Nuheara signs new agreement for distribution of IQbuds in Ireland
Hidden Hearing is Ireland’s leading provider of hearing healthcare with a national network of 75 branches.
Australian smart hearing developer Nuheara (ASX: NUH) has signed another distribution agreement for its IQbuds Boost device, this time with a leading healthcare provider in the Republic of Ireland.
The agreement with Hidden Hearing – a hearing agency with a network of 75 offices throughout Ireland – was finalised this month and will see Nuheara’s proprietary IQbuds technology available in up to 61 branches by year end.
Hidden Hearing is the first healthcare chain of its kind to stock Nuheara’s products on a nationwide basis.
“[The company] has wholeheartedly embraced the deployment of IQbuds Boost to the majority of their hearing clinics,” said chief executive Justin Miller.
“It demonstrates the significant impact our product is having in the mild to moderate hearing loss market.”
Mr Miller said the partnership will also allow Nuheara to conduct co-marketing activities in Ireland, reflecting a “significant marketing development” in the company’s global retail strategy.
Nuheara’s wireless IQbuds were developed to allow consumers with mild to moderate hearing loss to augment their hearing according to their own preferences and connect hands-free with voice-enabled smart devices.
The product range – which includes IQbuds Boost and IQbuds Boost with Ear ID – has been marketed as the “world’s first smart hearing device” and is sold in major electronics stores and hearing health centres worldwide.
In September, Nuheara expanded its reach in the United States with the appointment of ADCO Medical Suppliers as an IQbuds distributor.
Solving TV volume issues
Earlier this month, Nuheara completed the first production run of its new IQstream TV accessory for use with IQbuds which allows users to stream sound from their televisions without creating volume issues for other people in the same room.
According to a 2018 hearing survey by Eurotrak, issues related to watching television rank among the top reasons people seek help with their hearing.
Other reasons include problems with family interactions, quality of phone calls and difficulties in group situations or conversations.
Touted as a “game-changing solution”, IQstream is a hardware item which will connect directly to a television while a built-in Nuheara app will help users balance volume with ambient sounds and conversations.
The balancing is done independently of any other viewers, meaning users will no longer need to turn the television volume up to a level that family, friends or neighbours may find inconvenient.
“[Our] continued research, development, design and manufacture of forward-thinking new products such as IQstream consolidates our company’s global leadership position in the delivery of smart hearing solutions,” Mr Miller said.
IQstream will be officially launched and demonstrated at the CES 2019 technology and innovation expo in the US.