A new app created by Red Lion Canada visualizes hearing loss in an attempt to break a stigma associated with hearings tests.
Created for Sound Communication, a hearing aid fitter and vendor based in Ontario, the app combines a hearing tone test with a photo. Users see the blurred photo gradually become clear as the test tone becomes harder and harder to hear. They hit a button when they stop being able to hear the tone. If the photo is still blurry, they have a visual representation of their hearing loss. They can then share the results and are directed to a website that encourages them to book an appointment.
Challenged to beat the misperception that hearing loss is a problem faced by older people, Brett Channer, president and chief creative director at Red Lion, said his agency asked “why is there no stigma with eyesight being tested? So we decided to take a behaviour that people are comfortable with, and turn that into an opportunity to investigate their hearing.”
“See How Well You Hear,” which was coded by European company Ngoar, is waiting on an Apple Store licence, and should launch next week for both Apple and Android users.
Red Lion Canada also owns the app’s concept as intellectual property, and hopes to expand its use. They’ve been in discussions with other vendors outside of Sound Communication’s Ontario market, said Channer. The agency may sell it to other clients.
