Interview with George Dennis, CEO of TV Ears, Inc.
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Topic: ALDs as Gateway Devices
Dybala: Today, I have the pleasure of sitting down and talking with George Dennis, the CEO of TV Ears, Inc. Thank you for spending some time with us today, George.
Dennis: You are welcome Paul, I am glad to sit down and talk with you and the Audiology Online readers.
Dybala: If you wouldn't mind, could you give us a little background on how TV Ears got started?
Dennis: I was originally in the orthopedic industry when the idea for TV Ears came about. I had a friend that had hearing difficulties, could not afford hearing aids, and wanted to hear his television. I wanted to create a solution for my friend that was simple and relatively low cost. TV Ears was born!
Dybala: You have described assistive listening devices (ALDs) and more specifically your product, TV Ears as a "gateway device". What do you mean by that?
Dennis: When hearing healthcare professionals are looking to find new patients, I believe that a focus on ALDs such as TV Ears can make a significant impact. These may be persons who may be unsure about, or possibly not interested at all in hearing aids. Once the person uses an ALD and sees how great they work, this offers a gateway for the professional to inform them about other hearing solutions such as hearing aids.
Dybala: I see your point, but why wouldn't we want to recommend hearing aids when the person is probably having hearing problems in multiple areas?
Dennis: While hearing aids could be an obvious recommendation, there are a large group of people who are not ready to move forward with them or who may only want help for a specific listening situation. We know that typically there is an average 7 year time lag between when a person first notices a hearing loss and when they finally obtain hearing aids. That is a long time! Why is this? Hearing loss typically occurs gradually so it can be hard for the person to notice at first. Just as important, once a person starts to notice the loss, it takes time for that person to accept that they really do need hearing aids.
It's a pretty big mental leap for someone to move from, "My hearing is great, I am doing just fine" to "My hearing is not that good, I need hearing aids!" That said, there are a large number of people who are between those two extremes. They say to themselves, "My hearing is ok, but gee, I wish I could hear on the phone better" or "My hearing is ok, but gee, I wish I could hear the TV better". ALDs such as TV Ears are a really important way that we can help these patients in these specific situations.
Dybala: So, not only are we able to help our patients with specialized hearing situations, we offer them an opportunity to find out about additional technologies that they might benefit from in the future. I would also think that TV Ears would be a benefit to current patients as well.
Dennis: Exactly.
Dybala: You have done such a great job in naming and marketing your product, can you tell us more about that?
Dennis: I'm glad you asked, Paul. We have really tried to reach out directly to the consumer in a friendly, approachable manner and the name TV Ears is a part of that. If you think about it, "assistive listening device" sounds a bit formal, even a bit stodgy and does not give the specifics of how the device will work. When you hear the name TV Ears you know exactly how the device is going to help you.
Dybala: That reminds me of a private practice in Virginia that was named Selective Hearing Services, LLC. The general public does not know about "presbycusic sensorineural hearing loss", but everybody has heard of "selective hearing". I thought the name was a consumer/patient friendly way for the practice to communicate how they were going to help people. I agree that the name TV Ears works in the same way.
Dennis: There is an entire category of ALDs focused on helping persons to hear the TV or to hear in a public environment such as a theatre or courtroom. We feel that TV Ears has given a memorable name to that category.
Dybala: It sounds like you are marketing more than just the TV Ears device, but really promoting an image for hearing healthcare, correct?
Dennis: We branded our device in a friendly, easy to understand package. The idea is to raise awareness for hearing healthcare and let people know that there are simple and effective ways to get help for hearing loss. We have been actively advertising TV Ears in various newspaper and magazines and have been getting a huge response!
Dybala: What are some examples of these efforts?
Dennis: During the months of November and December, 2005, and January 2006 we ran 80 million full page ads in magazines and journals such as the AARP Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Parade Magazine and dozens of others. This was arguably the largest direct to consumer print advertising campaign in the history of the hearing industry.
Additionally, in 2005 we referred over 12,000 persons with hearing loss to our network of hearing professionals. This was in direct response from the advertising mentioned above and the promotion of our web site which directs visitors to their local authorized TV Ears dealer. I don't believe another company in the hearing industry sends that many customers directly to their network. We estimate that in 2006 TV Ears will refer over 20,000 customers with hearing loss to our network.
Dybala: Wow! Tell us more about your network of hearing professionals.
Dennis: We currently have a network of about 1000 professionals, so when a patient sees an advertisement that we have posted in a magazine or if they perform a search on our web site at www.TVEars.com, they can find a professional near them. We especially encourage persons who contact us to visit a professional, as this way they can "try before they buy" and see how great our device can work for them.
Dybala: This sounds like a great opportunity to get referrals. What would I need to do to become a member of the TV Ears network?
Dennis: TV Ears awards territories based upon exclusive zip codes. So, the first thing a practitioner should do is call 1-888-883-3277 and ask if their zip code is available. As an alternative, the practitioner can go to www.TVEars.com and click "Find a dealer". They can then type in their zip code to determine if their zip code is available. If the zip code territory is available the practitioner will execute a simple no cost agreement with us that states what is expected from an authorized TV Ears dealer. This in turn assures an exceptional shopping experience for a new customer referred to the practitioner.
Dybala: Do you have other marketing materials just in case the professional wanted to market TV Ears locally?
Dennis: We have a complete marketing program including print ads, poster ads, TV commercials, even a 12-minute video on how to hook the device up. All of this is available on our web site www.TVEars.com.
Dybala: What is the market for TV Ears?
Dennis: It is pretty big, as the market is really anyone who watches TV. This is not just a device for a person with hearing loss but could be used by persons with normal hearing in a number of situations. It is for the person who is exercising indoors and does not want to turn up the volume too loud on the TV. It is for the person who wants to watch TV and does not want to wake a sleeping spouse. It is for the person who does not want to listen to the noise of the kids playing video games. There are multiple TV watching situations where TV Ears can provide the solution.
Dybala: Well, we have talked about the name of the device, how the device helps persons with hearing loss and how this device has been marketed differently from other ALDs. What are the actual specifications of the device itself?
Dennis: Simply put, TV Ears is a hearing device for your television. We took a hearing aid circuit and put it into a wireless headset, gave it up to 120 decibels of power, a volume, tone, and balance adjustment so even people with a severe hearing loss will hear every word, clearly. It's all about hearing what people on television are saying; every word, every syllable, every sentence and doing it without disturbing others with loud television volume.
Dybala: What type of wireless technology is it using?
Dennis: TV Ears uses wireless 95 kHz infrared technology to transmit sound from your TV to the TV Ears headset. I have provided a picture of the device below.
Dybala: I would assume that the transmitter is also a battery charger for the headset?
Dennis: Yes it is! We try to keep things simple. When the headset is in the stand it not only prevents the headset from getting lost, but it recharges the headset as well. You get about 10 hours of listening time on a single charge.
Dybala: Sounds like plenty of listening time to me! If I am watching TV more than 10 hours at a time, it is either college bowl season or I am asleep! What is the lifespan of the battery?
Dennis: Our battery provides up to 2 years of hassle free battery life.
Dybala: I also think that the dual-function transmitter stand is a great idea. Now all you need to do is invent a way to keep my TV remote from getting lost! You mentioned earlier that your device has more that just a volume control, what other features does TV Ears have?
Dennis: I think one of the best features is what we call the Automatic Commercial Control.
Dybala: Now I like the sound of that!
Dennis: This feature actually stops loud commercials so that you don't get blasted with sound when a commercial starts.
Dybala: Could you go into some of the technical specifics of how this works?
Dennis: There is a chip in our transmitter that constantly monitors sound levels. When the sound increases abruptly as in the start of a commercial the chip detects the increase and within a split second automatically puts a ceiling of 5% on the volume increase.
Dybala: That is a great feature. I may have to buy myself a pair of TV Ears just to take advantage of that!
Dennis: Please do!
Dybala: Well George, just to wrap things up, I want to thank you for taking time to speak with me today and I wanted to also give you the last word. What are your parting thoughts about hearing professionals and the TV Ear product?
Dennis: TV Ears reaches out to the average hearing impaired consumer and drives them into hearing centers to search for a solution based product that works extremely well 95% of the time. Last year TV Ears referred over 12,000 of these customers to our network and this year we will exceed 20,000 referrals. The goal of the hearing professional is to attach themselves to this 95% success rate so they have credibility which will allow them to sell other hearing products and services to this customer for years.
About TV Ears:
If you would like more information about TV Ears please visit their web site at www.TVEars.com
Dennis: You are welcome Paul, I am glad to sit down and talk with you and the Audiology Online readers.
Dybala: If you wouldn't mind, could you give us a little background on how TV Ears got started?
Dennis: I was originally in the orthopedic industry when the idea for TV Ears came about. I had a friend that had hearing difficulties, could not afford hearing aids, and wanted to hear his television. I wanted to create a solution for my friend that was simple and relatively low cost. TV Ears was born!
Dybala: You have described assistive listening devices (ALDs) and more specifically your product, TV Ears as a "gateway device". What do you mean by that?
Dennis: When hearing healthcare professionals are looking to find new patients, I believe that a focus on ALDs such as TV Ears can make a significant impact. These may be persons who may be unsure about, or possibly not interested at all in hearing aids. Once the person uses an ALD and sees how great they work, this offers a gateway for the professional to inform them about other hearing solutions such as hearing aids.
Dybala: I see your point, but why wouldn't we want to recommend hearing aids when the person is probably having hearing problems in multiple areas?
Dennis: While hearing aids could be an obvious recommendation, there are a large group of people who are not ready to move forward with them or who may only want help for a specific listening situation. We know that typically there is an average 7 year time lag between when a person first notices a hearing loss and when they finally obtain hearing aids. That is a long time! Why is this? Hearing loss typically occurs gradually so it can be hard for the person to notice at first. Just as important, once a person starts to notice the loss, it takes time for that person to accept that they really do need hearing aids.
It's a pretty big mental leap for someone to move from, "My hearing is great, I am doing just fine" to "My hearing is not that good, I need hearing aids!" That said, there are a large number of people who are between those two extremes. They say to themselves, "My hearing is ok, but gee, I wish I could hear on the phone better" or "My hearing is ok, but gee, I wish I could hear the TV better". ALDs such as TV Ears are a really important way that we can help these patients in these specific situations.
Dybala: So, not only are we able to help our patients with specialized hearing situations, we offer them an opportunity to find out about additional technologies that they might benefit from in the future. I would also think that TV Ears would be a benefit to current patients as well.
Dennis: Exactly.
Dybala: You have done such a great job in naming and marketing your product, can you tell us more about that?
Dennis: I'm glad you asked, Paul. We have really tried to reach out directly to the consumer in a friendly, approachable manner and the name TV Ears is a part of that. If you think about it, "assistive listening device" sounds a bit formal, even a bit stodgy and does not give the specifics of how the device will work. When you hear the name TV Ears you know exactly how the device is going to help you.
Dybala: That reminds me of a private practice in Virginia that was named Selective Hearing Services, LLC. The general public does not know about "presbycusic sensorineural hearing loss", but everybody has heard of "selective hearing". I thought the name was a consumer/patient friendly way for the practice to communicate how they were going to help people. I agree that the name TV Ears works in the same way.
Dennis: There is an entire category of ALDs focused on helping persons to hear the TV or to hear in a public environment such as a theatre or courtroom. We feel that TV Ears has given a memorable name to that category.
Dybala: It sounds like you are marketing more than just the TV Ears device, but really promoting an image for hearing healthcare, correct?
Dennis: We branded our device in a friendly, easy to understand package. The idea is to raise awareness for hearing healthcare and let people know that there are simple and effective ways to get help for hearing loss. We have been actively advertising TV Ears in various newspaper and magazines and have been getting a huge response!
Dybala: What are some examples of these efforts?
Dennis: During the months of November and December, 2005, and January 2006 we ran 80 million full page ads in magazines and journals such as the AARP Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Parade Magazine and dozens of others. This was arguably the largest direct to consumer print advertising campaign in the history of the hearing industry.
Additionally, in 2005 we referred over 12,000 persons with hearing loss to our network of hearing professionals. This was in direct response from the advertising mentioned above and the promotion of our web site which directs visitors to their local authorized TV Ears dealer. I don't believe another company in the hearing industry sends that many customers directly to their network. We estimate that in 2006 TV Ears will refer over 20,000 customers with hearing loss to our network.
Dybala: Wow! Tell us more about your network of hearing professionals.
Dennis: We currently have a network of about 1000 professionals, so when a patient sees an advertisement that we have posted in a magazine or if they perform a search on our web site at www.TVEars.com, they can find a professional near them. We especially encourage persons who contact us to visit a professional, as this way they can "try before they buy" and see how great our device can work for them.
Dybala: This sounds like a great opportunity to get referrals. What would I need to do to become a member of the TV Ears network?
Dennis: TV Ears awards territories based upon exclusive zip codes. So, the first thing a practitioner should do is call 1-888-883-3277 and ask if their zip code is available. As an alternative, the practitioner can go to www.TVEars.com and click "Find a dealer". They can then type in their zip code to determine if their zip code is available. If the zip code territory is available the practitioner will execute a simple no cost agreement with us that states what is expected from an authorized TV Ears dealer. This in turn assures an exceptional shopping experience for a new customer referred to the practitioner.
Dybala: Do you have other marketing materials just in case the professional wanted to market TV Ears locally?
Dennis: We have a complete marketing program including print ads, poster ads, TV commercials, even a 12-minute video on how to hook the device up. All of this is available on our web site www.TVEars.com.
Dybala: What is the market for TV Ears?
Dennis: It is pretty big, as the market is really anyone who watches TV. This is not just a device for a person with hearing loss but could be used by persons with normal hearing in a number of situations. It is for the person who is exercising indoors and does not want to turn up the volume too loud on the TV. It is for the person who wants to watch TV and does not want to wake a sleeping spouse. It is for the person who does not want to listen to the noise of the kids playing video games. There are multiple TV watching situations where TV Ears can provide the solution.
Dybala: Well, we have talked about the name of the device, how the device helps persons with hearing loss and how this device has been marketed differently from other ALDs. What are the actual specifications of the device itself?
Dennis: Simply put, TV Ears is a hearing device for your television. We took a hearing aid circuit and put it into a wireless headset, gave it up to 120 decibels of power, a volume, tone, and balance adjustment so even people with a severe hearing loss will hear every word, clearly. It's all about hearing what people on television are saying; every word, every syllable, every sentence and doing it without disturbing others with loud television volume.
Dybala: What type of wireless technology is it using?
Dennis: TV Ears uses wireless 95 kHz infrared technology to transmit sound from your TV to the TV Ears headset. I have provided a picture of the device below.
Dybala: I would assume that the transmitter is also a battery charger for the headset?
Dennis: Yes it is! We try to keep things simple. When the headset is in the stand it not only prevents the headset from getting lost, but it recharges the headset as well. You get about 10 hours of listening time on a single charge.
Dybala: Sounds like plenty of listening time to me! If I am watching TV more than 10 hours at a time, it is either college bowl season or I am asleep! What is the lifespan of the battery?
Dennis: Our battery provides up to 2 years of hassle free battery life.
Dybala: I also think that the dual-function transmitter stand is a great idea. Now all you need to do is invent a way to keep my TV remote from getting lost! You mentioned earlier that your device has more that just a volume control, what other features does TV Ears have?
Dennis: I think one of the best features is what we call the Automatic Commercial Control.
Dybala: Now I like the sound of that!
Dennis: This feature actually stops loud commercials so that you don't get blasted with sound when a commercial starts.
Dybala: Could you go into some of the technical specifics of how this works?
Dennis: There is a chip in our transmitter that constantly monitors sound levels. When the sound increases abruptly as in the start of a commercial the chip detects the increase and within a split second automatically puts a ceiling of 5% on the volume increase.
Dybala: That is a great feature. I may have to buy myself a pair of TV Ears just to take advantage of that!
Dennis: Please do!
Dybala: Well George, just to wrap things up, I want to thank you for taking time to speak with me today and I wanted to also give you the last word. What are your parting thoughts about hearing professionals and the TV Ear product?
Dennis: TV Ears reaches out to the average hearing impaired consumer and drives them into hearing centers to search for a solution based product that works extremely well 95% of the time. Last year TV Ears referred over 12,000 of these customers to our network and this year we will exceed 20,000 referrals. The goal of the hearing professional is to attach themselves to this 95% success rate so they have credibility which will allow them to sell other hearing products and services to this customer for years.
About TV Ears:
If you would like more information about TV Ears please visit their web site at www.TVEars.com
