A Conversation with Gil Kaminski!

Today, we're joined by Gil Kaminski, co-founder of Humelan, a Public Benefit Corporation dedicated to guiding individuals through hearing health and wellness.  Humelan offers a person-centered approach, community support, and an AI companion app for hearing health.

Inspired to address the challenges faced by those with hearing loss, Humelan's vision is to empower human potential through communication equity.  On the podcast, Gil shares the backstory of how Humelan got started as well as the powerful mission, vision, and goals.  

Visit humelan.com, join online communities, follow on social media, visit the knowledge hub, and attend virtual events to get connected.

Thank you for tuning in, and stay engaged with Humelan's mission to empower communication equity! 

Visit Humelan at https://www.humelan.com/

Connect with Gil Kaminski:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/gilkaminski/

You can listen to this episode wherever you stream podcasts and at www.3cdigitalmedianetwork.com/empowear-audiology-podcast

For more information about Dr. Carrie Spangler- check out her Linktree at https://linktr.ee/carrie.spangler.

For transcripts of this episode- visit the podcast website at: https://empowearaudiology.buzzsprout.com

Transcript

Announcer: [00:00:00] Welcome to episode 66 of empowEAR Audiology with Doctor Carrie Spangler.

Carrie: [00:00:13] Welcome to the empowEAR Audiology podcast, a production of the 3C Digital Media Network. I am your host, doctor Carrie Spangler, a passionate, deaf and hard of hearing audiologist. Each episode will bring an empowering message surrounding audiology and beyond. Thank you for spending time with me today and let's get started with today's episode. Welcome everyone! I have Gil Kaminski, with me today and she is a product management and Clinical Operations leader with over 15 years of experience in healthcare, artificial intelligence and machine learning. She is the co-founder of Humelan, a public benefit corporation committed to helping individuals navigate the complexities of hearing, health and wellness through its person centered approach, community support, and an AI companion app, Humelan provides a comprehensive solution to those experiencing hearing loss. Her career is rooted in technology, research and development and clinical operations, having contributed to various healthcare and medtech organizations including including Laguana Health, DaVita Kidney Care, Wide Med Limited, and the Israel Defense Force Naval Medical Institute. Gil holds an MBA from the Wharton School and a Bachelors of Science and Biomedical Engineering from the Israel Institute of Technology. Gil, welcome to the podcast today.

Gil: [00:01:56] Hi Gary. So happy to be here. Thank you for having me.

Carrie: [00:02:00] Yes, I'm so excited. And I, I'm excited that the fact that we got connected was through LinkedIn and through a common, um, colleague who was part of the Ida Institute for Person Centered Care. So it just kind of interesting how paths cross.

Gil: [00:02:22] Yes, 100%. Yeah.

Carrie: [00:02:24] Yeah. And I wanted to, um, dive really deep into Humelan today and all of that it has to offer. But as we get started, can you just share with our listeners what Humelan is?

Gil: [00:02:39] Yeah, sure. So Humelan is a public benefit corporation, and we're really focusing on supporting people with different hearing levels. And our goal is to really see everybody, um, getting all the information and the support that they need within the space of, of, uh, hearing loss.

Carrie: [00:02:58] Okay. And I know you have a story and an inspiration behind starting here Humelan, can you share a little bit about that too?

Gil: [00:03:07] Yeah, sure. So my, um, really journey with hearing loss started as a child and um, in my case, it's not my own hearing loss, but I as I was growing up, my mother was losing her hearing and really was growing deaf. And she was hearing using hearing aids since I can remember her. And for a while there, they were just kind of this accessory that was around the house on the drawer, you know, in the kitchen. But I can't say that they were really in use as much as one would have expected. And when I think that all changed when I was about 12. Um, she's also an ENT and a surgeon, and when she was doing her fellowship, that's when she really started to use them. She also continued to lose her hearing, so she needed them more and more. But I think really there was a change for her when she met the right clinician, the right audiologist, who really showed her, uh, kind of the the tricks and the best tips on how to really benefit from hearing aids. Um, and then fast forward, she did her fellowship in cochlear implants. Um, and she's a cochlear implant surgeon. And then fast forward, she continued to to lose her hearing, unfortunately, and ended up using cochlear implants herself. And so really, I was growing up kind of experiencing progressive hearing loss progression, really from hearing aids to then. I'm an expert on the FM system. I've used it everywhere you can imagine. Um, and then all the way to, to her first cochlear implant and then her second. And I've also over the years have worked with my mother when I was younger and she was building her clinic, her private clinic, and and so I've also experienced her as a physician.

Gil: [00:04:52] And so it's really all of those experiences that really kind of brought me back. And, and I would say even the very beginning of deciding to learn biomedical engineering and specializing in AI and signal processing, for me, a lot of it had to do with hearing aids and cochlear implants and getting really excited about what that can do. And to me, cochlear implants are kind of like magic because I've seen, you know, that year before you get them and and how that's like and then a month later and how that felt for, for me as a communication partner to my mom. And so for me, that was really kind of like my professional journey to choosing to, to become an engineer. And then fast forward, I was working on all kinds of other different technologies and kidney and sleep medicine and a lot of other stuff. And so for a long, long time really wanted to come back to the to the hearing space. And over the past about 12 months, I felt like, this is this is the right time. Like things are changing. Awareness is, you know, growing over the counter hearing aids are coming out whether we like them or not. They're they're there. And so that's such an interesting change. And then when you see what the World Health Organization is doing today and the Ida Institute and all of those things coming together, I was really, really inspired to go back to hearing to the hearing space and to collaborate with my mom again.

Carrie: [00:06:20] Wow. I love how you've taken just from a young age your personal journey, and really intertwined it with a professional journey that can really empower other people, which is kind of your your vision, which is powerful for Humelan  to empower human potential through communication, equity. And I know you have a lot of purposes and objectives or not a lot a several main purposes and objectives for Humelan, which include community knowledge and events. So if it's okay with you, I would love to kind of dive into those three areas and  see, um, how you how does Humelan foster these supportive communities. You shared a little bit about your own growing up and and being a support, um, communication partner for your mom, but I would love to hear how this is going to be a support for others.

Gil: [00:07:18] Yeah I know thank you for that question. So I think like for, for us, what was really interesting for me, unlike I think most other people, I didn't realize that having a different hearing evel is, is something that different people look at in different ways. For me, it was so natural growing up with my mom, with hearing aids, and then with cochlear implants, that it was just part of our lives. And I was always, um, really inspired by that technology. But I never thought of it twice. For me, hearing aids is kind of like putting on glasses. And I'm also very fortunate because my mom has so much knowledge about, um, hearing aids, hearing aids and aural rehabilitation. And where do you stand when you're talking to someone who has a different hearing level? And I'm always I'm always used to walking on people's, you know, on one side of everyone. And people sometimes almost find it weird. They're like, why are you moving to my other side? But that's my mom's better side. So that's the side I've always been walking on, and I'm always thinking of where do I sit so the other person can hear me and that I can hear them best? And I think all of those little things, um, when you bring them all together, all that body of knowledge, at some point I realized I'm so fortunate with my mother's hearing loss that she knew so much that she could teach us me and my siblings, my father, everybody in our family.

Gil: [00:08:52] Enough about it that we really have good communication. I mean, we live in different countries. We speak on the phone almost every day, and it's never been the communication aspect. And even in our relationship, it's never been a barrier for us. And. even And I think that that's I realize at some point that's not the norm for everybody, because there's a learning curve that you need to get through, um, to be able to do all those things. And then there's another circle, right, of going out and, um, listening to lectures, for example, or giving lectures and all those other steps and things in your day to day life that you need to do as a person with a different hearing level. And you may not know even that there's knowledge out there and that can support you in that. And so for us, it was really important to put a lot of a lot of different ways to provide that information to people. And you mentioned the communities and different events, and we're building an AI, um, hearing coach that would also be able to help people and enhance what the audiologist is already doing with people. And so all of that is really to provide people the knowledge that they need when they need it in a very personalized way and in different modes of, of, um, models of communication, of information, so that it's easy for people to get what they need out of it.

Gil: [00:10:20] And at the end of the day, the goal is to kind of help you ask what you don't know to ask, because sometimes you don't know, especially with communication. You don't know what you don't know if that makes sense. And so it's so specific to a certain point in life. Like you're you're new to college, you're walking into a classroom. If you don't know that there are certain things that you should be given, you're not going to know how to ask for them. And, you know, an example is. One of the people we were supporting through our coaching recently. That person was new to hearing aids and had no idea that there is microphones that you could use. And for those listening to the podcast who may not know what those are, we can get into that later. But basically, imagine there's a little microphone, um, that the person you're speaking with can use and they talk into that little microphone and that goes directly into your hearing aid. So if you're in a noisy environment, it makes it makes it so much easier to hear them. And. This person. Really, that was a huge help for them. But they would have never, never known to ask for it. And so for us, some of it is just guessing what people are going to need and being able to provide it at the right time.

Carrie: [00:11:40] Yeah, that just in time. Learning is such an important part of the the hearing journey and knowing like what you said to ask for and things like that. Um, one of the things as far as the, the communities go, who should be involved in the communities and know you did mention, um, individuals who are on that hearing journey, but should anyone else also be involved in these communities?

Gil: [00:12:09] Yeah, I certainly think, um, and the way we're building the communities is anybody can open one on our website today. So if you go to Humelan.com, you can just open one or you can join one. The way we're thinking about them is both people who are experiencing, um, hearing loss or have had a different hearing levels for a while, but also people like myself who have a family member who has hearing loss, and maybe they're new to it or they've they've had it for a while, but you need to you want to learn more, or maybe you just want to have a community of people who are experiencing a similar thing. And I think there's just a lot of shared life experiences for both family members and people with hearing loss, and no one else would have had those specific experiences. And I think that's really important. Um, and I also envision at some point having communities for professionals who are responsible at different institutes to make sure that there is accessibility, because I think they must have a lot of questions. And I think people are really, really well intentioned to do the right thing. But there's just so much you need to know around hearing to do the right thing. And I think those communities could be a great place as well for people to go and just ask the questions.

Carrie: [00:13:29] Yeah, what a great way to support so many different people. You also talked about Humelan and creating like a knowledge hub too, that provides a lot of information on hearing, health and wellness. What kind of topics of knowledge would someone be able to find in your knowledge hub?

Gil: [00:13:50] Yeah. Thank you. So we're we're really thinking about what kind of questions someone with hearing loss and their support system might have. And so we started with things that are very, um, very common for people to ask, like, do I have hearing loss? Does my partner have hearing loss? We're having a family dinner and I have a guest who has hearing loss. What do I do? We want to cook together. What what does that look like? And none of it is straightforward. So some of it is just those type of tips. Some of our blogs as well are more kind of touching the semi clinical meaning none of them are going to replace clinical advice, none of them are replacing an audiologist or a physician, but some of them would be on topics like what is sensorineural hearing loss? What does that mean? Kind of like your your guide to sensorineural hearing loss without reading the 80 page guidelines. Yeah.

Carrie: [00:14:52] So everyday language of what sensorineural hearing loss is or other types of hearing loss to. Yeah. Well it's great to have that unbiased information in one place so that people can go to and like you said, probably um, digestible information too. So you're not reading somebodies term paper to figure out something like, how do I cook with somebody that has a different hearing level?

Gil: [00:15:20] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And sometimes we even get questions like, we recently had someone email us with a question about hearing loss and music. And so we kind of put together all the knowledge that's out there on that topic, which is a really complex topic. It's not a straightforward topic. Um, and try to really to really provide like a good, a good kind of summary of that for them.

Carrie: [00:15:46] Okay. And then the other, um, kind of area that you want to focus on is events as well. And I know and I was able to attend, um, you and some others launched an event on World Hearing Day titled um, and I might get it wrong. Is it heart the heart initiative or hear-t initiative?

Gil: [00:16:11] It's a either way the the hear t but with a twist on on heart. Yep. Okay. They hear technology. Yeah.

Carrie: [00:16:19] Yeah. So pioneering the future of hearing health care. Do you want to share a little bit about that recent event that you had.

Gil: [00:16:28] Yeah, sure. So So HearT is another really great initiative that's, uh, um, a few of us, um, women in the space of hearing health and really are the main thing we're looking there at is, again, person centered care, which is really the center of everything that I'm involved with these days. And you mentioned Ida Institute before, which we love, and we look at their resources a lot to HEART is really what we're trying to do there is to bring, uh, both clinicians and, uh, people with different hearing levels to the same events, to the same, uh, place, and also people who might be using hearing aids or might be using cochlear implants or not, might not be using any technology right now and just bring everybody to the same place, because we think in this space of audiology today, um, there's not enough in, in my view at least. So just speaking for myself right now, there's not enough of, um, having all of those people in the same place at the same time. And so we really put HEART together with the thought of, how do you how do we do that? How do we bring everyone together, um, to the same discussions. And so that's where that started. And we're going to have more events, um, coming soon for HEART. So be on the outlook for that as well.

Carrie: [00:17:52] All right. And then I know that you and I have an exciting event coming up. Um, and I'm excited to talk about it on today's podcast. So if you happen to be listening before April 4th of 2024, we are going to be Gil and I are going to be co, um, hosting an event from 7 to 8 Eastern time targeting teachers and educators. Uh, and it's titled Hearing Health for Teachers How to Hear Better in the Classroom. Do you want to share any about anything about that?

Gil: [00:18:26] Yeah, sure. And I'm super, super excited for that event. Um, and I, I don't know if I shared with you, Carrie, just yet, but some of the comments from people who are attending are are really awesome. So, you know, you and I looked at where there is either lack of awareness, which population needs more awareness or who really, um, hearing loss is affecting their ability to work or impacting, you know, their ability to work, their burnout, things like that. And, and just from our conversations with people through the coaching that we're doing, we found out that teaching is and it makes sense, right? You're standing in front of a class and if you don't hear well, um, it's very uncomfortable. And so actually, my dad, who used to be a teacher and also has hearing loss, one of the things he told me when I first asked him, I was like, what made you get your first hearing aid? Because he's a stubborn guy, um, as many people are, but he certainly is one. And he said, you know what it was? I was standing in front of a class and he was teaching high school, and they were all talking, and I could not tell where the voice was coming from, so I could hear what they were saying.

Gil: [00:19:39] I thought I understood what they were saying, but I couldn't tell which which student was saying what. And so for him, that was really impacting his ability to work. And so luckily for him, he's married to my mother, who knows a lot about hearing. So his path to getting the the support he needed was a very fast one. And he was he was on the right kind of path very quickly. But that made me think about teachers in general. And then as you and I were having conversations with different people, I think it was just very clear that it's a huge there's a huge gap there, and people could really use help understanding what kind of accessories they can use and just understanding more about it. And, and really also how to combat, um, burnout and listening fatigue. So we're going to talk about all of that very soon.

Carrie: [00:20:28] I know. And then I think that was there was a statistic that I found that 27% of educators suspect having hearing difficulties, which in turn impacts the ability to connect with those students and the coworkers. So I'm excited, too, because I'm kind of on the other side of it with being an educational audiologist. And I'm always helping kids in the classroom hear and understand better. But then the kind of flip it around and be like, oh, so many of these strategies. We can definitely be sharing with teachers too. And it would be like a full circle to help the kids, as well as the teachers who we will be sharing that information with. So I'm excited about that event. One thing I wanted to ask you, and I don't know the answer to, is these events that you are having, are they available after the event or is it just a live event?

Gil: [00:21:25] Yeah. We definitely our goal is to make all of them available after. So sometimes it takes a couple days or a week or so to get them up there. But yes, definitely. Um, that's the goal.

Carrie: [00:21:39] Okay. And so if you're listening to this podcast today and you're interested in the event, either the live event or afterwards, what do they need to do?

Gil: [00:21:51] Yeah. So the best thing to do is to go on the Humelan website. It's w w w dot m e a n a m e l a n.com. And then if you scroll down, you'll see events and just sign up. So even if you can't make the live event, if you're signed up, you will get a link to the recording later. And so either way is is valid. So just go for it.

Carrie: [00:22:15] Okay. And I will definitely link the website to in the show notes so people can easily access that as well. So thinking about Humelan and some of the key initiatives and projects, um, that you're working on, is there anything looking ahead, what are some of your long term goals and aspirations that you have?

Gil: [00:22:40] Oh man, the long term goals and aspirations are really, really big. I mean, I, I want to get to a point where everybody. Um, in, around the world really is following WHOs recommendation and we're screening everyone, you know, according to the recommendation, over the age of 55, she should be screened. I believe it's every year or so. So I want to get to that point. I want to get to the point where, um, primary care physicians are screening us for for that. And not just blood pressure. I think communication and loneliness and everything that comes with having a different hearing level, that's un, you know, you're not aware of is is big and important. So that's one big goal is to be involved in that, to be the go to hearing engagement platform. And so that's the long term you know vision for us. Then on the short term right now we're doing a bunch of events. We have our communities and we'd love to see more people, uh join. So please feel free to join them. And we're going to have a wait list for our, um, AI hearing coach come up on the website very soon. So if you know of anybody who has hearing loss and wants to try that out, um, please do. It would be on the our website shortly.

Carrie: [00:23:56] And can you expand a little bit on what that would might look like for someone that would sign up for a hearing coach?

Gil: [00:24:05] Yeah.  So there's a lot of different hearing coaches, Carrie, like you're what you're doing and your hearing coach practice is a little different than what we're doing. And, um, I'm very excited for that whole field of hearing health and wellness and coaching in general. I think it's really, really needed. And there's so many of us out there doing really great work for Humelan. Our coaches are via text today only, and so really it's a complimentary service to an audiologist who's providing you with everything else. Um, and then what we do is we come in and help people in different stages. It could be someone who has a spouse and you think, maybe my spouse has hearing loss, but I don't know how to talk to them about it. And so you would be using the hearing loss, the Humelan, uh, hearing coach to just ask those questions and to to understand how to speak with them about this. And so we can help with that. So it's really a texting, um, service or a chatbot on our website right now that can help with that, for example. But we also help people who are new to hearing aids get used to them.

Gil: [00:25:11] We also help people who have had hearing aids for a long time but have a life change. For example, they're going into a new job and they just need support around that. Or maybe they have a new grandchild and they need to figure out how do you what do you do now? Um, and we've had a lot of people who have had hearing aids for a while. And what they want to understand is, is it time for cochlear implants? And what does a cochlear implant mean? For me, there's a lot of a lot of different questions. And so I would make one important point. We're not here to replace clinicians. None of the advice we give is a clinical advice. It's really a peer advice. It's really a hearing coach advice which is a very, very, very different. And sometimes it's just helping people understand. Is it the right time to go to an ENT or an audiologist? Um, if they're not sure, maybe they just need a little push to to go.

Carrie: [00:26:07] Yeah, what a great service. And like you said, it just really goes back to your vision. I think of Humelan to really empower that human potential through communication, equity and having the the community and the knowledge and the events to really, I think, fulfill that mission and vision. So Gil as we kind of wrap up today, is there anything that I didn't ask you that you wanted to share?

Gil: [00:26:41] No. I'm just so happy and delighted that you and I connected. Um, I think it's been, like, great talking to you today and, and prior to today. And it's it's really interesting as someone who has been part of the, this community right of hearing care, but not really for me, um, coming into this community, it is one of the best health care communities out there. And it's really fascinating to see how engaged clinicians and advocates, um, in the hearing space are and how collaborative everybody is. So you're, you're, you know, one of those amazing, amazing people in this space. And so just thank you for being you.

Carrie: [00:27:31] Uh, well, thank you. I really appreciate that. And I'm so excited that we got connected as well. And I could just see that we're just going to have more ideas that really spin off of different events and and collaboration. So I'm excited to see what the future holds.

Gil: [00:27:50] Yes.

Carrie: [00:27:52] Well, thank you again for being a guest today and the Empow

Ear Audiology podcast. I really appreciate you coming on and sharing all about you, Humelan, and all of the important, uh, events and knowledge and growth that you are working on, um, with your team. And I'm excited about that. And listeners, if you want to learn more, the website will be in the show notes. So please, um, click on that, explore the website. Uh, join a community and come to an event and find out what is what it is all about. Um, and if you know of anyone that needs to listen to this podcast, please share with anyone that needs to hear it. Thank you for listening.

Announcer: [00:28:39] This has been a production of the 3C Digital Media Network.