“We noticed there’s a lot of insecurity for those just starting out on their hearing loss journey. Suddenly they’re slapped with this expense that’s thousands of dollars, and they don’t even know if it will work for them, or feel comfortable,” says Audien CEO Ishan Patel. “Audien was created to make hearing accessible to everyone—preventing them from having to spend so much money, and giving them the chance to have access to a solution that’s comfortable, convenient and on their own terms.”
While hearing aids work by fine-tuning different wavelengths to give a patient with hearing loss better hearing overall, PSAPs work a bit differently, explains Hadassah Kupfer, an audiologist in New York City and a member of the clinical faculty for the audiology doctoral program for the City University of New York. “PSAPs are a category of consumer hearing devices that are worn in order to slightly amplify or boost the sounds around you. These devices raise the volume of all surrounding sounds and can be used by people with normal hearing who may want enhanced hearing in certain environments, such as bird watching,” says Dr. Kupfer. “They’re not meant for full-time wear and can cause damage to the ears over time since the output is not regulated.”
For those wondering if Audien devices are a good substitute for hearing aids, Dr. Kupfer isn’t quite sold on the technology. “Hearing aids are capable of more advanced adjustments and automatic features for the absolute best everyday clarity. People with minor hearing issues can consider Audien for one-on-one conversations, as the aids may provide a modest boost in volume only. If it sounds artificial, there’s no way to change that sound quality, which is a drawback. If someone is active and around a lot of background noise, I would recommend searching for a product that is more adjustable for clarity and with better noise cancellation,” she explains.
