JVCKENWOOD USA Corp. announced plans to enter the over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid market, partnering with hearing health specialists Intricon Corporation and Hearing Aid Technology company Tuned Ltd.

JVCKENWOOD will offer JVC OTC hearing aids developed jointly with Intricon and Tuned, capitalizing on JVC’s experience in high quality sound reproduction.

“The recent approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of over-the-counter sales of hearing aids is a boon for the millions of adults who suffer from hearing loss,” says Patrick Koehn, vice president JVCKenwood USA Corporation. “We’re delighted to partner with Intricon and Tuned to offer high quality, high value OTC hearing aids that will improve the lives of so many people.”

Further reading: Tuned Gets FDA Clearance for Self-Fitting Hearing Aid Tech

Intricon is a micro medical device manufacturer with expertise in hearing aid design engineering and manufacturing. Meanwhile, Tuned is a hearing aid technology company whose app-powered, self-fitting, self-adjusting, self-learning hearing aid technology recently received FDA 510(k) clearance. 

The JVC hearing aids will be powered by the Tuned smartphone app through which users access guided hearing tests that allow them to personalize their hearing aids to suit their personal needs. Customer support is provided by an advanced chat interface and through a remote support platform allows hearing care professionals to remotely connect to users through the app.

Intricon’s and Tuned’s expertise combined with JVC’s extensive history in audio technology will allow JVC to offer OTC hearing aids that can be easily set up, adjusted and personalized without the need for an expensive audiologist, the companies say.

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