FTC Claims `Miracle-Ear' Ads Misleading

WASHINGTON - A major hearing-aid manufacturer was accused by the Federal Trade Commission of falsely claiming its "Miracle-Ear Clarifier" filters out unwanted background noise and focuses on voices.

Acting on behalf of the FTC, Justice Department lawyers filed suit in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis yesterday, seeking substantial civil penalties against Dahlberg Inc.

Karen Turner, Dahlberg's director of public relations, said the company "never made the claim" that the device separates general noise from human speech. "The noise suppressor circuitry does reduce background noise, she contended. "But it does not separate noise from speech."

Turner said Dahlberg is contending in a separate suit that the FTC no longer has authority "to regulate the performance claims that are made by hearing-aid manufacturers in advertisements." She said Congress in 1976 gave that authority to the Food and Drug Administration, which also is reviewing the situation.

Dahlberg is the world's third-largest hearing-aid manufacturer, according to the FTC.