Managing Director
January 2019 – Back in the early 1990s, new programmable hearing aids offered vastly superior quality and features than their predecessors, allowing hearing care professionals to tailor hearing solutions for their patients.
However, programming these instruments was a complex procedure, and was different for each manufacturer. In addition, the cost involved in developing programming equipment was often prohibitive.
So four of the largest hearing aid manufacturers joined forces in an unprecedented cooperation to create a common PC-based programming solution … and the rest is history.
In 1994, Noah was born.
With the help of a common platform, programmable hearing aids could now begin fulfilling their promise of better hearing.
Growing with the Industry
The founders of Noah knew that to be successful, the Noah platform needed to be open for all. That’s why within the first year, over 30 companies were welcomed as HIMSA member companies.
These member companies and their distributors were the foundation of HIMSA, providing valuable Noah feedback from hearing care professionals worldwide.
Everything from product requirements, reports and requested features filtered back to HIMSA from support technicians worldwide, to be integrated in new versions of Noah.
Thanks to this overwhelming industry-wide support, the Noah software continues to evolve to meet the needs of hearing care professionals.
25 Years Later
Today, over 120 member companies rely on Noah software, and hundreds of certified Noah support personnel are available worldwide.
As of January 2019, Noah is now installed on an estimated 120,000 PCs in over 150 countries.
HIMSA has also created the Noah User Group (NUG) to help gain valuable feedback directly from hearing care professionals. This feedback, along with feedback from our members and distributors, forms the basis for all future Noah projects and improvements.
Preparing for the future
New services, standards and new technologies, are constantly arriving. From wireless to tele-health, these have the potential to greatly improve hearing care … if implemented correctly.
HIMSA is working closely with our member companies on the best way to evaluate and integrate applicable features and technologies in Noah.
In 2019, the first iterations of tele-health data and online Noah access will be rolled out.
As with all Noah additions, these new features must be flexible and secure solutions that can quickly evolve to meet the changing needs of professionals.
Just as important, however, the Noah interface must remain intuitive and easy to use as these new features are added.
Your future Noah?
Help us prepare for the next 25 years.
Drop by the HIMSA booth 1725 at AAA in Columbus, Ohio, March 28-30 2019. We’d love to hear your Noah ideas and feedback.