Starkey Laboratories got its start in 1967 when William Austin founded Professional Hearing Aid Service, an all-make hearing instrument repair service in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. After setting new standards for the way repairs were handled, Austin acquired Starkey Laboratories, a small earmold company, in 1971. With a mission to provide better hearing rather than just hearing aids, Austin merged the two businesses under the Starkey name, and eventually began making custom in-the-ear hearing aids with a then-revolutionary no-obligation trial and "worry-free" warranty. Today, that trial period is not only common practice among manufacturers. It is a legal requirement in many states. Starkey Laboratories is the world's leading manufacturer of custom hearing instruments with 33 facilities in 18 countries throughout North America, Central America, Europe, Asia and Australia, and a workforce of over 4,000.

Innovations of Starkey hearing aids

Starkey Labs has been a consumer-centered force of change and innovation in the industry since its inception. Among the company's many innovations is, namely, the industry's first flat charge for all hearing aid repairs, the industry's first free trial period and warranty program, the CARE program, an award-winning multimedia auditory educational program, the first custom telecommunications headset, battery recycling for dispensers, with credits donated to developing hearing assistance for the needy.
The Starkey Hearing Foundation is a charitable organization that each year provides 20,000 hearing instruments to people who otherwise could not afford them.

About the hearing instrument

All conventional hearing instruments include a microphone, an amplifier, a receiver and a volume control. Tone controls and output controls are also featured on most instruments and the choice of circuit's ranges in sophistication. Recent advances in hearing instrument technology include digital signal processing; multi-channel, frequency specific control of amplification; various forms of compression, which automatically ensure that the listener does not receive too much amplification; directional and multi-microphones, remote control and programmability. Hearing instruments will never completely make-up for hearing loss and some instruments serve individual clients better than other instruments. It is the job of hearing health professionals to choose instruments which incorporate the style, circuit type and additional features best suited to each individual client; together, hearing health professionals and hard of hearing individuals must work to find the best possible solution.

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