Vibrosonic GmbH

About 3 million people in Germany have hearing aids, but many use them only sporadically. One of the main reasons is that the devices available on the market are perceived by users as too large and visible, plus they have poor sound quality. This leads many to simply tuck their hearing aids away in a drawer, unused. To help those with hearing impairments, spin-off Vibrosonic GmbH has developed its innovative Hearing Contact Lens®, which utilizes microsystems engineering. The speakers are placed directly on the eardrum, with no need for implantation, and they deliver outstanding sound quality.

From idea to innovative solution in medicine

Vibrosonic GmbH, a spin-off of the Fraunhofer Project Group for Automation in Medicine and Biotechnology PAMB, was founded in 2016 by Dr. Dominik Kaltenbacher, Dr. Jonathan Schächtele, and Dr. Ernst Dalhoff. The project was initiated by Professor Hans-Peter Zenner, former director of the Department of Otolaryngology (ENT) at University Hospital Tübingen, who had already founded successful start-ups himself and was looking for new technological ways to reduce surgical intervention when hearing implants were placed. In the course of the project, the scientists experimented with a speaker technology that used a vibrating diaphragm much like a natural eardrum — which turned out to hold more potential than just an advanced version of existing technologies. The researchers happened to notice the similarity between the diaphragm technology and the human eardrum during a routine meeting. The team started developing ideas for how this similarity could be used. The creative discussion ended up producing the idea for the Hearing Contact Lens®.

Unique hearing solution without implantation

The Vibrosonic Hearing Contact Lens® is not worn in the outer ear or ear canal as an amplifier, like a conventional hearing aid. Like a contact lens for the eyes, it uses the moist environment and surface tension inside the ear canal to adhere to the eardrum without any further attachment.

The unique alpha hearing solution consists of three components:

- Hearing Contact Lens®.

- Ear canal module with open, soft domes for optimal ventilation and comfortable wear.

- Discreet behind-the-ear module with battery and microphones.

Vibrosonic alpha is positioned on the eardrum by trained ENT specialists, without requiring any surgical intervention at all. The design of the Vibrosonic Hearing Contact Lens® allows it to bridge the gap between miniaturization and sound quality, a perennial source of conflict with conventional hearing aids.