Develop and provide an easily accessible and affordable solution for people with hearing loss and tinnitus.
Built new features for the existing iOS app, created an Android version from scratch, and updated the backend to bring everything in sync.
The app has received 400+ 5 start reviews, with over 70% of customers who used the app for a minimum of 30 sessions reporting positive changes to their hearing or tinnitus.
App Uses Sound Therapy to Treat Hearing Loss – Los Angeles Business Journal
Hearing Loss Therapies Backed By Science – Hearing Tracker
AudioCardio is a digital health and wellness company that has developed technology to address sensorineural hearing loss. Their clinically proven Threshold Sound Conditioning (TSC) technology generates personalized sound therapies just below the audible level to stimulate cells inside your ear. These inaudible sound therapies are delivered via their mobile app and designed to maintain and strengthen your hearing while providing relief from tinnitus.
In order to determine these personalized “silent” therapies (barely audible sounds of a certain volume and frequency), users have to undergo an initial hearing assessment. It consists of ten steps with five different levels of frequency for both ears in turn. At each step (or frequency level e.g. 1000Hz), the user moves the volume slider up and down to find the cusp of sound or the barely audible level and then set it there. These values are then fed into an algorithm to determine the user’s initial hearing score as well as personalized sound therapy.
When AudioCardio first approached Tintash, they already had an iOS app published on the App Store. They wanted us to build new features and add greater functionality to their existing app, plus create a similar Android application from scratch.
We have served as the development partner of AudioCardio since 2019. During this span, our work with this client has progressed in several discrete phases.
We worked on several feature sets simultaneously during this phase. To begin with, the client wanted to enable its users to play sound therapies at their desired frequencies. We updated the logic to include a feature containing a switch called “frequency targeting”. Turning on this switch would prompt users to select frequencies of their choice.
The AudioCardio app prompted users to set their device volume to 60% in order to accurately personalize and play their sound therapies. Users had complained that while using the optional Sound Therapy with Music, setting their hardware volume at 60% was too loud. Since both the volumes – music and sound therapy – were connected, lowering the former would make sound therapy ineffective since it needed to be played at the barely audible level.
To work around this problem, we created a flow to determine users’ hearing abilities. We included a “Pre Test” before the main hearing assessment to determine whether a user had good or bad hearing. Based on those results, we set their hardware volume to either 60% or 40% so that they could conveniently listen to their music without disrupting the therapy. We also updated the formula used in calculating users’ hearing scores to include the “Pre Test” results as well.
We also did some code cleanup and refactoring and updated third party libraries. This helped reduce the size of the app which took a lot of time to build and run back then and made it both space and time efficient. Some of the other core features we worked on during this phase included reminder notifications (for completing assessments and daily therapy sessions) and generating an app link (shareable via other apps).
During this period, we worked on a couple of animations to improve the user experience. We introduced a sound wave animation that played during the assessment and therapy to give users a feel of an audio playing. We also introduced a custom circle meter/timer animation. This was a circle around the therapy timer that filled with green to indicate how much therapy had been used in a session.
Beside these animations, we added a feature that allowed users to update their profiles including age and email accounts within the app. We also enabled users to rate the app inside the App Store. Lastly, we introduced new SDKs to better understand the application’s metrics and analytics for our client’s marketing requirements.
In the latest phase, we worked on segmenting the app into two modes – Basic and Pro. The client wanted to split the app into a Basic mode which came with primary features, and a Pro mode which enabled advanced features. In order to implement this, we updated the entire app structure. And while at it, our team also updated AudioCardio’s existing purchase model to introduce these new packages and various subscription tiers.
One advanced feature that came with the Pro mode was the option to target a frequency of choice. The client wanted to introduce six frequency programs each targeting a different set of frequencies to run during the sound therapy sessions. While there was one frequency program in the Basic mode, in the Pro mode, users could choose any of the six frequency programs.
To include these programs, we had to update the app’s existing base logic. It required a separate UI for users to select their programs, each of which came with a lot of detail and needed updated frequency and therapy settings throughout the app. Our team created a clean and elaborate UI to allow users to easily choose between the programs and incorporated the programs’ related functionality within the app to ensure a smooth process.
In addition to these programs, we updated the onboarding flow by adding new screens so as to give a more detailed overview of the platform to new users. We also brought both the iOS and Android apps up-to-date as per their latest respective operating systems. We further removed the outdated libraries and SDKs, improved the app’s installation and running processes, and fixed a number of device and user-related issues.
The team at Tintash is thorough and efficient in their work. They can produce a high-quality product while remaining affordable. Tintash is also proactive and forward-thinking in their design choices. Customers can expect dedicated workers who feel as if they are part of the team, even if working remotely.
Director, AudioCardio on Clutch
This remains an ongoing engagement as we continue to work periodically with AudioCardio on developing new feature sets. As of this writing, AudioCardio has a fully functional and updated app with a polished UI, available on both iOS and Android. The app has received great user feedback, with over 400 5-star reviews.
The app quickly assesses your hearing and delivers a once a day, one hour sound therapy that you can play passively in the background while you go about your day. The therapy session works in any environment, loud or quiet. With the optional Sound Therapy + Music feature, users can even listen to their favorite music, podcasts, and audiobooks. They can connect to services like Spotify and Apple Music within the app or open other apps while AudioCardio continues to play in the background.
Users are prompted to retake hearing assessments anytime their sound therapy becomes audible. The app allows you to view your hearing assessment levels and changes so you can measure the progress you’ve made over time. You can notice significant results after only a few weeks of daily use. More than 70% of customers who used the app for a minimum of 30 sessions have reported positive changes to their hearing or tinnitus, although results may vary.
