Hearing Devices are getting a Fashion Makeover

Thanks to some amazing journalists throughout the world, the name Deafmetal continues to spread. Our hope is that with time, we are going to mainstream the idea that people who are Deaf or Hard of hearing will be able to personalize their hearing aids or cochlear implants much like people do with vision loss when they pick out their new pair of fun and fashionable eyeglasses. But, I thought it would be fun to talk about how we decided to launch our “Hope Collection” here in the US.

How did Jenni, Creator of Deafmetal, and I meet? Well, this past summer I had looked into combining my degree as an audiologist with a marketing slant and had researched new audiology related companies and came across the word “Deafmetal” which immediately intrigued me. I mean, how cool is it for a company who focuses on accessories for hearing aids to be called Deafmetal? Jenni and I started scheduling Skype phone calls talking about US trends in fashion, jewelry, function, etc and decided that we needed to launch an extensive collection for the US that would be so diverse that we would surely have something in the collection for every age and style. We were wanting to create and develop a “vibe” and an ability to create “attitude” for people who wearing hearing devices.

What would we call this collection? Honestly, this is when the story of the “owl” came into play. Jenni had designed a Deafmetal in the shape of an owl to hang from the patented holster. During one of her conferences, she had a lady in her 80’s come up to her and want to purchase the owl. When asked why the owl, she simply stated that in purchasing it “she hoped that it would encourage her granddaughter to sit on her lap more often”…ok, that story is what solidified the name “Hope Collection”. It also made me want to bring this innovation here to the US because initially I thought it would be awesome for the younger generations to want to wear Deafmetals…but there is no age limit or requirement for beauty and fashion and for wanting to feel confident and unique. As Jenni said at one time, we are not promoting jewelry, we are promoting attitude.

Not only are these Deafmetals great for creating a sense of attitude and unique style, they also can potentially save hearing aids or cochlear implant processors from falling to the ground. Because it is attached via holster to the hearing aid which connects to the ear, it saves the hearing aids from potentially getting lost which is a great thing. I don’t know about you, but I have heard from a lot of hearing aid and cochlear implant wearers that are so frustrated that when they take their masks on and off, their hearing aids want to come out of their ears….Deafmetals can help!

More than anything, we would love to see our product continue to bring joy and hope to those who have hearing loss..to change the overall stigma and to allow people to want to show off their hearing aids because they are finally being able to choose an accessory that speaks to their style. We have gotten a lot of feedback so far from patients who have hearing loss that are SO excited that we have developed a product especially for them. Some are equally as passionate about spreading the word. Just last week, I had someone reach out to me saying that he has worn cochlear implants for just over a year now and he wanted to tell me personally that he feels like the message that we are trying to spread is so “important” to the deaf and hard of hearing community and this is one of the main reasons we are so passionate about spreading the word.

One last thing that draws Deafmetal Finland with Deafmetal USA together – both designer Jenni Ahtiainen, and US partner/audiologist Jen Aslin have the same initials…J.A…I mean, we were meant to work together…We “hope” our Deafmetal collection will empower you to want to have some fun with your hearing aids or cochlear implants…they make great gifts too!