CRANBURY, NJ (March 30, 2021) - Songbird Medical Inc. has announced the introduction of Songbird™, the world’s first disposable hearing aid, for the millions of Americans with mild-to-moderate hearing loss. The new hearing aid will be introduced in select areas across the country beginning second quarter 2000, with full nationwide availability expected before the end of the year.
“We saw an opportunity to bring better hearing to the world and we acted on it,” said Frederick J. Fritz, Songbird’s President and CEO. Fritz described his company’s innovation as “driven by the knowledge that there are millions of people between the ages of 45 and 64 who have been reluctant to use any form of hearing treatment.”
Fritz said the Songbird Disposable Hearing Aid is targeted to the vast population of Baby Boomers whose life-long exposure to decibel-blasting music, high-pitched manufacturing noises, and other forms of noise pollution has taken its toll on their hearing.
“Developing a product that would appeal to this generation presented some unique challenges. Consequently, we reinvented the hearing aid from the ground up,” said Fritz.
“We can now offer this population a hearing aid that satisfies their criteria. The Songbird is designed to be convenient, virtually invisible in the ear, extremely comfortable, and very affordable,” said Fritz. “But, even more important,” he added, “it offers a sound quality that rivals the very best in the industry.”
Each unit, priced at $39, delivers a full 40 days of life when used 12 hours per day. Because the device is discarded when the battery runs out, there is no need for a battery door, freeing that space for a microphone that is seven times larger than typical hearing aid microphones. Unlike ordinary hearing aids, Songbird can be fit in one patient visit and is available in pre-programmed acoustical prescriptions, allowing people to avoid the nuisance of frequent volume adjustments.
Fritz said the new Songbird Disposable Hearing Aid will be available through licensed hearing professionals only.
“The Songbird Disposable Hearing Aid provides an exciting opportunity to expand the hearing instrument market. I believe that the market is ready for a high-quality, professionally dispensed, disposable hearing aid. Songbird may entice many people between the ages of 45 and 64 to try amplification,” said Barry A. Freeman, Ph.D., past president, American Academy of Audiology.
Research shows that hearing loss is one of the country’s most common chronic health conditions. Of the millions of people with diagnosed hearing deficits, 70 percent are under age 65. An estimated 20 million Americans are living with mild-to-moderate hearing loss, and experts predict that number will continue to grow.
Songbird Medical Inc. is a privately held company based in Cranbury, New Jersey. The company was formed in 1997 to develop a line of disposable hearing aids based on highly proprietary technologies exclusively licensed from the Sarnoff Corporation (formerly RCA Labs). The Sarnoff Corporation is widely recognized as one of the top research centers in the United States.