Songbird Hearing, the disposable hearing-aid company which mysteriously suspended operations several years ago, has recently received venture capital financing to re-start its operations. NewSpring Capital and The Provco Group of Pennsylvania have put $4 million in new financing into the New Jersey company, according to the VentureWire newsletter. Songbird originally spun out of the famed research labs of Sarnoff Corp. (formerly RCA labs). The idea was to market a very inexpensive completely-in-the-canal (CIC) hearing aid for people with mild to moderate hearing loss that could be thrown out when the battery died after a month or so of use, just like disposable contact lenses. But after selling its product for several years, Songbird quietly shut down its operations with minimal explanation in 2005.
By manufacturing its DSP components in high volumes, by taking advantage of other design innovations, and by cutting out the expense of a middleman by selling through the mail direct to consumers, Songbird intended to reach a much larger base of customers than traditional hearing-aid manufacturers. It was a great idea at the time. But the restart effort comes at a time when the hearing-aid business is being turned upside-down by small-form-factor, open-fit, behind-the-ear BTE products that are easier to fit and more comfortable to wear than previous BTE or in-the-ear devices. I can't wait to see if Songbird comes up with a new product or simply tries to restart sales of the product it had been selling before it suspended operations. Stay tuned.
Posted by David at 01:20 PM on Aug 30, 2007 in HEARING AIDS
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The Songbird was the Best. Please let me know when it comes out again!!!
Joe Hayes
holywood@warwick.net
dear Pat,
have a look on the songbird website apparently a recent inventory has produced a number of songbirds for sale by contacting their customer service dept
please let me know if you find out more. My husband really liked the songbird hearing aids and found them more reliable then the more expensive one he had to switch to when Songbird closed. I look forward to their return Thanks
The songbird was a superb instrument for those considering amplification, for the first time @ low cost, and indeed in my opinion, having fitted hundreds of them many of those went on to continued supply, via post. It had it's problems....what sytem does not. It brought people into the market.
Steve Douglas Edinburgh
having fitted hundreds of songbirds when Boots had hearingcare i look forward to the re emergence of a disposable product ..many users were dissapointed when songbird ceased to be available,,keep me posted!!!!!!!
