Olive Pro's strategy is to combine modern design with smart AI technology, making it available for consumers to begin experiencing enhanced hearing assistance without the social stigma. "Many people dismiss hearing loss as ‘something that happens to old people,’ when in reality it should be treated like vision loss,” says Owen Song, founder, and CEO of Olive Union. “Less than half of today’s population with hearing loss is older than 65 - which means that most people with hearing loss aren’t actually what we’d call ‘old.’”
Hearing loss has never been more common than it is now because we expose ourselves to louder noises at closer proximities and for longer periods of time than ever before. Yet because of the outdated misconception and stigma surrounding hearing aids, and access to affordable help, 80% of those that are already suffering from hearing loss don’t get the assistance they need, and those without hearing loss, don’t know how to protect against it.
The Olive Pro TWS earbuds were designed to remove the unnecessary barriers to hearing aid. While traditional hearing aids cost thousands of dollars - including the cost of the device, initial audiologist appointment and maintenance fees - the Olive Pro earbuds will be available for just $299, allowing everyone to get familiar with hearing assistance.
Calibrating the Olive Pro's to a personalized hearing profile takes just 5-minutes and can be setup from the My Olive iOS or Android apps - with no appointment or audiologist needed to experiment. And recalibration is as easy as the initial setup, when changes to the hearing levels require new settings.
Designed also to assist and enhance in all types of activities, the Olive Pro earbuds are able to distinguish and amplify human voices from background noise using proprietary Automatic Noise Background Cancelation (Hear-Thru) AI, so speech is heard even in the loudest of environments. When Hear-Thru isn’t toggled on, the solution switches to active noise cancellation mode, creating a quiet escape for an optimal streaming experience. The design uses two highly optimized multi-directional microphones for those features.
In both hearing mode or listening mode, Olive Pro earbuds sport up to 7 hours of battery on a single charge, and nearly 2 additional charges from the included battery case. And, with 20+ hours of battery life, users can rely on Olive Pro for real-world hearing along with high-definition hands-free music and calls, during a full day.
Following the first presentation at CES 2020, earlier in 2021 Olive Union unveiled the Olive Pro concept, forging ahead with its hearing health strategy, despite the over-the-counter hearing aid policy delays in the US. The Olive Pro earbuds will be the first smart hearing aids available that truly look, feel and function like standard TWS earbuds.
“Creating a low cost solution is only one part of the equation,” states Song. “We’ve been pioneering affordable, accessible and stylish hearing for years and are happy to see the FDA - under President Biden’s direction - finally take hearing health seriously.
The Olive Pro earbuds offer high-quality audio reproduction, working via Bluetooth 5.1 with SBC/AAC support to connected devices. Apart from the advanced hearing test and personalized hearing calibration, users will be able to enjoy the mentioned voice enhancing noise reduction, preset hearing modes, customizable passthrough audio, active noise / feedback cancellation, 10 band EQ for assistance or music playback, and multi-band wide dynamic range compression.
Every Olive Pro set comes standard with touch-sensitive left and right earbuds, a USB-C charging case, a USB Type-C charging cable, and 5 urethane eartip size options. audioXpress will publish a comprehensive review.
www.oliveunion.com
