When we started Concha Labs, we didn’t just want to build a hearing aid—we wanted to solve the real, everyday frustrations that people with hearing loss face. During the holiday season before we launched our clinical trial, we had a moment that made us think we were onto something special: at loud holiday parties, our founder—wearing our prototype hearing aid—was able to follow conversations better than even many people with “normal” hearing.
That moment was powerful, but it was just one data point. To really know if our product worked, we needed objective proof. So we asked ourselves: How do you actually measure how well a hearing aid performs—not just in a quiet audiology clinic, but in the noisy, messy, real world?
The answer lies in two gold-standard assessments used in audiology research.
One is the QuickSIN test—short for Quick Speech-in-Noise. It’s designed to measure how well someone can understand speech in background noise. The lower the score, the better. Normal hearing typically falls in the 0–2 dB SNR range.1
The other is the APHAB, a 24-question survey that asks hearing aid users about their everyday listening experiences. Lower scores mean less difficulty hearing in daily life.2
We partnered with researchers at the University of Minnesota and San Jose State University to put our hearing aids to the test. Participants with mild to moderate hearing loss were randomly assigned to either a traditional, clinician-fitted hearing aid or Concha Sol, our self-fitting model. They used each one for at least a few weeks, then switched to the other method. Researchers measured both speech-in-noise performance (QuickSIN) and self-reported benefit (APHAB) at each stage.
Here’s what we found:
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QuickSIN scores improved more with Concha Sol.
Without hearing aids, participants with mild to moderate hearing loss scored 3.0 dB SNR—meaning speech had to be 3 dB louder than noise to be understood. With clinician-fitted hearing aids, scores improved slightly to 2.7 dB SNR. With Concha Labs' self-fitted hearing aids, scores improved to 1.3 dB SNR—much closer to normal hearing.3 That means Concha Labs helped users hear nearly as well as those with normal hearing. -
Users also reported a bigger improvement in everyday situations.
On the APHAB, with clinician-fitted hearing aids, scores improved from 40.8 (unaided) to 32.9. And with Concha Sol, the scores improved even more to 26.1—closer to the range reported by people with normal hearing, which ranges about 15 to 23.2
The results were recently published in Trends in Hearing, a peer-reviewed journal. The study concluded that the Concha Sol hearing aids delivered “statistically significant improvements” over clinician-fitted hearing aids.3
We’re proud to be one of the only hearing aid companies with a published, peer-reviewed Speech-in-Noise score—and results this strong.
We believe in building for outcomes that matter. And with every new user, we learn more and make our product better. If you're someone with mild to moderate hearing loss who’s struggled with hearing aids that are too loud, too quiet, or just not quite right—or who are just looking to get started—we invite you to try something new.
Read the full study here.
Sources
- Fitzgerald, Matthew B et al. “Preliminary Guidelines for Replacing Word-Recognition in Quiet With Speech in Noise Assessment in the Routine Audiologic Test Battery.” Ear and Hearing. vol. 44,6 (2023)
- Cox, RM. “Administration and application of the APHAB.” Hearing Journal, 50(4): 32-48 (1997).
- Srinivasan, Nirmal, and Sadie O'Neill. “Comparison of Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ) and the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB) Questionnaires in a Large Cohort of Self-Reported Normal-Hearing Adult Listeners.” Audiology Research. vol. 13,1 143-150. 10 Feb. 2023,
- Baltzell, Lucas S et al. “Validation of a Self-Fitting Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Intervention Compared with a Clinician-Fitted Hearing Aid Intervention: A Within-Subjects Crossover Design Using the Same Device.” Trends in Hearing. vol. 29 (2025)