The National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA) has honoured Dr. Michael Santucci, Au.D., Sensaphonics founder and president, with its Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to hearing conservation and music audiology. R
ecognising a breadth of extraordinary accomplishments in hearing loss prevention and in service to the NHCA, this rarely bestowed award was presented to Dr. Santucci during the NHCA 2025 Conference in Charleston, SC, at a ceremony held on 8 February 2025.
“It is truly a great honour to receive this award from the NHCA, and I cannot overstate the importance of the progress we have collectively made in hearing conservation,” stated Dr. Santucci. “My life’s work, specifically in music audiology, has led to many opportunities to work with a growing number of artists and audio engineers who really understand the importance of hearing health and who are willing to share their experiences. That builds awareness, and that is where we make further progress in increasing awareness and making hearing health a top priority for everyone.”
Sensaphonics, which is celebrating 40 years as a leading designer and manufacturer of custom-fit in-ear monitors (IEMs), earplugs and electronics designed to achieve safe, high-resolution audio in mission-critical applications, has remained at the forefront of IEM and hearing health solutions for musicians since it was founded by Santucci in 1985 as a development company committed to controlling the damaging effects of unhealthy listening practices.
As a musician and an audiologist, Santucci migrated naturally to a focus on hearing loss prevention for musicians and within the music industry. This focus has propelled Sensaphonics to continually innovate, with milestones including the patented Active Ambient technology in the 3DME in-ear system as well as the unique real-time safety features of the dB Check Pro in-ear sound level analyser.
Sensaphonics remains the only custom-only earphones manufacturer founded and operated by a practicing audiologist and is a top choice among many of today’s biggest touring acts.
