Currently, over 20% of the global population suffer hearing loss and the number is set to rise. This opens up an opportunity for many companies to innovate in this space.
One such startup is London-based Tympa Health, a team of doctors and technology experts working with the intention to help the world hear efficiently. The startup has developed the world’s first all-in-one hearing health assessment system. To ease pressure on the NHS in the UK and improve patients’ access to healthcare, the startup has developed a smart device with Cambridge innovation hothouse Team Consulting. The world-first device offers high street pharmacies to test and treat hearing issues within 30 minutes compared to the usual 12-16 weeks.
$8M funding
Recently, Tympa Health closed $8 million in seed funding in a round led by serial healthcare entrepreneurs Maurice Ferre and Arjun Desai. Also, a global consortium of investors with extensive experience in developing, launching, and scaling cutting edge medical technologies joined the round. The group comprises Jim Breyer, Anil Sethi, Martin Varsavsky, Carlos Gallardo, Fred Moll, Elan Katz, Manny Kadre and Imran Hakim among others.
Also, the NHS spin-out announced that KHP MedTech Innovations, a collaboration between Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Trust, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London has invested in this seed round.
The proceeds of this round will be used to accelerate the expansion of Tympa Health across the U.K., Europe & U.S. markets. The company intends to become a leader in the hearing health space.
Recently, FDA approved hearing devices to be allowed for sale over-the-counter in the US. This will let Tympa Health help point-of-care providers in perform comprehensive exams to detect disease and assist patients to make the right hearing device decisions.
Chairman of the National Health Service (NHS), Lord David Prior, stated, “TympaHealth can deliver ear and hearing health services safely into the community and away from the hospital, expanding critical access for patients. It is doing so effectively in the UK and it is great to see an NHS innovation taking the next step of their journey.”
Rob Skedge, Managing Director at Boots Hearingcare, said, “The demand and subsequent success of the service we offered with Tympa, gave us confidence to plan expansion beyond 100 stores to provide nationwide coverage.”
“Tympa is the perfect combination of intuitive technology and improved access to care that is driving our next generation patient-centric approach to earlier disease detection and modification,” said Anil Sethi, former Apple Health Executive and Founder of Gliipmse and Ciitizen.
Founder Krishan Ramdoo said, “We are incredibly humbled to be supported by such an experienced and distinguished group of investors. This funding will fuel our growth and gives Tympa the opportunity to revolutionize an important area of unmet need in the healthcare sector.”
Appoints new board members
Besides the investment round, Tympa Health has appointed Arjun Desai and Karin Ajmani to their board of directors. Karin holds board positions at multiple digital health companies and served as President and Chief of Strategic Development at Progyny, the leading fertility benefits company. Arjun Desai has scaled several medical and healthcare technology companies, including leading global teams at Johnson and Johnson Innovation and Insightec.
“For a U.K. company now commercially expanding into the U.S., having Karin and Arjun’s collective experience of growing companies and their collaborative passion for innovation is a tremendous asset to Tympa, its customers, and the patients seeking the best care in hearing health,” said Dr. Ramdoo.
“More and more research shows the significant correlation between hearing loss and patient falls, social isolation and dementia, to name a few. It is cost-effective solutions like Tympa, which focus on preventative care, that are high on the agenda at the payor/provider level. I am thrilled to be joining the board at TympaHealth,” said Karin Ajmani.
One-of-a-kind earing health assessment system
Founded by CEO Dr. Krishan Ramdoo while practicing as an ENT surgeon in the National Health Service (NHS), Tympa Health was launched commercially in 2021.
It is a digital health company that uses patented, award-winning technology to allow for comprehensive hearing health assessments to be performed in point-of-care settings. Tympa Health is CE marked and FDA registered and a one-of-a-kind solution dedicated to the democratisation of ear and hearing care.
With proprietary hardware and AI-enabled software, Tympa Health has created the world’s first, all-in-one hearing assessment platform available to patients outside traditional primary or secondary care settings such as pharmacies, retail stores, and assisted living facilities.
This point of care tool provides patients with the information to detect disease and manage their hearing health through high-resolution ear drum visualisation, ear wax removal and a real-time screening audiogram within a few minutes.
For more advanced diagnoses, Tympa’s cloud computing capabilities enable telehealth consultation for patients requiring specialist support.
To date, 150K patient evaluations and treatments have been carried out by Tympa Health. Currently, it holds one of the largest digital databases of ear and hearing health records worldwide.
