Interview with John Cariola & Barb Van Someren, Beltone

John Cariola, Au.D.


Barb Van Someren

CAROLYN SMAKA: Today I have the pleasure of speaking with John Cariola and Barb Van Someren from Beltone. Thanks for your time today. John and Barb, what are your roles at Beltone?



JOHN CARIOLA: I'm Director of Product Management, and my role is to work with R & D and our brand center to release products to the market. We develop product specifications and all the materials required to support and promote the products. We also follow up on products once they're released to ensure success. Basically we manage the instrument portfolio from development throughout the entire product life cycle.

BARB VAN SOMEREN: I'm Vice President of Marketing, and I work with John and his team on marketing our products. I also oversee marketing, customer care, and commercial business systems, which are systems that enable our Network to monitor and measure their practice performance and profitability.

SMAKA: With regard to products, your most recent release was the Beltone True™, correct?

VAN SOMEREN: Yes. Our new Beltone True™ product line has been a great introduction so far. We're excited about the 2.4 GHz technology that allows us to stream wirelessly from devices such as a television, iPod or stereo equipment directly to the hearing aids.

CARIOLA: Beltone True™ was released initially in receiver-in-the-ear products. One has a 312 battery and wireless capability, and the other is a very small model that uses a 10A battery and does not have wireless functionality.



Beltone True™ receiver-in-the-ear

SMAKA: Were these the models you exhibited at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES)?

CARIOLA: Yes, we exhibited and demonstrated Beltone True™, using a television with a movie on DVD so people could experience the wireless streaming. There was a lot of interest. People were very impressed with the direct-to-the-instrument technology using 2.4 GHz, as some were aware of other products that require you to wear a lanyard around your neck with a receiver on there for wireless streaming. They were amazed that we have wireless streaming without using any type of relay system.

The show draws a really diverse crowd;there were engineers, people interested in technology, and seniors. We exhibited in an area of the show that featured the latest electronic products that target the senior audience. For example, the booth next to us was showing a computer program that older consumers would use to play games, to keep their mind active and to slow progression of dementia. There were also exhibitors of assisted listening devices and other technology relating to the senior demographic.

VAN SOMEREN: The hearing industry has not typically had much presence at the Consumer Electronics Show. The show draws approximately 140,000 attendees and features the latest in design innovation and technology. We feel design innovation and technology is an important part of our business, and we have a great story to tell this year with our Beltone True™ products. It seemed a good fit for us to be at the show.

SMAKA: The show certainly gets a lot of media coverage as well. I would think that being part of that show in the broader scope of things, helps consumers see today's hearing aids as innovative electronic devices, and as they rightly should.

VAN SOMEREN: Right. I think we all look forward to hearing the reports from the CES every year to find out what new gadgets and technology may benefit our families and our lifestyle. It's exciting to see what's new out there - why shouldn't hearing aids be part of that excitement?

SMAKA: Exactly. Tell me more about the response that you had.

VAN SOMEREN: As John said, there are a lot of consumers at the show, and they tend to be particularly interested in the CES award winners. Beltone was the recipient of the 2011 Innovation and Design Engineering Award for our Beltone True™ products in the Health and Wellness Category. We were excited to have Beltone True highlighted this year in the health and wellness category, because we think it has great benefits as we present Beltone True to our patients.

In addition to the consumers who attend, there are also other companies and potential business partners who target the mature audience in attendance, so we found the show to be beneficial for partnerships as well.

Part of our media strategy with the Consumer Electronics Show was to connect to the communities where our Hearing Care Practitioners and our customers are living. In addition to our national marketing, a lot of the work that we did around the CES show and the unveiling of the True™ was targeted to reach the markets and small towns where our dispensers and our audiologists and their customers are working and living. Making the community connection is very important.

For starters, we took part in a satellite media tour that was broadcast live from a TV studio located right on the CES Show Floor. Close to 50 TV and radio stations picked up the story and ran it in their local markets, including both smaller markets and larger markets where many of our providers are.



Beltone True™ was featured in a satellite media tour from the Consumer Electronics Show. It was picked up by 50 TV and radio stations around the country, in both large and smaller markets.

We provided our Network with copies of the stories so they could showcase those results back to their patients. We've also reinforced our national CES initiative by producing and placing dozens of local news and radio stories.

Listen to WGN News segment here (mp3 | wav).

We've been supporting the Beltone brand and our Network for years nationally and many of the Network Members do an amazing job of getting the news out to their local media. However, when their current and prospective customers see stories about the Beltone True™ appear in their newspapers or on their local news station, it really hits home! It's pretty impactful to see someone you trust in the media demonstrate and promote the Beltone True's Bluetooth-compatible and wireless benefits. By supporting our national marketing campaign with this grassroots media outreach, we feel like we've given our Network a powerful marketing message!



Satellite media tour on-air personality wearing the Beltone True™ while broadcasting from the Consumer Electronics Show.

SMAKA: John, when you and I spoke back in August about the Beltone True™, you had mentioned that in 2011, there were more products coming out to the True™ line. Any update in that area?

CARIOLA: Yes, we just released an extension of the True™ product line, with the first custom products released. They are the mic-in-concha (MIC) style, called the Beltone True™ MIC. This style has the microphone taken out of the instrument and connected by a wire to sit in the helix area of the ear. The benefits of the mic-in-concha style include wind noise reduction as well as taking advantage of the natural resonance of the outer ear. It also enables us to make the instrument smaller or to accommodate a larger vent, because we have pulled the mic out of the body of the instrument.



Beltone True™ mic-in-concha instruments

With these new custom products, we have a very small, cosmetically appealing 10A that includes all the new feature sets of the True™ product line. We also have a 312 version that has wireless technology. So this will be our first custom product that they can pair with our TV streamer, our phone link, and use our remote control also.

VAN SOMEREN: We do quite a bit of consumer research on the Beltone brand, and this is an area that we're really proud of. The industry has had great success with receiver-in-the-ear, thin tube products, and we have been very strong in that category as well. However, consumers are still very interested in the product that fits in their ear, and the Beltone True™ MIC is a great answer to that. It's easy to wear and very simple to use. Beltone has a legacy of custom products, and we have a reputation when it comes to addressing consumers' needs with custom products.

CARIOLA: There are a lot of people that don't want to wear anything behind their ears, even something that may be light, small, or thin. Receiver-in-the-ear products are practically invisible when worn because all you see is the thin tube, but some people just don't want anything over their ears. With the Beltone True™ MIC, they don't have to worry about it getting knocked off their ears when they remove their eyeglasses or put on a hat. And since it's just one piece to insert and remove, it's much easier for some people to use.

VAN SOMEREN: The technology that we develop in this industry is amazing, but we need to put forth just as much attention to demonstrating and making patients comfortable with the technology. This year, at our last Beltone National meeting, we had a full media system room where we showed professionals how to demonstrate wireless products. Talking about the capabilities of these technologies can be a bit overwhelming to the patient, so what's most important is that we train our staff on how to show them the benefits.

I'm passionate about helping people experience the technology as well as talk about all the new innovation that we have. I have a personal story in this regard. Over the holiday, we fit my own parents, and they were amazed at how the wireless connectivity to the TV streamer worked for them. This has been a bone of contention for them as they both wear hearing aids and they both prefer different volume settings on the television. This was a really big win for them, and it really made a big difference in their lives.

SMAKA: When you say that patients might be a little overwhelmed by this, I think a lot of professionals feel overwhelmed by it, too. I've heard people say, "Well, my patients don't need all that."

VAN SOMEREN: I think it is our responsibility to expose patients to innovations. As practitioners, we have to get comfortable with the technology. For my parents, I was able to easily plug the technology into the back of the TV, and I'm not even a technical person. If I can do it, it's a true testament that we have a technology that's not only innovative, but accessible, too.

I also like the remote control capabilities. Remotes are very easy to use for people who are well into their late 70s, 80s, even 90s. The remote and TV function is very beneficial for them. It's very easy for them to switch from their hearing aid mode to the TV streaming;it's not complicated.

CARIOLA: Up until this point we've been talking about the extension to the True product line in terms of the new custom products, which we're very excited about, but we're also releasing a completely new BTE design. We're calling it the Flex BTE because it has a very wide fitting range that the professional can change via the software. So, it can be a moderate-power instrument or more of a higher-power instrument. The extended fitting range enables professionals to fit moderate losses to severe losses with one instrument. It can also be fit using a thin tube or with a damped or undamped earhook. It also has wireless capability, Autophone, as well as all the other features of True™. So it gives a lot of flexibility, and that's why we're calling it the Flex BTE style.

The model is 78 DW. The D stands for directional microphones, and the W means it's got wireless capability. It's smaller than our last higher-power instrument, but it provides the same output and gain. It's also thinner, which means it rests on the ear a little bit more comfortably, especially for a power instrument. So, we're excited to be adding the True™ MIC and Flex BTE to the True™ line now, and as we move forward, there will be further extensions.

VAN SOMEREN: With all of our products, we still try to meet consumer need by designing the most discreet and cosmetically attractive styles as we possibly can.

SMAKA: We've talked about wireless streaming from the television, and using the remote control. There's also a Phone Link, correct?

CARIOLA: Yes. In addition, we have a wireless programming interface called Airlink. It's a small USB device that looks like a flash drive. It fits in your laptop or desktop and enables you to fit the True product without any cables at all, from about ten feet from the interface. So, if you need to move around your office you've got that flexibility with a cable-free fitting. It's been very successful in the field. It uses the 2.4 GHz signal and it's been working quite well. No more cables dangling on the wall or tangled up in drawers.

We're obviously very excited about the wireless aspect of True™, but the bottom line is that it's the best sounding instrument we've ever had, with the best feature set. A lot of the professionals in our network wear hearing aids, and they always get the latest and greatest products we release. And they say there is a marked difference between how clean this sounds compared to other instruments.

It's a great sounding instrument with a great feature set and it has wireless capability so we can give people better hearing in more difficult situations. You put it all together and it explains why we've had a very successful launch.

VAN SOMEREN: It's so great to hear from our providers and their customers about the success of Beltone True™. We share success stories within our network and we're going to be expanding that. We're going to be hearing from patients and featuring their stories throughout our network to help people spread the amazing response we're getting. Their stories are really inspiring.

SMAKA: Will you be showing the Beltone True™ products at AudiologyNOW?

CARIOLA: Yes, we will plan on having demonstrations of the product at our booth with our TV Link and the Phone Link, similar to what we did at the Consumer Electronics Show. And by that time, we might even have some additional accessories to show. Just a teaser, but we may be able to soon provide even more listening options for difficult situations.

SMAKA: Excellent. I will definitely stop by. How's the network going these days?

VAN SOMEREN: Last year we celebrated our 70th anniversary. We've got a terrific group of providers and we had over a thousand people celebrating with us last year. The network's doing fabulous, and we've got some great opportunities throughout the country for people to be working in mentoring programs, which is very exciting. We've got a lot of opportunities in our R & D facility here, and in our Beltone commercial business group. Throughout our network, we're always looking for audiologists and practitioners in many different capacities, whether it's fitting hearing instruments in a practice setting, doing some referral-based work or being involved in other business development activities.

CARIOLA: Or you could be a practice owner. We have a number of audiologists who are owners. There are a lot of career options for audiologists in the Beltone system, in the network, and within our corporation. Just in our corporate office we have audiologists in customer service, training, R & D, and in our research lab. And many of our regional managers are Au.D. audiologists, as well.

VAN SOMEREN: Many of our practitioners are looking for audiologists;they're looking for Au.D. audiologists either to work in practice settings or as a trainer within a practice group. There's a whole host of creative ways that you can be part of the team.

SMAKA: Congratulations on your success at the Consumer Electronics Show and best of luck with the launch of the Beltone True™ extensions. I'll look forward to seeing you both at AudiologyNOW!

CARIOLA & VAN SOMEREN: Thanks, Carolyn.

About Beltone

For more information about Beltone True™ and Beltone's other products and services, please visit www.beltone.com or the Beltone Web Channel on AudiologyOnline.