Full programme announced for this year's DIGITAL EUHA 2020

The physical EUHA event, this year due to be held in Hannover, is the biggest audiology gathering in the world, but this year, like all major real-life events, it fell victim to the conditions imposed under coronavirus restrictions. Physical EUHA became a digital show to be attended from wherever you lay your laptop.

Organisers from the European Union of Hearing Aid Acousticians (EUHA) and the German Hearing Instruments Industry Association (BVHI) have now announced the full programme for both the opening Future Friday (October 9) and a month-long EUHA digital, the online programme of specialist lectures held by speakers from Germany and abroad, starting on October 10.

The full Future Friday programme is:

• 1405 – 1435 CEST "Putting the 'AI' in patient-centered hearing healthcare" Dave Fabry, Chief Innovation Officer, and Archelle Georgiou, Chief Health Officer, Starkey Hearing Technologies.
• 1440 – 1500 CEST "Upcoming Bluetooth enhancements to improve the lives of people with hearing loss” Ken Kolderup, Vice President Marketing, Bluetooth SIG, Kirkland, USA.
• 1515 – 1535 CEST "If you want to keep your brain sharp, take care of your ears" Prof. Dr. Marlies Knipper, Hearing Research Centre, ENT Clinic, Tübingen University Hospital.
• 1550 – 1610 CEST "Remote fitting – opportunities and risks" Prof. Steffen Kreikemeier, Aalen University.

On the virtual show floor of the Digital Future Friday, which registered visitors are free to explore, companies are showcasing their technological developments and product innovations at virtual exhibition booths, so-called Company Info Points. Company presentations will be online between 0900 and 1700 CEST. Visitors are invited to use live chats or video calls to talk to company staff, and documents and presentations will be available for download.

All the Digital EUHA lectures, which begin the day after Future Friday, on October 10, will be available online until November 8, 2020. Every Friday during that period, some of the speakers will be happy to answer questions in expert talks mediated in the EUHA digital chatroom between 1400 and 1500 CEST/CET.

The full programme is as follows:

• Prof. Birger Kollmeier: "Hearing for All: From empirical hearing research towards modern precision audiology"
• Achin Bhowmik, Dave Fabry: "The Speed of innovation."
• Dr. Jérôme Servais: "Networking acousticians and clinics."
• Dr. Florian Schmidt: "Dependence of speech intelligibility on the electrical stimulation level and changes in impedance during the first year of application: Old and new insights."
• Dr. Tobias Weißgerber: "Impact of the noise condition on speech perception and listening effort in users of auditory implants."
• Prof. Tobias Moser: "Towards the optical cochlear implant: Optogenetic stimulation of the auditory pathway."
• Sascha Haag: "Hearable versus medical device – competitive battle or opportunity?"
• Prof. Ulrich Hoppe: "Influence of fitting practice on satisfaction, feeling of security and self-confidence among hearing aid users."
• Dr. Hendrik Husstedt: "Custom-made hearing protectors with hearing aids as medical devices and personal protective equipment (PPE)."
• Erich Bayer: "Smart earmoulds for smart hearing systems."
• Hans-Christian Drechsler: "Metrics to quantify performance of hearing aid systems in different listening environments."
• Horst Warncke: "Watch the brain listen."
• Melanie Krüger: "What is listening effort and how can we measure it in a daily routine?"
• Christophe Lesimple: "Evaluation of a hearing aid fitting protocol optimised for active musicians."
• Simon Müller: "Artificial intelligence and its applications."

Said EUHA president Beate Gromke: "EUHA digital offers hearing aid acousticians a chance to benefit from advanced professional training free of charge. Our profession is of indispensable importance to the system, which is why it is essential to remain up to date and acquire the latest knowledge."

Participants registered for the Digital EUHA Congress may take part in the Digital Future Friday, and watch any of the EUHA digital lectures made available between October 10 and November 8, 2020. Participation in the Digital EUHA Congress is free of charge; register any time during the event by clicking here.

Source: EUHA