Hearing Health MedTech signs reseller agreement with Specsavers

Audeara Limited (ASX:AUA) has announced a reseller agreement with Specsavers, Australia’s fastest growing Audiology network, clinching the Brisbane-based medtech’s second largest audiology clinic alliance.

Audeara makes the world’s only full-fidelity headphones with an app-based hearing health check, that can personalise sound to an individual’s unique hearing profile.

The partnership will place Audeara products for sale in 238 Specsaver stores, increasing the total number of Australian audiology clinics stocking Audeara by 20%.

The company will commence the on-boarding of Specsavers’s clinics in the coming months and expects demand from its network to begin to positively impact early in the next financial year.

Growing footprint

Audeara’s Founder and CEO, Dr James Fielding, says the company was pleased to be partnering with the pre-eminent name in optometry in Australia.

“Specsavers has a large and growing national presence in audiology,” he says.

“As a result of this partnership, the number of clinics stocking Audeara has now doubled since our IPO approximately 12 months ago.”

Audeara has now partnered with all of the ‘big six’ audiology groups – Audika, Connect Hearing, Starkey, WSAudiology, the government provider of hearing services, Hearing Australia, and Amplifon Clinics, where they are the only headphones held in stock across 300 Australian sites.

Amplifon is a global leader in the hearing care market, operating in 26 countries with approximately 11% market share globally.

Adding the global leader of optical to this growing collection of partnerships speaks volumes for Audeara delivering on its goal of being available for sale in every hearing health clinic worldwide.

Trusted Brand

Specsavers is a long-trusted brand in optometry with a retail footprint of more than 400 stores across Australia and New Zealand. Dr Fielding says another aim of the partnership was to lower the average age of people paying attention to their hearing health.

“Specsavers made optometry services easy, accessible and affordable, attracting a younger cohort of customers,” he says.

“In Australia the average age of a first-time hearing aid user is ~75, while the average age of people getting their vision tested for the first time is ~45. Both Audeara and Specsavers seek to lower the average age of people seeking an early intervention solution for their hearing to improve hearing outcomes over the life of people suffering hearing impairment.

“In some cases, early intervention may help prevent serious disease caused by preventable hearing loss, such as Dementia.” he said.

Wider implications

According to a 2017 report published in The Lancet, addressing midlife hearing loss may prevent up to 9% of new dementia cases. It’s believed that hearing loss might result in cognitive decline through reduced cognitive stimulation.

In Australia, findings from the Sydney Memory and Ageing Study found that hearing loss affects 74% of people aged over 70 and estimates suggest that people with mild hearing loss are twice as likely to develop dementia, while people with severe hearing loss are five times more likely to develop dementia.

Dementia is the leading cause of death for Australian women, accounting for 9,522 (12%) deaths, and the second leading cause of death for Australian men, accounting for 5,397 (6.2%) deaths every year.

This article was developed in collaboration with Audeara, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

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