[October 19, 2026] – DURHAM, NC – MED-EL US announced today its DualSync technology, developed in partnership with Starkey Hearing, was awarded a Hearing Technology Innovator Award in the Bimodal Hearing Category for a second consecutive year. The annual awards program, hosted by Hearing Health & Technology Matters (HHTM), recognizes technological innovation and achievement in the hearing industry.

Bimodal hearing, combining a cochlear implant in one ear with a hearing aid on the other, offers powerful benefits when both technologies work seamlessly together. DualSync technology, developed through an industry-first collaboration between MED-EL and Starkey, takes bimodal performance to the next level.

DualSync enables effortless simultaneous streaming from Apple devices to both a MED-EL audio processor and a Starkey hearing aid. With this breakthrough, Apple devices recognize both devices as a unified hearing system, delivering a streamlined user experience.

When announced last year, DualSync provided users with a cochlear implant in one ear and a hearing aid true wireless synchronization for the first time including streaming calls, music, and media effortlessly to both ears without extra apps, clinic visits, or devices. The result is a fully unified, natural listening experience tailored for those who rely on bimodal solutions.

“MED-EL, alongside Starkey Hearing, is honored to be recognized for this award again in 2026. Over this past year, we’ve seen the tremendous impact DualSync has had on bimodal hearing,” said John Sparacio, President and CEO of MED-USA. “With this technology, recipients can now wirelessly stream to both ears, offering a seamless solution for their devices while making bimodal care simpler and more convenient for clinicans.”

In addition to receiving HHTM's Innovator Award last year in the Bimodal Hearing category for DualSync with Starkey Hearing, MED-EL was recognized in 2024 for its OTOPLAN software, which supports both audiologists and surgeons in treatment planning and patient care.

About the Hearing Technology Innovator Awards

The Hearing Technology Innovator Awards™ is an international awards program designed to recognize and celebrate innovation within the hearing industry. Now in its seventh year, the program highlights technologies, products, and services helping advance hearing care while supporting organizations working to improve hearing health and access to care.

Since its inception, the program has raised more than $40,000 for hearing-related charities and nonprofit organizations.

About MED-EL

MED-EL, Medical Electronics, a leader in implantable hearing solutions, is driven by a mission to overcome hearing loss as a barrier to communication and quality of life. The Austrian-based, privately owned business was co-founded by industry pioneers Ingeborg and Erwin Hochmair, whose ground-breaking research led to the development of the world’s first micro-electronic multi-channel cochlear implant (CI), which was successfully implanted in 1977 and was the basis for what is known as the modern CI today. This laid the foundation for the successful growth of the company in 1990, when they hired their first employees. To date, MED-EL has more than 3,300 employees from around 90 nations and 30 locations worldwide.

The company offers the widest range of implantable and non-implantable solutions to treat all types of hearing loss, enabling people in 142 countries enjoy the gift of hearing with the help of a MED-EL device. MED-EL’s hearing solutions include cochlear and middle ear implant systems, a combined electric acoustic stimulation hearing implant system, as well as surgical and non-surgical bone conduction devices. www.medel.com

# # #

MEDIA CONTACT: 
Jessica Daitch 
media.us@medel.com