The History of Starkey Hearing Aids: From a Minnesota Repair Shop to Omega AI
Starkey Hearing Technologies is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, less than five miles from our Hears to U clinic in Hopkins. That proximity is not incidental to this story. Starkey has been woven into the fabric of Minnesota audiology for decades, and for those of us who have practiced hearing care in this state, their history is partly our professional history too.
Here is the full story: from Bill Austin’s original repair shop in 1967 to the Omega AI platform that launched in October 2025.
The Founding: 1967
William F. Austin established Starkey in 1967 with the goal of making hearing aids more accessible to people with hearing loss. He was apparently inspired by his own experiences with hearing loss and his desire to help others. What began as a small hearing aid repair service in Minnesota soon expanded into manufacturing.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Starkey introduced several notable innovations. They developed the first in-canal hearing aid and the first custom, all-in-the-ear (ITE) hearing aid. These innovations made hearing aids more comfortable and less visible for wearers. With the stigma of hearing loss being a real barrier to adoption in those decades, creating devices that could be hidden in the ear canal was a significant achievement.
Growth Through the 1990s and Early 2000s
Starkey continued to grow throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s, establishing a global presence with offices in over 100 countries and expanding their product line to include behind-the-ear (BTE) and receiver-in-canal (RIC) devices alongside their custom ITE lineup.
During my initial years as a clinician in the early 1990s, Starkey held a prominent position in the audiology community. They were a preferred fitting brand in many practices, for reasons that were partly about reputation, partly about ease of fitting and being local.
The Starkey Destiny: A Landmark Launch
The Starkey Destiny hearing aid launch in the early 2000s was one of the most memorable events in my clinical career. It made the front page of the Star Tribune. People came into the clinic asking specifically for it. That kind of public awareness around a specific hearing aid model was genuinely unusual.
The reason for the excitement was feedback management. Feedback in hearing aids, the annoying whistling or squealing that occurs when amplified sound leaks back into the microphone, had been a persistent problem, particularly with the in-canal devices Starkey specialized in. The Destiny addressed this with several specific innovations:
WhistleFree Feedback Cancellation
The Destiny’s proprietary WhistleFree technology actively monitored incoming sound signals, detected the presence of feedback, and responded in real time by creating an anti-feedback signal that canceled the unwanted noise without compromising sound quality.
Adaptive Feedback Cancellation
The system continuously monitored for feedback and adjusted its cancellation algorithm in real time across different listening environments. This adaptability made it effective in varied acoustic situations, not just controlled clinic conditions.
Programmability
The feedback algorithms were programmable by audiologists, allowing us to tailor the feedback management to each patient’s specific needs. That level of customization was meaningful at the time and set a standard for subsequent hearing aid development.
Wireless and Digital Technology
Starkey was an early adopter of digital technology in hearing aids and introduced wireless connectivity features in their products, allowing users to stream audio from smartphones and televisions directly to their hearing aids.
Before the widespread adoption of Bluetooth Low Energy technology, Starkey used Bluetooth streaming accessories: small portable devices that users wore around the neck or clipped to clothing, which paired with smartphones and retransmitted audio to the hearing aids via a proprietary 2.4 GHz radio signal. These streamers worked as an interim solution while the industry developed direct connectivity.
With the eventual adoption of Made for iPhone (MFi) Bluetooth LE Audio, direct streaming to Starkey hearing aids became possible, eliminating the need for the neck-worn accessory. Starkey has continued to develop their Bluetooth connectivity through each platform generation.
The Thrive Era: AI, Health Monitoring, and the Smartphone Hearing Aid
Starkey’s Livio AI platform, launched around 2018-2019, introduced what Starkey called the world’s first health monitoring hearing aid. The Thrive Hearing Control app (now replaced by the My Starkey app) connected to the hearing aids and tracked steps, activity, and other health metrics alongside the standard hearing aid controls.
This integration of health tracking into hearing aids was a genuine innovation. It positioned Starkey not just as a hearing device manufacturer but as a health technology company, and it established the foundation for the more sophisticated health monitoring features that would follow in subsequent generations.
The Livio Edge AI followed, introducing Edge Mode: a manual user-controlled boost for challenging listening environments that became a signature Starkey feature and continued through every subsequent platform.
2023 to Present: Genesis AI, Edge AI, and Omega AI
The three most recent Starkey platforms represent the company’s most ambitious integration of artificial intelligence into hearing care, and each has arrived at a remarkably consistent pace: one new flagship platform per year.
Genesis AI: February 2023
Genesis AI launched with Starkey’s Neuro Processor, capable of 80 million automatic adjustments per hour. The platform introduced deep neural network processing for improved speech clarity and noise reduction, Edge Mode Plus (an evolution of the earlier Edge Mode), and the transition from the Thrive app to the My Starkey app, which consolidated health monitoring, remote programming, hearing aid controls, and TeleHear telehealth into a single interface.
Genesis AI established the current Starkey design language, including the mRIC (micro receiver-in-canal) style that sits more discreetly behind the ear than previous RIC designs. Battery life improved significantly from previous generations, with the RIC RT model achieving up to 51 hours on a single charge.
Edge AI: October 2024
Edge AI upgraded to the G2 Neuro Processor, bringing documented improvements over Genesis AI: a 30% improvement in speech intelligibility in noise with Edge Mode Plus, a 30% more accurate Speech Presence Predictor, and a 20 dB improvement in dynamic range. Crucially, Edge AI introduced Auracast via Bluetooth LE Audio, making it the first Starkey platform to support brand-agnostic broadcast audio streaming.
The introduction of Auracast required new Edge-branded accessories: the StarLink Edge TV Streamer, Edge Remote Microphone, and Edge Table Microphone. These accessories are not compatible with Genesis AI, and legacy Genesis accessories are not compatible with Edge AI. To see which accessory you need, check our full table for your ease.
Omega AI: October 2025
Omega AI is Starkey’s most advanced platform to date and the current flagship. Its headline addition is DNN 360, Starkey’s deep neural network directionality system, which maintains 360-degree spatial awareness rather than primarily focusing processing forward. Starkey’s published data shows DNN 360 provides up to an 8 dB signal-to-noise improvement for spatial awareness and a 28% boost in speech intelligibility compared with earlier technology.
DNN 360 is available only at Level 24 (Premium). All Omega AI levels share the same hardware platform and Auracast capability, but DNN 360 directionality is exclusive to the top technology level.
HearAdvisor awarded Omega AI an Expert Choice designation with a tuned SoundScore of 4.6 out of 5, the highest rating of any prescription hearing aid tested by HearAdvisor at the time of the award. Starkey is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, approximately five miles from our Hears to U clinic in Hopkins.
For a full comparison of Genesis AI, Edge AI, and Omega AI side by side, see our dedicated comparison guide. For current pricing, see our Starkey pricing page.
TeleHear: Starkey’s Telehealth Infrastructure
One of the most clinically significant developments in recent Starkey history is TeleHear, the synchronous teleaudiology platform built into the My Starkey app. Launched in its current form in July 2023, TeleHear allows audiologists to conduct live audio and video fitting sessions, make real-time hearing aid adjustments, and perform in-situ audiometry remotely.
From a practical standpoint, this means a Starkey hearing aid user in any state can receive professional fitting adjustments without traveling to a clinic, as long as they have a compatible device and a stable internet connection. At Hears Hearing and Hearables, TeleHear is a core part of how we serve patients across the country.
The Starkey Hearing Foundation
Any history of Starkey would be incomplete without mention of the Starkey Hearing Foundation, established by Bill Austin, which has fitted over one million hearing aids in developing countries and underserved communities worldwide. The foundation’s work extends the company’s mission of improving hearing health beyond commercial markets into communities where hearing care would otherwise be inaccessible.
This philanthropic mission has been a consistent part of Starkey’s identity since the company’s early years and distinguishes it from most of its competitors in a meaningful way.
Want to Learn More About Current Starkey Hearing Aids?
For a full review of the current Starkey lineup, including Omega AI, Edge AI, and Genesis AI, see our Starkey brand review. For current transparent pricing, see our Starkey pricing page. And if you are in Hopkins, Minnesota or the surrounding area, our Hears to U clinic carries the full Starkey lineup and offers demonstrations of both Omega AI and Edge AI.
Frequently Asked Questions: History of Starkey Hearing Aids
When was Starkey founded and by whom?
Starkey Hearing Technologies was founded in 1967 by William F. Austin in Minnesota. It began as a small hearing aid repair service and expanded into manufacturing. Starkey is now headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and is one of the largest hearing aid manufacturers in the world.
What was the Starkey Destiny hearing aid?
The Starkey Destiny was a landmark hearing aid launched in the early 2000s that made national news, including coverage in the Star Tribune. It was notable for its WhistleFree feedback cancellation technology, which used real-time signal monitoring to eliminate the whistling and squealing that had been a persistent problem in hearing aids, particularly custom in-the-ear models. It helped establish Starkey’s reputation for innovation in feedback management.
Where is Starkey headquartered?
Starkey is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, approximately five miles from our Hears to U audiology clinic in Hopkins, Minnesota. As a Minnesota-based audiologist, we have a longstanding professional relationship with Starkey and carry their full current lineup.
What is the difference between the Thrive app and the My Starkey app?
The Thrive Hearing Control app was Starkey’s earlier companion app for Livio-era hearing aids. The My Starkey app replaced it with Genesis AI in 2023 and consolidates all functions in one interface: hearing aid controls, health monitoring (steps, activity, fall detection, balance assessment, social engagement), TeleHear remote programming sessions, and accessory management. Current Starkey platforms (Genesis AI, Edge AI, Omega AI) all use the My Starkey app.
What is Starkey’s current flagship hearing aid?
Starkey’s current flagship is the Omega AI, launched October 2025. It features DNN 360 deep neural network directionality (at Level 24), enhanced Edge Mode Plus, Auracast via Bluetooth LE Audio, and full My Starkey app integration, including TeleHear. HearAdvisor awarded Omega AI an Expert Choice designation with a tuned SoundScore of 4.6 out of 5.
