OTC hearing aid created at UWM wins 2nd place in Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan contest

A new type of hearing aid developed at UWM’s College of Engineering & Applied Science won second place in a statewide contest designed to encourage entrepreneurs in the startup stage of tech-enabled businesses.

In June, Yi Hu, won second place in the Life Sciences Division of the 19th annual Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest with his submission of My Hearing Care, a hearing aid startup established in 2017 that makes better hearing more accessible and more affordable for the millions of people suffering from mild to moderate hearing loss. Hu is chair of UWM’s Electrical Engineering Department and associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science.

Fang Du, PhD, and Santhosh Yegnaraman, PhD candidate, Biomedical and Health Informatics, collaborated with Hu. Only 13 contestants from an initial pool of more than 200 had advanced to this stage.

OTC hearing aids could improve life for those with hearing loss

The Federal Drug Administration is expected to roll out regulations for over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids later this year. Hu envisions consumers easily purchasing low-cost devices the way one buys reading glasses at the drugstore without a prescription.

My Hearing Care pairs with a smartphone app called TruFIT to approximate the audiologist experience. “People use the TruFIT app to customize their hearing aids,” Hu said, adding that the self-test is done according to audiologists’ standards.

Currently, only one in five people in the U.S. who could benefit from hearing aids use them, with the primary reason being cost. Basic Medicare does not cover traditional hearing aids.

Hu hopes My Hearing Care and other OTC hearing aids will put treatment within reach for many people.

My Hearing Care builds off Hu’s 20 years of researching technology to help improve life for those with hearing loss.