HearAdvisor is a new audio testing lab focused on helping those with hearing loss. Pulse 2.0 interviewed HearAdvisor Scientific Advisor and Bose’s Research Franchise Lead of Hearing Dr. Andrew Sabin to learn more about the company.
HearAdvisor Leadership
Who is the leadership team comprised of? “We are a small team of 2 Doctors of Audiology and 1 Ph.D. in Hearing Science. We’re passionate about helping hearing aid consumers navigate a confusing market,” said Dr. Sabin.
Formation of HearAdvisor
How did the idea for HearAdvisor come together? “We were bothered by the fact that hearing aid consumers didn’t have access to high-quality independent information before making a super expensive purchase (usually $1k-$5k). We decided to create a state-of-the-art independent test lab that publishes both performance metrics (validated from the hearing science literature) as well as high-quality audio recordings so people can listen and design for themselves,” shared Dr. Sabin.
Favorite Memory
What has been Dr. Sabin’s favorite memory working for HearAdvisor so far? “Working out all the little technical details to make sure that the recordings are as accurate as possible and the scores are as meaningful as possible,” Dr. Sabin replied.
Challenges Faced
What are some of the challenges the team faced in building the company? “Our main challenge is taking such a complicated issue of evaluating hearing aid sound quality and reducing it down to a single score and award. Each step of the way we took an open scientific approach. All of the details can be seen in our technical whitepaper on our website,” Dr. Sabin acknowledged. “We’re a small enough company that we can be flexible in the face of global economic challenges.”
Core Products
What are HearAdvisor’s core products and features? “Our consumer-facing features are meaningful performance metrics, audio recordings, and awards,” Dr. Sabin explained.
Evolution Of HearAdvisor’s Technology
How has HearAdvisor’s technology evolved since launching?
“Our initial launch had several scores per hearing aid – one score for each dimension of performance (e.g., speech in noise vs music streaming),” Dr. Sabin pointed out.
Most Significant Milestones
What have been some of HearAdvisor’s most significant milestones? “The initial launch was in January of this year. Today’s launch is our second major milestone,” Dr. Sabin commented.
Funding
Could you tell me more about funding and how the company generates revenue? “We are very careful about taking money because our independence is a big part of our value. At the moment our industry-facing features are private lab services and content licensing,” Dr. Sabin affirmed.
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is HearAdvisor pursuing? “According to the WHO, ‘Over 5% of the world’s population – or 430 million people – require rehabilitation to address their disabling hearing loss (432 million adults and 34 million children).’”
Future Company Goals
What are some of HearAdvisor’s future company goals? “We’d like the HearAdvisor Expert Choice award to become the de-facto indicator of quality in a hearing aid product,” Dr. Savin concluded.
