Sebotek’s patent infringement suit against several of the world’s largest hearing-aid manufacturers is a David-and-Goliath challenge to protect its intellectual property. It also throws a big element of uncertainty into a significant and fast-growing segment of the market for open-fit behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids. Sebotek was first to market with a “receiver-in-the-ear” (speaker-in-the-ear) hearing aid featuring a nearly invisible wire from a small behind-the-ear sound processor to a speaker situated deep in the ear canal. Separating the microphone from the speaker, which is usually integrated into the same behind-the-ear device, made the hearing aid smaller, reduced feedback and made the BTE’s far more cosmetically appealing. Subsequently, other manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon with their own “receiver-in-the-ear” designs, and now Sebotek is crying foul.
WIth its PAC devices, Sebotek was not only first with receiver-in-the-ear technology but also among the leaders in the open-fit, micro-tube movement that has taken the industry by storm. Open-fit hearing aids feature very thin tubes from much smaller BTE devices with comfortable “open-fit” ear molds that disappear deep within the ear canal. Open-fit tips are light and porous, permitting natural sound to reach the ear drums rather than pluggin up the ear. With improvements in feedback canceling technology, they have been very effective for the most common form of mild hearing loss at high frequencies. But those major manufacturers who took the additional step of putting a speaker into the ear canal now are facing a patent infringement suit from Sebotek, which claims it invented and owns the rights to the “receiver-in-the-ear” technology. Sebotek names major manufacturers including Phonak, GN Store Nord and Vivatone among companies it says has infringed on its patent.