No time to read? Pick your language & press PLAY Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

I don’t know about you, but I’m seriously inspired by the accelerating evolution of Hearables technology and the potential impact it can have on the future of wellness, human performance, and the testing and application of audio-based content and therapies.

Six months ago, I wrote an article introducing the Hearables Revolution called Sound Health: The Future is in Your Ears. Since then, players big and small have been investing, developing, and feverishly working to position themselves at the forefront what is expected to become a new $73B market. We are less than eight months away from the date, and regulatory change, that will ignite that market, but we are already in the middle of a race to that starting line – one that could mark the beginning of a new game-changing marathon in the personalized health and wellness field.

In more recent presentations at Singularity University’s Exponential Medicine Conference (Coronado Island) and the Transformative Technology Conference (Palo Alto), I had the opportunity to speak further about these unfolding opportunities. This time, I did so in the context of three core and intersecting areas of my work: Music, Wellness and Human Potential.

 

The vision I shared went something like this:

“Imagine yourself wearing your brand-new pair of highly fashionable Ear Buddies comfortably tucked away as you go about your day. Imagine that within these tiny devices lives a turbo-charged computer, a high-fidelity hearing enhancement system, and a sophisticated set of biometric sensors specifically designed to monitor and improve your health and quality of life. Through these stylish tech companions, you can filter out background noise, control input levels, track your physical and emotional states, and measure the real-time effect auditory input has on your performance, productivity, and well-being…and so much more.”

We’re approaching the perfect storm: Bringing together exponential tech like AI, Big Data, Nanotech, Voice analytics, and sensors, to capture a whole range of real-time biometrics through one of the most powerful gateways to the inner universe of our mind – the human ear. 

I have been enthusiastically watching these technologies evolve since 2014 when I gave my first industry overview and workshop for leaders in health and technology at Exponential Medicine. At that time, Wearables were the latest trend. Already being immersed in music and health, it was the next evolution that was especially intriguing to me. Today, I don’t know any other single location on the human body where we will be able to measure as much real-time biometrics as we can via the ear. These possibilities are now emerging as personalized real-time monitoring of heart rate, heart rate variability, activity & movement, EEG, emotional states, vagal tone, galvanic skin response, body temperature, identity security, and blood oxygen levels.

Add to all this technology the evolution of prescriptive software, and another key US regulatory shift going into place in August of next year – the OTC Hearing Aid Law, and you have a new industry with major players from hardware to health care, from software to audio content, moving into position to capture the market.

Look into the future through this lens and you will understand why Samsung – a leading tech manufacturer looking to go head-to-head in the wellness space with Apple and Amazon – is investing deeply into their health division, bought the headphone and audio hardware mega-force Harmon, and partnered with the leading mediation software brand Calm (which has, in turn, hired Universal Music’s Ex-VP of global partnerships to build up their original content offerings).

Video Excerpt from Music: The Exponential Healer by Frank Fitzpatrick feat the Brothers Koren. (Exponential Medicine 2019)

Patent plays are often a good indicator, and positioning lever, for competitors in the game. There are currently over 100 patent applications under review for variations on Hearables technology. Health and music tech goliath Apple recently made moves to update the patent on their next-gen Air Pods, expanding it to include “General wellness instruments, namely, health, fitness, exercise, and wellness sensors, monitors, speakers and displays for measuring, displaying, tracking, reporting, monitoring, storing, and transmitting biometric data, heart rate, body movement, and calories burned.” That opens the door to infinitely more possibilities than listening to Apple Music, watching your favorite video, and making phone calls.

What we should expect to see more of in the year ahead:

• Convergence of medical hearing devices and consumer audio products.
• Rebranding and destigmatizing of hearing enhancement devices.
• Integration and advancement of closed-loop systems.
• Music and audio content deals.
• Mergers and acquisitions.
• New audio and health tech startups.
• Further size reduction of high functioning Ear Wear.
• Better software UX to support the hardware and consumer.

Whichever companies dominate at the beginning of the race, Hearables will be a game-changer. That upward spike in the exponential tech curve we’re always looking for is knocking at our door. The convergence of these technologies, combined with 100’s of years of proven efficacy of music and sound for healing, will not only transform the way we measure, integrate, and personalize music and sound for our optimal performance and ultimate wellbeing; it might just be the perfect storm for a whole new wave of products for Human Health and Happiness.

••••

About the Author 

Frank Fitzpatrick is a Creative Visioneer, Engagement Expert and High-Performance Coach on the Faculty of Singularity University’s Exponential Medicine.

To connect, go to FrankFitzpatrick.com

To learn more about working 1-on1 with Frank, go to BeyondPerformance.Life

 

Related Articles

HOPE: A Power Tool for Leadership & Self-Mastery

Sleeping Giant: Welcome to the Next Pandemic