Starkey's Zōn™ Wins the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum's 2008 People's Design Award

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Minneapolis, Oct. 24, 2008 – Starkey Laboratories, Inc., one of the world’s leading hearing technology companies, is proud to announce that its Zōn™ hearing aid is the winner of the 2008 People’s Design Award presented by the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. Zōn, the best-in-class receiver-in-canal line of products that was launched this year, was one of hundreds of nominations for which thousands of votes were cast during the course of one month on Cooper-Hewitt’s website. Zōn was in good company, beating out illustrious brands like Adidas, Blackberry and Converse, as well as architectural wonders like the Beijing National Stadium.

“It is a true honor to win such a prestigious award for the design of Zōn,” said Tim Trine, Chief Technical Officer at Starkey. “We are proud to be recognized for the amazing work our designers and engineers did to create this hearing aid, and we are gratified to know that our extensive research with hearing care professionals and patients helped to create the award-winning Zōn.”

Developed with Starkey’s evidence-based design approach, Zōn blends world-class technology with beautiful design, ultimately providing high levels of acceptance and satisfaction for patients. Built out of moisture-resistant material, Zōn was designed to minimize the number of touchpoints on wearers’ skin with a curved, elegant shape. Even the color options were carefully considered; Starkey worked with respected cosmetics researchers to develop the sophisticated hair and skin-tone color palette, designed to complement and match natural skin tones and hair.

Zōn looks great on the outside, but it also provides best-in-class performance through the cutting-edge technology inside. Harnessing the power of BluWave™ Signal Processing, Zōn virtually eliminates feedback with Active Feedback Intercept (AFI) and delivers the best performing directional system on the market with Directional Speech Detector (DSD), which boasts industry-leading free-field and KEMAR DIs and the lowest operational noise floor available, making speech more audible in difficult listening situations. Additionally, hearing care professionals can quickly and accurately conduct real-ear measurements with Integrated Real Ear Measurement (IREM). IREM provides the most precise fit possible, helping professionals counsel patients, reducing the number of adjustments needed for a comfortable fit and better addressing the challenges hearing aid users are facing in their environments.

The People’s Design Award was created and is presented by Cooper-Hewitt as part of the organization’s National Design Awards that take place during National Design Week, a public education initiative. Nominees for the award included everything from everyday items and classic design to architecture and socially responsible creations.

For more information, visit www.starkeypro.com