerging markets in areas like Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific. We’re in a strong position to meet this demand as it emerges and the Queen’s Award underlines our success.”