Yes, the value-added human hand holding is one way; but it has a cost. Hand holding is the very reason why high street hearing aids are so pricy. High street dispensers do not need to know audiology, the technology already takes care of this. Their sole skill is selling and hand holding, for which they add an obscene 80-90% mark-up on the hearing device price.
Nuheara has within its grasp to break this convention, rather than joining it. This is my biased view. I wish for a Nuheara type self-care model to happen.
I believe technology and information can easily substitute for the hand holding, at no added cost. It will eventually bring hearing care to millions of currently under-served people. It will afford users the pride in self-managing their condition. An informed successful self-fitting is more valuable than an uninformed professional fitting. A price of US$450 represents good value.
Nuheara have within its grasp the enabling model. They just need to properly address the full patient journey (which is simple) and find a compatible distribution channel (which is maybe less simple).
These guys may have possibly created the right channel, but with the wrong products (who wants a hearing aid when they can have a lifestyle hearable?) :
https://tuneamp.comThese guys possibly have the right product, but in the traditional (wrong) channel:
http://www.sentibo.deI don't yet know the right solution myself, but I believe we are homing in on it and the potential is enormous. The hearing aid market is a poor 12m units p.a. Truly wireless hearables already matches this quantity. There is no reason why hearables with hearing aid functionality cannot capture at least half the hearing aid market and penetrate the currently unmet needs beyond.
Hearables with hearing aid functionality should rightly reach more than 20m units p.a. - in my humble view. Who wants a beige hearing aid, with a stigmatised appearance similar to false teeth and artificial limbs, when they can have a lifestyle hearable. I don't want to appear biased against the great people in need of artificial limbs, but beige is subconsciously just not desirable.
I think Nuheara has the chance of finding the model. But, they can't mess about in the process and allow a big (slow) player get there first.
