The Hearing Matters Podcast: Hearing Aids, Hearing Technology and Tinnitus
Welcome to the #1 Hearing Aid & Hearing Health Podcast with Blaise M. Delfino, M.S. - HIS! We combine education, entertainment, and all things hearing aid-related in one ear-pleasing package! In each episode, we'll unravel the mysteries of the auditory system, decode the latest advancements in hearing technology, and explore the unique challenges faced by individuals with hearing loss. But don't worry, we promise our discussions won't go in one ear and out the other! From heartwarming personal stories to mind-blowing research breakthroughs, the Hearing Matters Podcast is your go-to destination for all things related to hearing health. Get ready to laugh, learn, and join a vibrant community that believes that hearing matters - because it truly does!
Episodes
Cheryl Delfino, B.A.-HIS, a Hearing Instrument Specialist with nearly 30 years in hearing healthcare, joins her son Blaise M. Delfino, M.S. - HIS to share how she built a mobile hearing care model, helped grow a private practice, and earned patient trust through education and personalized care.
Then the conversation takes a deeply personal turn. After a 2021 car accident and concussion, Cheryl developed constant tinn...
You can hit targets, run the tests, and still hear the same question at the end of a fitting: “What will it sound like when I leave your office?” That one line exposes the biggest challenge in hearing healthcare right now, turning great clinical data into real-world confidence.
I’m Blaise Delfino, M.S. - HIS, and I recorded a different kind of listen this week: a narrated reading of an inter...
A noisy room can make a person feel like their hearing aids “aren’t working” even when the technology is top-tier. The real culprit is often physics: distance, background noise, reverberation, and a brutal signal-to-noise ratio that no microphone can magically fix from 40 feet away. That’s the problem Auracast Broadcast Audio is built to tackle, and it’s why Bluetooth LE Audio broadcast...
What should hearing care professionals know about Auracast, Bluetooth LE Audio, and the future of hearing aid connectivity?
In this episode of the Hearing Matters Podcast, Blaise Delfino, M.S.-HIS puts his former private practice owner hat back on and explores how he would approach Auracast if he were still seeing patients every day. From the early days of Bluetooth hearing aids in 2015, 2016, and 2017 to today&rsquo...
Some problems in a relationship don’t show up as big fights. They show up as tiny misses: a mumbled comment from the next room, a joke that lands late, a “good morning” that never happens because the hearing aids aren’t on yet.
We’re sitting down with writer, advocate, and bimodal hearing device user Gael Hannan to talk about the part of hearing loss that rarely gets discussed out ...
What is Auracast, and why does it matter for hearing aids, earbuds, cochlear implants, and public venues?
In this Friday Audiogram, Blaise Delfino, M.S. - HIS speaks with Mikey Shaffer, Vice President of North American Sales at Listen Technologies, about how Auracast broadcast audio is changing the future of assistive listening. Mikey explains how Auracast works through Bluetooth Low Energy, why it is often described...
Auracast may be one of the biggest shifts in hearing accessibility, Bluetooth audio, and assistive listening technology in decades.
In this episode of the Hearing Matters Podcast, Blaise Delfino, M.S. - HIS speaks with Mikey Shaffer, Vice President of North American Sales at Listen Technologies, about how Auracast broadcast audio is changing the way people with hearing loss, hearing aids, cochlear implants, and Aurac...
Hearing loss does not just affect volume — it affects relationships, confidence, communication, and quality of life.
In this episode of the Hearing Matters Podcast, Blaise Delfino, M.S.-HIS and Dr. Gregory Delfino sit down with longtime hearing aid user, veteran, professor, entrepreneur, and family man Gerald Ephault to discuss what life was really like before properly fit hearing technology. Gerald shares how ...
A single sentence can change a family’s future: “You’ve got one good ear, that’s enough.” We sit down with Melissa Tumblin, founder of EarCommunity.org, to unpack why that belief harms kids and adults with microtia, aural atresia, and unilateral hearing loss, and what happens when families are left without clear answers, referrals, or coverage for the technology that can actually help.<...
Tinnitus is everywhere, yet real answers still feel rare. We sit down with Jeffery Reagan, a heart transplant survivor, tinnitus patient, and the founder of the Tinnitus Learning Health Network, to talk about why so many people with ringing in the ears get stuck bouncing between providers, hearing “nothing can be done,” or trying random fixes without a clear path forward. Jeffery shares the personal heal...
After a hearing test, patients should not have to imagine what better hearing could sound like. In this episode of the Hearing Matters Podcast, Blaise Delfino, M.S. - HIS explains why the in-office hearing aid demo is such an important part of the patient journey, and how hearing technology can help patients better understand their hearing loss, their options, and the real-life value of prescription hearing aids.
You...
Restaurants are the perfect stress test for your ears and your brain. The second you add distance, multiple talkers, and reverberation, conversation stops being “just listening” and becomes constant filtering. We talk through why so many modern spaces feel brutal, how poor acoustics and background noise drive auditory fatigue, and why you can leave a holiday party feeling wiped out even if your hearing t...
You know that feeling when you can hear someone talking, but the words won’t land, especially once you sit down in a loud restaurant? I’m Blaise Delfino, and I’m breaking down why that frustration is real and why it’s usually not about “turning it up.” Hearing sound is one thing. Understanding speech is a fast, demanding brain process that depends on timing, consonants, context, a...
Are OTC hearing aids really the same as prescription hearing aids?
If you’ve ever wondered whether buying hearing aids online is basically the same as getting fit in a clinic, this episode draws a clear line between the two.
The biggest issue is perceived hearing loss. Feeling like your hearing is “probably mild” is not the same as knowing your exact hearing loss type, severity, whether one ear ...
AirPods are getting better, OTC hearing aids are easier to buy than ever, and AI is showing up in every corner of consumer audio. That leads to one of the most important questions in hearing health right now: are we watching hearing aids get replaced, or are we finally widening the front door to better hearing?
I take you behind the marketing and into what actually changes outcomes. OTC hearing aids are built...
The biggest hearing aid problems rarely show up in a quiet clinic room. They show up when the phone rings, when the TV gets turned up too loud for everyone else, and when background noise swallows the words you actually need to hear. We dig into the real-world gap between “amplification” and true communication access and why so many people with hearing loss end up avoiding calls, leaning on texts, or ski...
Bluetooth shows up in our lives so often that it’s easy to miss how radical it has been for hearing aids. I walk you through why Bluetooth hearing aids aren’t just about convenience, but about access: clearer phone calls, easier TV listening, and fewer moments where background noise wins. When audio streams directly into both ears, it stops feeling like “using a device” and starts feeling lik...
If your child has hearing loss, good grades do not always mean they have full access at school. In this episode, Dana Ann Hawkins, MS, CCC-SLP, shares her family’s real-life journey navigating a Section 504 plan for her daughter after getting hearing aids.
We break down what a 504 plan for hearing loss actually is, how it differs from an IEP, and why schools sometimes wrongly deny accommodations when a child ap...
Your child can “pass” a school hearing screening and still miss huge parts of daily life. That gap is where frustration, fatigue, and quiet slipping-behind can start, even when grades look fine on paper.
Your Child Has Hearing Loss. Now What? Download Dana's FREE guide for parents. Hearing aids open the door to sound. But navigating school, talking to teachers, and supporting your child at home is a whole...
Guessing is easy. Verifying is better, and in hearing aid fittings it can be the difference between “good enough” and genuinely clear speech. We sit down with Madison Levine, BC-HIS and Dr. Dave Fabry to unpack what real ear measurement actually looks like in a busy clinic, starting with a simple question: when should you run REM, at the first fitting or later?
We share a first-fit workflow ...
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.