Nuheara Ltd. will introduce a TV audio streamer for its IQbuds BOOST earbuds at CES in January, the first accessory in what the company says will be an “ecosystem” for its hearables. IQstream TV is a wireless transmitter that will deliver audio directly to Nuheara’s popular hearing-enhancement earbuds.
“IQstream TV marks a major milestone in Nuheara’s pursuit to be the leading company providing complete hearing ecosystem solutions that are focused on affordability and accessibility,” said Nuheara CEO Justin Miller. “Currently, this market is under-serviced and overpriced.”
A hardware accessory device that connects directly to the TV, IQstream TV also includes an inbuilt extension for the Nuheara smartphone app. A user can balance the volume of the TV sound—independently from anyone else watching the TV—with ambient sounds and conversations.
TV Listening A Top Concern For Those With Hearing Loss
Difficulty hearing dialogue on the television is among the top concerns of people with hearing loss, next to difficulty with hearing speech in noisy settings such as restaurants. But many hearables don’t offer wireless streaming of TV audio. Why? Because it takes some doing.
Standard Bluetooth streaming creates a delay—“latency”—between what’s being said on the screen and the audio reaching the earbuds. Failure to synch the speech to voice makes watching TV difficult.
One solution is an upgrade to Bluetooth aptX with Low Latency in both the transmitter and the earbuds. That fix eliminates the latency, but it’s relatively new, more expensive, and not yet widely distributed. The other solution is proprietary streaming technology, an engineering challenge that many makers of hearables haven’t tackled.
Nuheara’s proprietary technology works with IQbuds BOOST earbuds to eliminate the latency. Equally important, it enables users to adjust the volume and balance between hearing aids using the Nuheara app. The controls adjust settings for the earbuds only, not the TV. So others in the room can adjust the TV to whatever volume is comfortable for them.
A Product Ecosystem for Hearables
Now Nuheara is building on its own strong technology base to expand its product line and distribution. In its news release, Nuheara says it will develop a line of products to address the array of needs driven by users’ hearing loss:
Nuheara’s multi-functional ecosystem of hearing buds, intelligent software and new hardware accessories have been built to service all major consumer hearing needs. According to a 2018 survey by Eurotrak, the top reasons people seek hearing assistance is for time spent at home with family, group conversations, noisy situations, when talking on the phone and while watching TV.
Nuheara said it just completed its first production run of IQstream TV and will introduce the product at CES in Las Vegas in January. It hasn’t published a price for the TV streamer yet. A pair of IQbuds BOOST earbuds are currently priced at $399.
Hearables Competition Heats Up
Nuheara isn’t the only company creating a product ecosystem for its hearables. Alango Technologies, Ltd., already has a proprietary TV streamer for its BeHear NOW earbuds. And Alango is marketing its earbuds and accessories through its Wear & Hear online store.
The company also recently expanded distribution through partnerships with Clinic Management Services in Canada and with Amplicom USA. CMS sells through audiologists, and Amplicom is a distributor of amplified phones and a broad range of other assistive listening devices to consumers throughout North America.
Both Alango and Nuheara are competing with Bose, the consumer electronics giant best known for its stereo speakers and noise-cancelling headphones. Bose has moved into hearables with its Hearphone product and recently got approval from the FDA to market a Bose Self-Fitting Hearing Aid that can be marketed directly to consumers.