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SoundFocus (YC S13) Launches With an App for ‘20/20 Hearing’

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11–20 of 37 posts

Re: SoundFocus (YC S13) Launches With an App for ‘20/20 Hearing’

#11
post #4

My dad recently went to the doctor for his hearing and ended up getting a hearing aid. We had joked for a few years that he needed one - but were kind of surprised when it turns out he actually did. He told all of his friends and family about how much his hearing and in turn day-to-day life has improved since getting them. Two of my uncles and one of his friends got their ears checked and ended up getting hearing aid…

I think the article was saying that only 1 in 5 people who need a hearing aid have one, rather than that every 5th person should have one.

Re: SoundFocus (YC S13) Launches With an App for ‘20/20 Hearing’

#12
post #2

This is an interesting case of a disadvantage becoming an advantage. The CEO suffers from significant hearing loss, but that enabled him to see a huge market that most 20-something founders overlook.

What's cool is that in addition to this being a tremendous product for an overlooked market, the comments here seem to indicate that it has great value even for non-hearing-impaired users. Excellent potential here.

Re: SoundFocus (YC S13) Launches With an App for ‘20/20 Hearing’

#13
Love the idea, but it does precisely nothing for me at the moment.

I have significant hearing loss in one ear. The app doesn't seem to distinguish between ears(?) So when I try to calibrate it, I can hear practically the lowest noises on all the screens, so it doesn't really seem to do much whether I turn it on or off.

It's not uncommon for people to have one considerably worse ear; in fact, I would guess it's a lot more common for someone to have one bad ear (due to an infection or similar) than it is to have equal problems in both, though I may well be wrong about this, but even if still think it's worth considering. (Edit: I can't find specific figures comparing incidence of unilateral vs bilateral deafness, but there are certainly plenty of people out there in a similar position to me, e.g. see [0] and [1])

I'm actually in a privileged position of having the results of a professionally-taken hearing test, so I know exactly which frequencies my hearing is bad at too. But the app doesn't seem to show the results of the test it does, so I can't verify its accuracy.

Still, I hope it improves, because I've always wanted an app like this (or, more precisely, an app that would generate a custom corrective EQ curve for each ear). I'll watch with interest... Certainly won't be deleting it yet anyway, and it's nice to see the app itself being so polished.

Edit: I almost think the set-up screens are too simplified. If someone does have significant hearing problems, they'll be more than prepared to spend a few minutes setting it up if it results in a better correction (e.g. more frequency samples and one for each ear).

[0] http://www.hear-it.org/Single-sided-deafness [1] http://www.singlesideddeafness.com/ssd_report.pdf

Re: SoundFocus (YC S13) Launches With an App for ‘20/20 Hearing’

#14
post #11
post #4

My dad recently went to the doctor for his hearing and ended up getting a hearing aid. We had joked for a few years that he needed one - but were kind of surprised when it turns out he actually did. He told all of his friends and family about how much his hearing and in turn day-to-day life has improved since getting them. Two of my uncles and one of his friends got their ears checked and ended up getting hearing aid…

I think the article was saying that only 1 in 5 people who need a hearing aid have one, rather than that every 5th person should have one.

I read it correctly but wrote the sentence incorrectly.

Re: SoundFocus (YC S13) Launches With an App for ‘20/20 Hearing’

#15
post #13

Love the idea, but it does precisely nothing for me at the moment. I have significant hearing loss in one ear. The app doesn't seem to distinguish between ears(?) So when I try to calibrate it, I can hear practically the lowest noises on all the screens, so it doesn't really seem to do much whether I turn it on or off. It's not uncommon for people to have one considerably worse ear; in fact, I would guess it's a lot…

This was my experience with the app as well. I could easily ear the lowest noise at all 3 ranges the app presents (lows/mids/highs) (does the app even play anything when it's at the absolute lowest volume setting?). I have what a doctor called "bionic" hearing in one hear and some loss in the other (got too close to a speaker while filming a concert), so testing each ear separately is important to me.

Re: SoundFocus (YC S13) Launches With an App for ‘20/20 Hearing’

#16
post #13

Love the idea, but it does precisely nothing for me at the moment. I have significant hearing loss in one ear. The app doesn't seem to distinguish between ears(?) So when I try to calibrate it, I can hear practically the lowest noises on all the screens, so it doesn't really seem to do much whether I turn it on or off. It's not uncommon for people to have one considerably worse ear; in fact, I would guess it's a lot…

Co-founder here - thanks for the great feedback Osmium. You're quite right in that the number of people who have unilateral hearing loss is pretty high (it's close to 40% from some recent studies).

We're working on developing a test that works well for people with single ear hearing loss for a future app update - would you be interested in trying out our beta? Please drop me an email if you are: varun [at] soundfocus [dot] com.

Re: SoundFocus (YC S13) Launches With an App for ‘20/20 Hearing’

#17
post #13

Love the idea, but it does precisely nothing for me at the moment. I have significant hearing loss in one ear. The app doesn't seem to distinguish between ears(?) So when I try to calibrate it, I can hear practically the lowest noises on all the screens, so it doesn't really seem to do much whether I turn it on or off. It's not uncommon for people to have one considerably worse ear; in fact, I would guess it's a lot…

Co-founder here - thanks for the great feedback Osmium. You're quite right in that the number of people who have unilateral hearing loss is pretty high (it's close to 40% from some recent studies). We're working on developing a test that works well for people with single ear hearing loss for a future app update - would you be interested in trying out our beta? Please drop me an email if you are: varun [at] soundfocus…

Would love to try out the beta! Thanks :) Email sent.

Re: SoundFocus (YC S13) Launches With an App for ‘20/20 Hearing’

#18
How are you processing the sound?

Enabling the algorithm significantly reduces sibliance, and alot of details in the upper mids disappear. Drums and guitar attacks in particular. Not especially pleasing. I tried playing with the equalizer presets, and they didn't seem to exhibit the same artifacts.

Then again, I'm hardly your target audience, and I was demoing on very revealing studio headphones. I'm gonna give it a shot on my commute tomorrow with earbuds. I'm guessing it improves clarity on vocals quite a bit.

Re: SoundFocus (YC S13) Launches With an App for ‘20/20 Hearing’

#19

I was expecting to be pretty underwhelmed by this app, but I have to say, I'm impressed. My office has a pretty loud HVAC system, and it totally kills the low end when I listen with a pair of cheap Apple earbuds. I took the little SoundFocus hearing test, turned on their EQ, and the difference was pretty pronounced. It killed a bit more high end than I would have liked (seemed to roll off after about 12k), but the lo…

Adding noise can damage the ears, and adds more stress to the body.. just saying..

Re: SoundFocus (YC S13) Launches With an App for ‘20/20 Hearing’

#20
post #13

Love the idea, but it does precisely nothing for me at the moment. I have significant hearing loss in one ear. The app doesn't seem to distinguish between ears(?) So when I try to calibrate it, I can hear practically the lowest noises on all the screens, so it doesn't really seem to do much whether I turn it on or off. It's not uncommon for people to have one considerably worse ear; in fact, I would guess it's a lot…

Co-founder here - thanks for the great feedback Osmium. You're quite right in that the number of people who have unilateral hearing loss is pretty high (it's close to 40% from some recent studies). We're working on developing a test that works well for people with single ear hearing loss for a future app update - would you be interested in trying out our beta? Please drop me an email if you are: varun [at] soundfocus…

I've had significant hearing loss in one ear since birth and finally got around to getting a hearing aid after finishing school last year.

Right now I typically put the standard Apple earbuds over my hearing aid when walking around, but strongly prefer my Bose QuietComforts when I'm coding and want noise-canceling. This obviously isn't ideal because my hearing aid and the QCs don't play nice together, so I end up just taking out my hearing aid to use them. Really looking forward to seeing what's in store, and happy to help however possible - I'll email as well re: beta testing.

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