Elderly man wearing Ossiclear solution by Sounduct Discover our solution

 

 

Our mission

Preserve and restore hearing

#global impact

Deafness affects 1.5 billion people worldwide, 430 million of whom have reached the stage of disability requiring hearing aids1.
By 2040, 2.5 billion people will be affected1.

The World Health Organization estimates the societal impact of deafness at nearly $1,000 billion a year!

Read more  Pictogramme Read more

 

Discover our solution

 

 

 

Issues

 

Pictogramme health_metrics

Health issue

Deafness is linked to many other conditions, including depression, anxiety, and neurodegenerative diseases.

Pictogramme compost

Environmental
impact

The entire project is designed on the pillars of recyclability, repairability, and local production.

Pictogramme precision_manufacturing

Reindustrialization

Innovation also resides in manufacturing in-house designed factories, allowing for increased quality control.

Pictogramme diversity_3

Social impact

In France, only 10% of Deeptech startups in the healthcare sector with an industrial vocation produce their innovations themselves.

Read more  Pictogramme Read more

 

Sources:
1 World Health Organization
2 French Ministry of Health, Direction de la recherche, des études, de l'évaluation et des statistiques
3 Institut de veille sanitaire (InVS) et de l'Institut national de prévention et d'éducation pour la santé (Inpes)
4 Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2020 report of the Lancet Commission
5 Choi, J. S., Adams, M. E., Crimmins, E. M., Lin, F. R., & Ailshire, J. A. (2024). Association between hearing aid use and mortality in adults with hearing loss in the USA: a mortality follow-up study of a cross-sectional cohort. The Lancet Healthy Longevity
6 BPI France, industrial start-up

 

Our mission
Issues

#global impact

Deafness affects 1.5 billion people worldwide, 430 million of whom have reached the stage of disability requiring hearing aids1.
By 2040, 2.5 billion people will be affected1.

The World Health Organization estimates the societal impact of deafness at nearly $1,000 billion a year!

Treatment is made even more complex by the fact that dozens of pathologies coexist.
Deafness can result from:

  • congenital malformation
  • genetic disease
  • virus
  • illness (otitis, meningitis, etc.)
  • ototoxic drugs
  • decompression accident (diving...)
  • physical shock
  • explosion
  • noise exposure
  • cellular aging, etc.

Some patients even suffer from multiple pathologies. They may also be accompanied by tinnitus and vertigo.
This complexity explains why many patients fail to use hearing aids or are dissatisfied with current solutions.

In all cases, good support from hearing care professionals (ENT specialists, audiologists, etc.) is essential for better management of deafness.
It is in this context that Sounduct strives to offer patients and healthcare professionals a disruptive, and non-invasive solution for a majority of pathologies.

 

 

Sources:
1 World Health Organization
2 French Ministry of Health, Direction de la recherche, des études, de l'évaluation et des statistiques
3 Institut de veille sanitaire (InVS) et de l'Institut national de prévention et d'éducation pour la santé (Inpes)
4 Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2020 report of the Lancet Commission
5 Choi, J. S., Adams, M. E., Crimmins, E. M., Lin, F. R., & Ailshire, J. A. (2024). Association between hearing aid use and mortality in adults with hearing loss in the USA: a mortality follow-up study of a cross-sectional cohort. The Lancet Healthy Longevity
6 BPI France, industrial start-up

 

Pictogramme health_metrics

Health issue

The health and human implications of deafness are all the greater because it is the cause of other pathologies.

Untreated or poorly treated deafness leads to some forty other illnesses or harmful consequences for affected patients, such as

  • Psychological disorders such as depression or social phobia (Anxiety +100%2)
  • Increased attention and concentration problems (+200%2)
  • Impaired cognitive, social and emotional development in children (+100%2)

The social and emotional isolation that can result from deafness multiplies suicidal thoughts by a factor of 5, and suicide attempts by a factor of 33.

For the same reasons of isolation, deafness affects brain plasticity. The link between deafness and dementia has now been scientifically demonstrated:

  • 8% of dementia cases4
  • 1st preventable cause of neurodegenerative diseases4
  • 40% of preventable cases of dementia4

A link between deafness and longevity has also been established. Regular use of hearing aids reduces premature mortality by 24%5.

 

Pictogramme compost

Environmental
impact

Many implants and hearing aids are not eco-designed or designed to be repairable.

They are mostly manufactured in production zones far from the countries where they are sold. Many models are produced in Asia , for example, only to be imported into Europe or North America.

The hearing sector's carbon footprint needs to be improved, from the design of the production plant right through to after-sales service.

 

Pictogramme precision_manufacturing

Reindustrialization

Only 10% of Deeptech start-ups with an industrial vocation produce their innovations themselves6.

At Sounduct, we are convinced that internalizing our manufacturing is both an internal strategic challenge, enabling us to be more innovative, and a challenge of national sovereignty for neglected industrial regions.

 

Pictogramme diversity_3

Social impact

Medical devices are subject to draconian regulatory constraints and standards to ensure patient safety.

At the same time, no standards apply to the working conditions of employees producing these devices.

Given the fierce competition in the hearing aid sector, many models are manufactured in low-cost countries in order to reduce manufacturing costs.

At Sounduct, we are committed to producing in countries where local social standards ensure decent working conditions and wages for employees.

 

 

 

Sources:
1 World Health Organization
2 French Ministry of Health, Direction de la recherche, des études, de l'évaluation et des statistiques
3 Institut de veille sanitaire (InVS) et de l'Institut national de prévention et d'éducation pour la santé (Inpes)
4 Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2020 report of the Lancet Commission
5 Choi, J. S., Adams, M. E., Crimmins, E. M., Lin, F. R., & Ailshire, J. A. (2024). Association between hearing aid use and mortality in adults with hearing loss in the USA: a mortality follow-up study of a cross-sectional cohort. The Lancet Healthy Longevity
6 BPI France, industrial start-up

 

Scroll to top