When I committed my life to helping the world hear, I knew technology would have to be at the forefront of that effort. Two decades ago, I had a vision I shared at one of our manager meetings in Germany — if a hearing aid can help people hear better, what else can it do?

Last August, the amazing team of innovators, engineers and audiologists at Starkey made my vision a reality with the release of Livio AI. We reinvented the hearing aid. Livio AI is the world’s first hearing aid with artificial intelligence and integrated sensors. It uses our cutting-edge technology to track the wearer’s level of physical and social activity. It can adjust the hearing aids to fit the environment you are in — like a noisy restaurant. It translates 27 languages in your ear. It can even detect when its user has fallen and alert others that they need help.

As Starkey’s Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Achin Bhowmik, likes to say, “This is the hearing aid’s Apple Moment.” It truly is. Starkey took a single-use device, a hearing aid, and transformed it into a multi-purpose tool that can help people around the world live healthier, happier lives.

We made the technology, but our job wasn’t done. We still needed to share it with people around the world. We’ve spent the last four months introducing Livio AI to over 3,600 audiologists and hearing professionals in India, Dubai, Germany, Italy, England, Africa, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and France just to name a few. At every stop, the moment we walked into the room, we were met with excitement and joy as we brought this industry-leading technology all over the globe.

It’s remarkable to see a vision you had so many years before, become a reality and quickly spread around the world. It is the greatest gift of my life to help others with better hearing. With this cutting-edge technology, we are helping so many people. Our mindset at Starkey is “Hear Better. Live Better.” This isn’t just a saying we put up on the wall and forget about. This is a mission we live by each and every day — to improve the lives of those living with hearing loss through better hearing and healthier living with Livio AI technology. It’s a purpose I’ve dedicated my entire adult life to. Alone we can’t do much. Together we can change the world by connecting people with people for a better tomorrow.