Assistive Hearing

About

BeHear^® is the brand name for a line of concept, future-looking wearable audio devices that are being developed by Alango Technologies, Ltd. With millions of communication products using proprietary algorithms and software, Alango has accumulated more than 15 years of practical experience developing and licensing digital sound processing technologies working in noisy, reverberant and otherwise unfriendly acoustic environments.

The World Health Organization estimates that between 14-16% of the world’s population (that’s approximately 1.2 billion people) suffers from hearing loss of greater than 25 dB. Also, even though hearing loss is typically associated with old age, the majority of sufferers are under the age of 65. The alarming fact, however, is that less than 5% of those with hearing loss use hearing aids! Research points to five main reasons for the low uptake of traditional hearing aids:

• Denial: In many cases, hearing loss comes on slowly, almost imperceptibly. It is typical to blame others and circumstances for poor hearing (my partner has started mumbling, background music is too loud, cell reception is poor, etc.). On average, it takes a person from 7-10 years to visit a professional after the first signs of hearing loss.

• Stigma and Inconvenience: Hearing aids are visible medical devices associated with elderly and/or handicapped people. They require repeat visits to a hearing professional for testing, fitting, fine-tuning, and cleaning.

• Extremely High Cost: Top-of-the-line devices are sold for $3000-$5000. Furthermore, they are not covered by most health insurance policies.

• Limited Functionality: Hearing aids provide mainly hearing amplification, and most units are not connectable to today’s modern communication devices (smartphones and music players, for example). Furthermore, traditional hearing aids were designed to amplify the frequency range of human speech (300-5000Hz). As a result, many sounds (like those in nature, and live music) are not addressed.

To address the needs of the tremendous population of those with hearing loss who choose, for whatever reason, not to use a hearing aid, Alango Technologies set out to create a line of multifunctional, high-performance, affordable assistive hearing products, leveraging recent technological and manufacturing advances. The result is its Alango's BeHear product line.

SELF-FITTING

Assess hearing and customize BeHear headset with the BeHear app.

FASHIONABLE

Avoid social stigma with a Bluetooth^® headset formfactor.

AFFORDABLE

The functionality of an advanced Hearing Aid for 1/10th of the price.

BeHear Product Line

Learn More

Alango-BeHear Overview (PDF)

BeHear Product Portfolio (PDF)

Hearing Enhancement Technologies. PersonaSound™
(Marketing presentation. PDF)

For more information about Alango’s BeHear line, visit www.alango-behear.com.