The Center for Medical Device Innovations Inc, Dublin, Calif, introduces iHear Medical, established to develop new hearing enhancement devices for treating hearing losses from mild to severe impairments.

Medical device entrepreneur Adnan Shennib, founder of InSound Medical and inventor of its flagship product the Lyric, has also founded iHear.

"Offering new platforms with improved performance and affordability will be welcomed by the tech-savvy consumer looking for alternatives," says John R. Luna, CEO of SBCS Medical LLC, a veteran executive in the hearing aid industry.

"The next winner in the hearing space will acknowledge the changing needs of the new generation," says Delain Wright, manger of the H-5 group, who served as president of three hearing aid firms in the past 20 years. "Having watched Adnan Shennib stay at the forefront of hearing aid innovation, I am confident that he has the vision and ability to redefine hearing care."

The company’s initial focus will be on developing proprietary technology based on new understanding of consumer trends and behavior. iHear Medical will explore licensing and partnering opportunities with leading hearing aid manufacturers, distributors, and health care providers.

Recent studies and industry reports indicate that more than 32 million Americans—approximately one in three adults—suffer from some degree of hearing loss with prevalence predicted to rise significantly due to an aging population and the growing use of personal listening devices. Researchers are increasingly concerned that the United States may be facing an epidemic of hearing impairment.

The Center for Medical Device Innovations develops transformational technologies that enable new business models in health care delivery. Shennib, a medical device entrepreneur, holds more than 50 issued and pending patents. He invented the Lyric hearing device, a recipient of the 2009 Medical Device Excellence Award.

[Source: The Center for Medical Device Innovations]