Decision Time Arrives For Leading Hearing Industry Award

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

"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."