About Us
American-engineered audio and hearing solutions — designed to close the gaps others left open.
Who We Are →
We Don't Just Build Technology. We Build Solutions to Problems That Have Been Ignored for Too Long.
Southwestern Microsystems was founded on a simple but powerful premise: if a problem exists and nobody has fully solved it, that is not a reason to accept it — it is an invitation to engineer something better.
For over 20 years we have been doing exactly that. We design and manufacture our own advanced electronic audio and hearing systems — not off-the-shelf products marked up and resold, but original solutions engineered by our own team, assembled in the USA, and supported by the people who built them.
The Person Behind The Company
An Engineer. A Son. And a Problem He Couldn't Stop Thinking About.
I'm Eric Holst, President and Owner of Southwestern Microsystems. I earned my Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Arizona State University and a Master's in Technical Management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
After 15 years in the aerospace industry developing high-reliability systems and precision components, I started Southwestern Microsystems in 2001. In 2009, I started manufacturing audio systems. I wanted to continue the legacy of innovation that my father, Wayne, had started with his company, Sigma Southwest. At that point, we started migrating clients from Sigma Southwest to Southwestern Microsystems.
The Person Behind The Company
An Engineer. A Son. And a Problem He Couldn't Stop Thinking About.
I'm Eric Holst, President and Owner of Southwestern Microsystems. I earned my Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Arizona State University and a Master's in Technical Management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
After 15 years in the aerospace industry developing high-reliability systems and precision components, I started Southwestern Microsystems in 2001. In 2009, I started manufacturing audio systems. I wanted to continue the legacy of innovation that my father, Wayne, had started with his company, Sigma Southwest. At that point, we started migrating clients from Sigma Southwest to Southwestern Microsystems.
For over a decade, my father and I worked side by side. We designed commercial audio systems together, solved problems together, and began developing what would become the most meaningful project either of us had ever worked on — a hearing assistance system built for the environments where hearing loss causes the most pain.
Wayne passed away in 2023 before we could finish it.
I returned briefly to aerospace after his passing. But I kept coming back to the same realization: the work we started together mattered. The problem we had identified was real, it was significant, and nobody else had fully addressed it. In February 2026, I left my corporate role and returned to Southwestern Microsystems full-time to finish what we began.
The product is named "Wayne's Ear" — in honor of my father, and in recognition of everything he inspired.
What We Stand For
Built in the USA. Backed by Real Engineering. Supported by the People Who Built It.
Every product Southwestern Microsystems sells is designed and assembled by our own team in the USA. When something needs attention, you reach the same engineers who built it — not a call center, not an overseas support queue.
Our design team brings over 50 years of combined engineering experience across aerospace, commercial audio, and electronic systems design. We have served thousands of customers across the salon, spa, hospitality, and commercial business industries — and we are now bringing that same engineering discipline to one of the most underserved problems in hearing technology.
We build what we sell. We stand behind what we build.
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Our Mission
We design and manufacture audio and hearing solutions that go further than what the market has delivered before. Every product we build starts with a real problem someone is living with — and ends with a solution that is engineered to actually solve it, not just address it partially. Built in the USA. Backed by real engineers. Built to last.
Our Approach:
Listen first to understand your unique challenges
Identify the real problem — not just the symptom
Design and manufacture our own solutions from the ground up
Build systems that work with what people already own — no unnecessary complexity
Support every product with the same team that engineered it
Stand behind our work long after the sale is complete
Technology Partners
Ready to Stop Settling for a Partial Hearing Solution?
Schedule a free consultation to discuss your hearing environment needs and discover how Wayne's Ear can finally deliver complete hearing clarity —
for the people you serve, support, or simply love.
Inventors & Manufacturers of the
"Waynes Ear" System
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