Gruv Button™ Retrofit
BREAKTHROUGH
Until now, the only delivery system for Gruv Button™, was the “Built-In” delivery system. The Built-In delivery system does require hearing aid manufacturers to modify the receiver’s end-surface during receiver production.
That’s why the Gruv Button™ Retrofit, just announced to the industry on April 30, 2024 in this LinkedIn article, can now serve as the immediate, practicable, and easy-to-implement delivery system for Gruv Button™.
The patented, Gruv Button™ Retrofit features a sleeve with a hinged flap (the Gruv Button™) that clips closed. Because the sleeve is similar to those used on retention tails, the simple retrofit process is easy for Audiologists and Hearing Instrument Specialists.
For the first time, an inexpensive assistive device can be available to all those finding it difficult to insert their RIC hearing aids.
Hearing aid manufacturers have an opportunity to work with Each Ear, LLC, produce the Gruv Button™ Retrofit so it closely fits their receivers, as their retention tails do, and make them available to clinics as an add-on. Implementing production, distribution, and monetization in this way, Each Ear, LLC estimates a retail price in the area of $15.
THE DOCUMENTED PROBLEM
A 2022 Hearing Industries Association-commissioned MarkeTrak survey revealed 40% of new hearing aid users find it difficult to insert their hearing aids. That’s millions of new users experiencing difficulty – every year.
Among many people, including those with physical limitations, people with challenging ear canals that angle and/or bend, and their caregivers, difficulty with insertion results in stress, frustration, anxiousness, hopelessness, hearing care abandonment, and increased stigmatization.
Hearing care professionals know this because they have a face-to-face connection with users and their caregivers, and the clinic managers measure return rates.
PROBLEM REVIEW
In 2021, RIC (receiver-in-the-canal) hearing aids made up 81% of the hearing aid market share in the United States.
RIC hearing aid users struggle with insertion for three reasons:
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The Receiver (Speaker)
The end-surface of the RIC hearing aid receiver is inadequate because it does not interface with the fingertip. It’s like having a screwhead that’s been smoothed over and cone-shaped. It wouldn’t work because the screwdriver could not interface with a smooth screwhead. In the same way, the fingertip cannot interface with the current hearing aid receiver. So, it slides off and past it.
2. Physical Limitations
The average age of a first-time hearing aid user is 70. Many of our users may have one or more of the following: arthritis, tremor, dexterity issues, numbness, stiffness, diminished sensation, an elbow issue, or a shoulder issue. Any one of these physical limitations exacerbates their difficulty and distress.
3. Challenging Ear Canals
The standard anatomical chart of the ear, that we always see, depicts the ear canal as nice and straight. But so often, they aren’t. Instead, they’ll angle in one direction or another and then encounter a bend, and/or become obstructed by cartilage. And, many times, the angle and bend in the right canal differs from those in the left.
LONG-TERM SOLUTION
Gruv Button™ modifies the end-surface of the receiver so that it interfaces with the fingertip. Gruv Button’s™ ergonomic configuration includes a Fingertip Support™, Fingernail Backstop™, and Fingernail Gruv™. These elements compose the interface with the fingertip.
This interface enables all users, especially those with a physical limitation, to control, manipulate, maneuver, aim and steer the receiver into the ear canal. This benefit is especially helpful to users with angled and bending ear canals.
And because users and caregivers instinctively use their fingertips to insert their receivers, no user training is needed.
In 2022, Gruv Button™ received the Today's Caregiver Friendly Award.
Because the fingertip is universal among users, Gruv Button™ has a universal design.
While its efficacy has been demonstrated with actual prototypes, its need and utility is readily apparent to users, caregivers, and hearing care professionals.
User testimonials can be found here. And comments from users, caregivers, and hearing care professionals can be found here.
ENTIRE INDUSTRY BENEFITS
Gruv Button™ Retrofit makes RIC hearing aid receiver insertion easier for hearing aid users and their caregivers. Solving the insertion-difficulty problem also benefits hearing care professionals and the entire hearing healthcare industry.
Hearing aid users benefit because sufficiently-deep insertion results in optimal hearing and understanding, a more secure fit (reducing the fear of loss), reduced audio feedback, and a less-noticeable fit.
Gruv Button™ makes hearing aid insertion easier for caregivers, who may not be not aware of the bends, angles, and S-shape characteristics of the patient’s ear canals!
Hearing care professionals benefit when it’s easier for their patients because they’re enabled to provide more efficient and more effective care. They will enjoy reduced return-for-credits, more positive word-of-mouth, and may righteously monetize Gruv Button™ Retrofit, as well.
And the hearing industry will enjoy reduced returns, an increase in hearing aid adoption, an enhanced reputation, and shareholder appreciation.