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…
SoundFocus (YC S13) Launches With an App for ‘20/20 Hearing’
11–20 of 37 posts
Re: SoundFocus (YC S13) Launches With an App for ‘20/20 Hearing’
#12This 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.
Re: SoundFocus (YC S13) Launches With an App for ‘20/20 Hearing’
#13I 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’
#14My 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’
#15Love 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…
Re: SoundFocus (YC S13) Launches With an App for ‘20/20 Hearing’
#16Love 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…
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’
#17Love 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…
Re: SoundFocus (YC S13) Launches With an App for ‘20/20 Hearing’
#18Enabling 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’
#19I 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…
Re: SoundFocus (YC S13) Launches With an App for ‘20/20 Hearing’
#20Love 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…
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.