Interview with Keith Gordon, Director of Marketing and Sales, VitaSound Audio Inc.
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Topic: VitaSound's Product Line-Up: Instant Custom Fit Hearing Aids, Hearing Protectors and Earphones, Rechargeable Hearing Aids with Solar Powered Charger
Carolyn Smaka: Keith, welcome to AudiologyOnline and thank you for your time today.
Keith Gordon:: Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to be here.
SMAKA: Let's start by talking about your background and your role at VitaSound.
GORDON:: Sure. I started out as an audio engineer. For a decade, I did a lot of work in the live sound industry mixing bands. So I think a lot of the audiologists and dispensers out there owe me a thank you for sending them customers from those nights in my youth where I might have pushed the volume just a little too much. (laughs)
SMAKA: (laughs)
GORDON:: At the same time as I was mixing bands in the evenings, during the day I was Hansard Recording Supervisor for the Manitoba Provincial Legislature. This would be the equivalent of the State Capital in the U.S. I was recording the politicians during all the debates and proceedings of the government while overseeing the audio feeds for TV, radio, print, the government archives, the internet and the official written record.
Then I left for Ontario to get my MBA in marketing at the Schulich School of Business at York University. While there I did my Master's thesis on Gennum Corporation, a company likely familiar to the AudiologyOnline folks because Gennum's hearing instrument division made the DSP (digital signal processing) chips for many of the hearing instruments on the market.
When I graduated, I was hired to develop an advanced in-the-ear monitoring (IEM) system for musicians utilizing Gennum DSP. I wore two hats, one as a project manager steering development of the IEM system, and the second as product manager working on marketing materials, websites, trade shows, and investigating opportunities within the music and professional audio markets. At Gennum I worked with all the other gentlemen who are now colleagues of mine at VitaSound.
When Gennum sold their hearing instrument division to Sound Design Technologies, a group of us came back together under the auspices of VitaSound Audio. My role here at VitaSound is Director of Marketing and Sales.
SMAKA: Tell me about the VitaSound team.
GORDON:: Our President is Gora Ganguli, who was Gennum's Senior VP of the hearing instrument division. He oversaw the transition from analog to digital hearing aid technologies at Gennum, though your readers might know him better from his service on the boards of the Hearing Industry Association and the Better Hearing Institute. However something people may not know about Gora is he is also a great musician, both playing guitar and singing.
Our Vice President of Business Development is Sam Mok. He is originally from Hong Kong and is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese. Sam is a very smart, dedicated guy with great experience in off-shore markets and is particularly good at product development, business sourcing, manufacturing and that sort of thing.
Our Chief Technology Officer is Dr. Philippe Pango, another musician and good friend with whom I share a patent filing on DSP usage in musical instruments. Philippe is an algorithm designer and researcher currently completing the development of a new algorithm called Neuro-Compensator™ based on a revolutionary model of how the brain deals with what the ear hears. Your readers can expect to hear a lot more about Neuro-Compensator™ in the coming months as we are completing clinical trials and will be bringing it into the marketplace early in 2009. The Neuro-Compensator™ algorithm takes an entirely new, innovative approach to how the brain perceives sound that we expect will lend significant benefits to the effectiveness of hearing aids.
Our Chairman of the Board is Mark Chamberlain of Trivaris, a unique commercialization firm that assists high-potential businesses in the early stages of growth. They are currently incubating eight distinct companies and at the moment VitaSound is the largest of the Trivaris companies. Within the Trivaris family, we can focus on our markets, customers, and product portfolio, while Trivaris provides the back office functions - legal, administrative, accounting, HR, IT, etc. We are very lucky to be working with Trivaris.
SMAKA: Can you talk about your product portfolio?
GORDON:: Sure. One of our main technologies is the Instant Custom Fit earpiece. It also has the broadest range of applications of any product line we have. It is a patented system developed by Sonomax of Montreal, Canada. We actually acquired VitaSound from Sonomax and, as part of that transaction, have maintained the exclusive rights to the instant custom fit technology in hearing markets and channels.
Instant Custom Fit uses what I call a 'core', which is a center structure shaped like an ear canal. Then there is a soft silicone bladder that fits over the core like a balloon. Between the core and this bladder, liquid silicone is injected into the earpiece while it is still outside the ear. The ear piece is then placed into the ear canal. The bladder full of liquid silicone will conform to the shape of the ear and set into place. The patient ends up with a custom fitted ear piece within three minutes.
If the patient wants this ear piece used as a hearing protector, we place a noise control filter in the vent hole. The vent is a piece of audiological tubing that runs through the core. We control the amount of outside sound that goes through by the insertion of different filters. There are 5 dB, 10 dB, 15 dB, 17 dB, and a full block 25 dB filters, since people who use hearing protectors have different needs. Not everyone wants to block out all the sound possible all the time due to communication and safety reasons.
For example, consider someone who works on a factory floor where they're experiencing perhaps an average 95 dB working environment, and safety guidelines suggest a target sound level for an eight-hour shift of 85 dB. That person only needs 10 dB of protection. If you were to give them 25 dB hearing protectors, there would actually be a danger associated with that;the person would not be able to hear a forklift backing up, or somebody shouting them a warning from behind. So we offer various filters and the hearing professional chooses the one that's most appropriate based on each individual circumstance. And, if the patient decides they want a little bit more or a little bit less noise reduction, the filters can also be swapped even after the initial fitting.
SMAKA: Sounds like a really flexible system. What are the advantages of this type of hearing protection?
GORDON:: This liquid silicone, when it cures, is still pliable and soft. So in addition to having the flexibility to change the filters, it's also incredibly comfortable to wear. It fully follows the contours of the ear canal so it fits perfectly even when the jaw moves. When I'm wearing my hearing protectors, I don't have to take them out when I eat or that sort of thing. They're comfortable enough for all day use, such as during a work shift. You don't get pressure points in your ear canal the way you would with an over-the-counter foam plug, which is especially important for people with smaller ear canals.
SMAKA: In addition to hearing protection, are there other applications for the instant custom fit ear piece?
GORDON:: Yes. When you look at the back of the ear piece, there's a rectangular cut-out in the non-hearing protector version. It accepts a nozzle assembly that can be for any audio device with that nozzle design. Right now, we have an MP3 earphone that is quite a novel product. With typical MP3 ear bud style headphones, poor fit and seal lead to earpieces falling out and loud external environmental noise getting in. For people who are very active - jogging, roller-blading, cycling, working out, etc. - when they're trying to listen to music, they have a lot of difficulty with those standard ear bud headphones staying in place. With our solution, since the earphones are custom fit, you're just not going to be able to dislodge them no matter how vigorous the activity. And with the high quality ear seal, lower audio volume is required for a higher perceived loudness. Sound quality is thus enhanced. It really is the hearing-safe way to listen to your MP3 player and any audio device. The earphones come in single and dual speaker versions.
On the same Instant Custom Fit technology, we are also developing a Bluetooth headset that we plan to release in early 2009. As it will use the Instant Custom Fit earpiece, it will be the first Bluetooth headset that will not require the use of one of those perpetually uncomfortable ear hooks.
Most Bluetooth headsets up until now use an ear hook. They aren't giving you a great seal since the hook holds them on and the tip need not provide a good acoustical seal. This lack of ambient rejection becomes a problem, especially if you're in a noisier environment. With our Instant Custom Fit solution, you're going to have the comfort of using a custom soft silicone ear tip with an ultra-lightweight Bluetooth headset on the outside of it and no ear hook. It will be extremely comfortable, stay in place, have great seal yielding superb sound, all thanks to the Instant Custom Fit technology.
SMAKA: Retention is an important point. My Bluetooth headset is always flapping off my ear, for example, when I put my seatbelt on in the car.
GORDON:: Exactly. With a custom fit Bluetooth device, you don't need to worry about that.
SMAKA: Will it work with my iPhone?
GORDON:: Absolutely. Any Bluetooth enabled device.
In addition to the custom hearing protector, Bluetooth headset, and MP3 earphone, there is actually a hearing aid application to our Instant Custom Fit product. Remember how I described the core with the bladder over it and the liquid silicone being injected between the two? Well, there is a hearing instrument version with a ring between the core and the bladder. Once the impression has been taken, the ring snaps off to allow the core to be separated from the cured silicone and bladder. An electronics module with the DSP, microphone and speaker is then inserted into the cured silicone mold and now there is a finished hearing aid created in about 5 minutes, ready for programming.
There is no hard acrylic involved so you're not likely to encounter situations where people take these hearing aids out because their ear canals are irritated. They should be able to wear them for 12 to 16 hours a day if they so choose.
Once assembled on the spot, the hearing aid can be programmed by the dispenser or audiologist, and the patient can walk out with a set of custom fitted hearing aids in one visit. Although the time to program and counsel will vary with each person fit, the custom earpiece fitting takes only a few minutes, so the entire process can be an efficient and convenient one for the patient.
One visit. Walk in. Walk out. And you've got a pair of In-the-Canal (ITC) hearing aids that are custom fitted and fully programmed to you!
SMAKA: What kind of technology are we talking?
GORDON:: We've got two models - one that uses a leading-edge, programmable DSP processor, so it gives 32-channel performance for under $1000, and one using a fixed function digital (DSP) processor which is a two-channel model for under $500, and both including the custom fit earpieces in those prices.
These are obviously less expensive to deliver than traditional custom hearing aids, and we're passing the savings along to the end consumer. Our expectation is these products will help to bring hearing assistance to those who cannot afford or are reluctant to buy the high priced custom devices on the market, yet do not want to turn to very cheap, poor quality solutions available from fringe suppliers or channels. It is these low quality products that actually tarnish the perception of hearing aids in general. We believe our value-priced products could do what sub-$1000 models did for the personal computer industry. Many more households could suddenly afford PCs and look at the size of the market today.
SMAKA: Considering the broad range of applications that VitaSound is providing as a "hearing" company, you'd hope that hearing aid stigma is diminishing.
GORDON:: Well, we'll soon see a convergence of hearing aids with other devices. Philippe was demonstrating an algorithm to me the other day that he is looking to use in the instant custom-fit hearing aid so it can be used as an electronic hearing protector. This could be used by someone, such as a hunter, who is in a situation where they want to be able to hear certain sounds, such as deer rustling through the woods or the other members of their hunting party, but they don't want to be able to hear very loud sounds such as their shotgun firing.
So we're starting to see convergence in applications such as this - a hearing aid with a noise-control algorithm to act as an electronic earplug.
SMAKA: What is the green solution in your portfolio?
GORDON:: We've just brought out a device called Solar-1™. It is a solar-powered hearing aid, but maybe not necessarily in the way the name may initially imply. You don't wear a solar panel on your head. It encompasses a pair of hearing aids utilizing rechargeable batteries, along with a solar-powered charger, or base station, that employs rechargeable AA batteries to store the solar energy captured from the sun.
Initially it was developed for parts of the world where there wasn't ready access to the power grid, so solar was a simple way to get power. Obviously this isn't the case in the North American market, so here we position it as a green solution. Though we recognize there isn't much electricity consumed in recharging a couple of hearing aid batteries, there is a fairly significant environmental cost to all those zinc-air batteries being disposed of. Although some are recycled, the vast majority end up in landfills. Solar-1™ provides a better and greener solution than creating piles of used zinc-air batteries in the first place.
With Solar-1™, you place the charging station in sunlight, and it will power the rechargeable AA batteries inside it. At the end of the day, you take off your hearing aids and put the batteries into the Solar-1™ recharger. While you sleep, the energy stored in the AA batteries recharges the hearing aid batteries. When you get up in the morning, you have a couple of fully recharged batteries ready to go for the following day. The base station can also be plugged in for those periods of extended poor weather or if you forget to leave it on the windowsill to charge.
Of course there is also a strong economic benefit to any patient currently using 675 or size 13 batteries in switching to rechargeable batteries. Depending on their battery usage and what they currently pay for batteries, most patients break even with Solar-1™ in about a year.
SMAKA: Keith, if audiologists want to start offering the Instant Custom fit products, Solar-1™ or would like more information on any of VitaSound's other products, where would you direct them?
GORDON:: www.VitaSound.com is a great place to get started, or they can visit our AudiologyOnline Web Channel, www.audiologyonline.com/channels/vitasound.asp. I can be reached at kGordon@VitaSound.com or 905-760-7755.
SMAKA: Thanks again for your time, Keith;it's always a pleasure to speak with you.
GORDON:: Hey, thank you kindly. It was my pleasure.
About VitaSound Audio, Inc.
At VitaSound Audio, our mission is to bring to market hearing solutions that are attractive, accessible, and affordable, to enable individuals to benefit from better communications and quality of life. For us, better hearing involves protection, preservation, care, and improvement, all in the context of today's active lifestyles. Our innovative hardware and software technologies improve the performance and safety of ear-worn devices for communication, entertainment, hearing protection, and hearing improvement.
"Attractive" means our products are aesthetic, functional, and incorporate the latest in technology and design trends. "Accessible" means products are available from a variety of delivery channels, which provide individuals with choice and convenience, and are available in a single visit. "Affordable" means that we ensure our products have the right price-to-value proposition to bring hearing solutions to the mass market. Custom fit headsets, earphones, hearing protectors, and hearing aids no longer need to be an expensive luxury. Our belief is that everyone should be able to afford better hearing solutions.
