A company called Eargo launched virtually invisible “revolutionary hearing devices.” Combining high-end consumer electronics aesthetics with medical device engineering in a tiny packaging, Eargo can be hidden entirely inside the ear.
In designing Eargo, ENT surgeon Dr. Florent Michel was inspired by the feathers of a fishing fly to create patented Flexi Fibers, which are soft and self-adjusting. Flexi Fibers make Eargo devices comfortable and breathable, allowing some natural bass sounds to pass right through, since they don’t plug the ear canal.
The Eargo hearing system is available starting at $1,980, and it comes with a 60-day money back guarantee.Eargo is also easy to use, and inside the box users get and four pre-set sound profiles that work for the majority of people with mild to moderate hearing loss. The company’s in-house audiologists and dispensers will also custom-program devices for users who send their audiograms to Eargo.
Co-founded by the father and son team of Dr. Florent Michel and Raphael Michel along with Daniel Shen, Eargo has been operating in stealth mode since 2013 when it was funded by a seed investment made by Maveron. Since then, the company has raised $13.6 million in Series A financing from Maveron, Dolby Family Ventures, Crosslink Capital, Birchmere Ventures, Montage Ventures, Peterson Ventures, Red Sea Ventures and high-profile individual investors.
“I found that many of my patients were frustrated with existing hearing devices, so I set out to reinvent them,” said Dr. Florent Michel, Eargo inventor and co-founder. “I decided to use my 30 years of experience as an ENT surgeon to develop the innovative hearing solution that my patients have been asking for: a virtually invisible, comfortable, in-ear device that is easy to try, easy to buy, and easy to use.”
The Eargo hearing system, which includes a pair of Eargo hearing devices, the portable charger, and the charging base, is available starting at $1,980; financing is available for $96 a month, and there’s also a 60-day money back guarantee.