Dr. CliffAuD here again from ADA AuDacity 2018 convention. And I’m here at the Nuheara booth with Cheryl. And thank you so much for taking the time to meet with me this afternoon.
I know it’s been a long conference to this point, but I wanted to make sure that we had a chance to speak with you guys to get your information out to the consumers who are watching this on HearingTracker. And I am extremely thankful that I’m finally talking to someone who knows what they’re talking about with your product instead of David Cannington. But thank you again for joining us. So tell us a little bit about 2018. You guys released a new product–
We did.
–which is the IQbuds Boost. At AAA, the last time I actually spoke with David Cannington in person about this, you guys were just bringing it out.
Right.
Right? So kind of tell me what is the consumer response to this been so far?
Well, to be honest, it’s been really overwhelming. I mean, you can see the reviews, and we’ve had positive, incredible reviews coming in over the course of the last five months about the product.
That’s terrific. So off to a good start it what it sounds like.
And that’s off to a really great start, yeah.
So then describe the product. So what is it actually doing? Like what’s new about it that the old IQ– well, I don’t want to say the old IQbuds, because they weren’t that old.
That’s OK. Yeah.
So what’s new about them?
So IQbuds Boost is a truly wireless earbud that allows you to hear better, similar to the IQbuds, but we’ve added additional features in there. So there’s more amplification, for those who really want to hear better. Again, you can still dial down that ambient background noise and amplify conversation in noisy environments, but we’ve also added something called ear ID, which allows you to take an at-home hearing test and in the comfort of your own home. You can take the test as often as you want.
Right. And the hearing test actually comes through the IQbuds Boost.
Comes through the IQbuds, and they calibrate those buds for how you hear.
Right.
So they’re actually personalized for the way you hear in different situations.
And you actually do this through the app.
Through the app.
Very intuitive, easy to follow.
Yeah.
Right? At least that’s what my experience has been of it.
It’s fairly easy. If you’ve ever taken any sort of hearing test or not, it’s very simple. And it takes about 10 minutes.
And so then– and I’ve done a review on IQbuds Boost. You can actually check that out on your guy’s website.
Yeah.
Right? You can also see that on HearingTrackers YouTube channel. But when they do the hearing test, what is the outcome of that? Like what is the purpose? What are you trying to accomplish with it?
Yeah, really good question. I think if you’ve never had a hearing test before– maybe you think you might have some sort of hearing loss– it’s going to measure both the left and the right here, high-frequency and low-frequency hearing loss. So it’s going to calibrate. The earbuds are going to calibrate to each ear depending on how you hear.
So it’ll measure the high and the low intensity for both for each ear.
Right. So it actually tests a variety of different frequencies. So if you have more of an acute hearing difficulty on a certain frequency range, this can actually identify it.
That’s right.
Perfect.
From mild to medium hearing loss, it’ll identify that.
Very good. And then once that hearing loss potentially is identified or the lack of sensitivity in certain frequency areas, you guys are actually using the NAL-NL2 hearing prescriptions to actually calibrate the hearing aids to be a little bit more customized. So the NAL2 I think is probably something that people– there’s a lot of buzz about it–
That is true.
–from the industry. Because when we’re programming hearing aids, we are by and large following– when we’re doing verification– NAL-NL2 prescription that is out of the National Acoustics Laboratory in Australia. And so you guys, being an Australian– I mean, your founder is from Australia, right?
That’s right. That’s right.
Have actually taken that and incorporated it inside of this product. And for all intents and purposes, improving the way that individuals maybe with a hearing decline actually perform with the devices, correct?
That’s correct, yes. And we’ve also partnered with the National Acoustics Lab on our ear ID on the in-home hearing assessment test. So we actually partnered with them. As we know, National Acoustics Lab is the standard for hearing tests.
Right.
So we came out with that as a press release last year.
That’s perfect.
So it’s a great partnership.
Right. And so essentially, it validates the whole thing.
It validates it, exactly.
That’s terrific.
Exactly.
So that’s really exciting news with the IQbuds Boost. But there was another feature that was actually released after you guys released the IQbuds Boost. What was that feature?
This is a feature called Focus. People have been asking for it. They want to look for it in a wireless IQbuds or a wireless bud.
But it’s directional. So wherever your head is facing and whoever you’re talking to, it’s going to concentrate. You are going to be able to hear that– wherever you’re directing, your face or your direction, will amplify that voice. So if you have a lot of voices going on around you and behind you, it’s going to suppress all that other noise, and so that you can concentrate on whoever you’re facing.
Because in general, who you’re facing is the most important person.
That’s right.
Right? Like I’m facing you. I don’t want to hear these guys back here making all that commotion.
I don’t want to hear them all in the restaurant.
Right.
Right.
And so this is actually something that hearing aids have been doing for a while. You’re just kind of introducing it to a consumer-level product.
That’s correct.
Perfect.
Yeah.
So I couldn’t leave here without actually asking, so what’s next on the horizon? Is there anything you’re at liberty to tell me?
[LAUGHS]
Right? Because you guys have been making iterations, and changes–
Yes.
–and improvements in your products. Anything you can share with me?
Oh, Cliff, yes. Well, I can share a couple of things. You know, one, there are– Nuheara has a great story to tell. And we are really building a great hearing ecosystem that’s going to cover a lot more than just this earbud.
We’re going to be providing services and a lot of other SAS products that’s going to go with this. We’re going to have some announcements at CES. But just know that we’re building an entire ecosystem around this product, and it’s just not about product. It’s about the whole consumer experience. So–
That’s terrific.
–bringing in the consumerization, and affordability, and accessibility to everyone.
That’s terrific. I think that’s a really important point. There are certain stepping stones that need to be in place for a lot of individuals when they start going through this journey of like what product do I need to solve my particular needs, right?
That’s right.
I think that you guys fill in a very important little– I’ll call it a niche, right? But that niche is pretty big, to be honest, because there’s a lot of individuals who need to start somewhere. And I think your product is something that’s actually capable of helping them do that.
That’s where we’re headed.
That’s perfect. That’s perfect. So thank you so much for your time today.
Thank you.
One last thing is, for individuals who are curious about these products, and where to learn more about them, what to do, where do they go?
www.Nuheara.com. We also are selling on BestBuy.com, and in-store, and also on Amazon.
Terrific. Well, thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate.
Thanks, Cliff. Yeah, nice to see you again.
I’m sure we’ll do this again. And you’re much better-looking than David. So I’m–
Hi, David. Sorry, you’re not here.
Sorry, buddy.
He didn’t hear that.
So that’s that it. That’s it for now. We’ll see you next time.
Over and out.
