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Safeguarding Your Devices: Unveiling Redux’s Innovative Home Dryer

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Join us as we delve into the revolutionary world of hearing aid care with our special guest, Dr. Mark Campbell Foster, director of sales and marketing for audiology at Redux. Are you ready to discover the secret to safeguarding your hearing aid devices against moisture, especially during summer months? We've got you covered! Dr. Mark introduces us to Redux Home, an innovative home dryer that is the first of its kind available to home users. This system offers unparalleled protection against moisture, ensuring your devices continue to serve you optimally.

But that's not all! Did you know that Redux Home isn't just for your hearing aids? Dr. Mark shares game-changing insights into how this dryer can also be used for your favorite tech gadgets, ranging from Bluetooth earbuds and Fitbits to Apple Watches and even Peloton mics. Learn how Redux is revolutionizing the hearing healthcare industry by proactively tackling moisture-related issues. We also dive into tantalizing discussions about Redux's ongoing research and development projects, including the exciting potential for in-charger cradle dryers and cradle charging options. Tune in and let's journey together into a future where your hearing aids are always protected, and your tech gadgets are moisture-free!

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Blaise M. Delfino, M.S. - HIS:

You're tuned in to the Hearing Matters podcast, the show that discusses hearing technology best practices and a growing national epidemic hearing loss. Before we kick this episode off, a special thank you to our partners. We've the all-in-one patient communication and engagement platform cycle built for the entire hearing care practice. Redux faster, drier, smarter, verified fader plugs world's first custom adjustable ear plug. Welcome back to another Hearing Matters podcast episode, and I am so excited to be joined today by the one, the only, dr Mark Campbell Foster from Redux. Mark, welcome back to the Hearing Matters podcast.

Dr. Mark Campbell-Foster:

Thanks, please. I can't be more excited to be here with you. You're one of the best people I work with, so it's a pleasure to always be here with you, so thank you.

Blaise M. Delfino, M.S. - HIS:

Thank you, sir, and a couple of months ago you joined us on the Hearing Matters podcast. Now for new listeners tuned in right now, whether they be audiology students or hearing care professionals, or even consumers, mark, share a little bit about yourself, your role at Redux, and then we're going to get right into it, because Redux has some amazing news coming out.

Dr. Mark Campbell-Foster:

We do have some good, great news coming out. But a bit about me is that I've been an audiologist for 2009, and I've worked with various companies in the past Hopefully you're being the biggest one for the last 10 years, about two years ago. But then I found myself at the best place Redux and I am now their director of sales and marketing for audiology, and I get to do great things like this and promote such an amazing product, which is what Redux is. So I feel like I have the best unicorn job right now in audiology. So I'm very fortunate.

Blaise M. Delfino, M.S. - HIS:

Well, mark, from your social media posts and I know from talking to you, whether it be Zoom or texting communication, what have you? You are so passionate about what you do and I just want to thank you for that passion, because the hearing health care industry in totality appreciates that. Mark, summer is here. Can I get a heck? Yeah.

Dr. Mark Campbell-Foster:

Heck, yeah. Finally she's going to get her AC working, and then I'll fully embrace that.

Blaise M. Delfino, M.S. - HIS:

So, you know, summer's here, this really does mean that our listeners are going to be, you know, making trips to the beach, hiking, biking, I mean really, we're all just going to be super active, enjoying the outdoors. What does this mean for our hearing aid users and what are some tips and tricks that our listeners tuned in right now can implement to ensure, you know, they don't flood their hearing aids?

Dr. Mark Campbell-Foster:

Great question. And you know, yes, but definitely heading into the summer. And I forgot to mention that I'm a bilateral implant user myself. So when you're wearing these devices, you know that you rely on them so much. But you also worry, and you know when summer's here you don't want to worry about going to the beach or sitting by the pool.

Dr. Mark Campbell-Foster:

But what can you do to be proactive? Right, because we can't stop sweating, we can't stop the humidity and the environment, we can't stop moisture from accumulating into the devices, which it wants to do. And so if we don't protect the devices, this can lead to intermittent problems like weak hearing aids, dead hearing aids cutting out, not being able to connect to Bluetooth, with chargeable batteries dying quicker. So all that to say is that clearly we want to have fun, but our hearing aids need some protection. And that's really why I'm excited to talk to you today, because I'm going to talk about our dryer.

Dr. Mark Campbell-Foster:

But before we get to that, obviously trying to minimize how much exposure to moisture you're in, I never want to tell people to stop using their devices, but use common sense.

Dr. Mark Campbell-Foster:

Don't wear them in the shower.

Dr. Mark Campbell-Foster:

If you don't have a way to remove all the moisture, like if you have a redux, then we'll have a totally different conversation about what you have.

Dr. Mark Campbell-Foster:

But if you don't have a redux, try to wear things that wrap around the hearing aid to prevent moisture from going inside. Try to not be in direct sunlight so if you're standing on the beach, maybe be under an umbrella, because all that's going to help protect the hearing aid and then, at the end of the day, the best thing you can do is put it in a hearing aid dryer. But redux is a maker of hearing aid dryers and we have set the gold standard in hearing aid drying for professionals, and so we've now brought that same technology to the home user, and so up to today, current dryers have been limited. This is going to be the first summer that you can have a dryer that's not limited, and that's what redux home is, and that's why I'm so excited to be talking about it, because this conversation about what we can be doing this summer can look very different if you have a redux at home.

Blaise M. Delfino, M.S. - HIS:

Well, mark that statement alone. This is the first summer where hearing aid users and CI users will have at their fingertips the ability to use a redux at home is really incredible. I have a redux system, recently relocated down south, and I will say I was out in Arizona for a couple of months and so different it is. You know, I pulled out over 10 microliters of moisture from my workout buds. Now granted in Arizona, I might have pulled out 2.5 to 3.

Dr. Mark Campbell-Foster:

So you had to have noted the difference, yeah.

Blaise M. Delfino, M.S. - HIS:

Huge difference with Bluetooth connectivity, so with having the ability to have a redux at home. To date, like you said, this is going to be the first summer patients have a redux at home. So patients who do perspire a lot or live very active lifestyles we talked about hiking and just being outside with family you know they need to visit their hearing care provider for redux treatments, which, again, this system in and of itself is not going to completely replace that, but it's just an added layer of defense from moisture, if you will. Hearing aid users will be able to use redux at home, or should I say hearing aid users will be able to redux at home. Mark, tell us more.

Dr. Mark Campbell-Foster:

Yeah, so, blazer, exactly right. We started well, for those that don't know, the beginning of our journey with redux that we actually started our journey in the cell phone industry. So we're in over 3,000 of Verizon stores reviving dead cell phones. We've been doing that since 2012. So we've revived more than 50% of dead cell phones. So in 2019, we came up with the professional version and that's a much higher cost dryer and it drives hearing aids to six to eight minutes. And so what we've done is created a new dryer to reach a more affordable price point, and in doing that, we actually created an all new drying method to have all new patents in this new dryer. So not only have we been able to revolutionize how people can get their hearing aids dried in the clinic in six to eight minutes.

Dr. Mark Campbell-Foster:

Well, we all know like, if clinicians are listening right now, we all have frequent fliers, right, and if you're offering a redux in your office but you have that frequent flier that still have to come back every two weeks, well, now you have a solution to provide that patient with their own redux at home. But not everybody goes to a hearing care professional Over the counter. Hearing aids are now disrupting how we get access to hearing aids. So we had to really think about how do we offer redux? And so now it's more. We're still working with our clinician, 100%. We have the typical sale price to them, but we have to also expand our reach, because that's our goal is to have everybody have access to redux, the hearing device, and so by doing that, we're working really with a big director consumer effort, such as reaching out to them directly. So you're gonna see a big focus coming from us because, yes, now people can finally use redux at home to redux their hearing aids.

Blaise M. Delfino, M.S. - HIS:

I think it's wonderful and it sort of reminds me of and it's completely different but the tele-audiology and tele-health movement, right, so that's an option to access to hearing health care, but now this is product-based. You're still providing that access to hearing health care. So if a patient does visit a hearing health care professional, they are fit with prescription hearing aids. You know they're still connected to the hearing care provider, but it's going to save the patient time you know, driving to the clinic and driving home and it's going to save the clinician time as well. I am so excited for this product and Mark having an understanding and actually being involved in go-to-market strategies and introducing a never-before-seen or heard-of product. You know, like Redux at home, when we talk about introducing a brand new product to the market, there are so many moving parts behind the scenes. If you can share with us a few highlights that you and your team experienced, you know, during the R&D of the Redux at home, and what is your team most proud of?

Dr. Mark Campbell-Foster:

Well, first and foremost, you know we have the goal of accessing reach to Redux, right, and so by going starting in Verizon phones, like we were able to reach those with cell phones, right. But you know, clearly cell phones are our lifeline, but hearing aids are much more of a lifeline, right. So that really got to like quality of life metrics or measured rather. So like now working with the clinicians and we can see the value. But we can see that there are like 16,000 hearing care professionals in the US, but there are millions of hearing aid users. We know that the millions of people are not seeing the 16,000. So we really had to think about how do we then modify our product? And who's our main demographic? So we know that all users, but especially those 65 and older, going to be using it. So we've designed intentional, intuitive design that makes it very easy for everybody to use and we also remove heat from our drying process, and so that way is now a simple one-button push start-stop with a simple interface, so you no longer have to worry about is this device safe for me, because there's no heat, so if it can be worn on the body, it can be used, and we didn't want to interfere with charging cycles. Right, because most current drivers are using charging cycles of like eight hours, but if you have a device that needs to sit on a charger, you can't use that. So our new dryer is done in two hours time.

Dr. Mark Campbell-Foster:

We have a sophisticated closed-loop chambers and, if you think about it, that's the only way you're going to be able to truly remove all moisture. By having an isolated chamber with a humid decensor, and I can tell you the thing that just said alone, or what current drivers don't have at home just being able to continue to bring that innovation to Like. There are things people don't think Like. Just the fact that we're not using heat now means that we can avoid discoloration of the hearing aids, we can avoid melting of earwraps, which can then shift down onto more surfaces, or even the oil shifting from. You don't want to create problems, and sometimes that can happen, and so we really did stop and develop the whole novel and again, now we have completely new patents on this.

Dr. Mark Campbell-Foster:

So we now have two unique ways of removing moisture, and what I'm really proud of is the fact that, with this closed chamber, we basically created this ultra-dry environment that doesn't exist on earth, and so it's around 7%, and basically, if you think about when you have stale cookies and you really want to eat it, you'll stick a slice of bread in a container and it'll glue up all the moisture from. It's kind of like that. But a desiccant works that way though, right, and then when that is saturated it can't absorb any moisture. But that's the beauty of our system, is that we actually also have rejuvenating desiccant, and so you never have to worry about replacement parts and things like that. Maintenance-free, two hours, all moisture removed, just like you would get in your clinic. So really, having said all that, that came out with the awesome Redux Home and that's our pride and joy that we've got to see, because now we can offer a solution to the professional as well as to the consumer- Absolutely, especially when we do talk about access to hearing health care in totality.

Blaise M. Delfino, M.S. - HIS:

Well, care and maintenance are all part of that access to hearing health care. Mark, you've been with Redux now you are their director of sales and marketing with the entire R&D process. Is there a highlight moment of yours when it comes to introducing the Redux at home, like was there a prototype that you received and then you used your CI's you personally? What is like that highlight?

Dr. Mark Campbell-Foster:

Honestly, the highlight would seeing it for the first time in real life, Like, and I just got to see, like whoa, is this small, Is this portable, Is this easy to use? Like I just got goosebumps now because you know, like, please, you talk about how you dried your ear pod and I talked about previous podcast about my sister who has MS and literally, like she just texted me about when she used it and how she noticed the difference right away because, again, she had to share the swimming pool and we're in summer and the swimming pool, without a doubt, always affects I don't know if it's the kids flashing or what, but she can tell a difference on every single time she gets out of the pool and every single time she's texting me like this thing is a God son and so, and that's her using it at home now, Like that is what we want. Like you know, and that passion is what I want to. Then spread the word for Redux because this works. You know, and you know part of our success has been with professionals that we offer 30 day risk free trials.

Dr. Mark Campbell-Foster:

I think we've ever had 4% returns on that. You know, it's like the uptake is significant because, regardless of the data that it provides in the professional unit. It's the wow factor from the patient. You know. That says it all. It's like what did you do Like?

Dr. Mark Campbell-Foster:

these sound completely different, Like you know, and that that to me is almost just as goosebumps as like when I used to see patients get activated for cochlear implants.

Blaise M. Delfino, M.S. - HIS:

Your passion absolutely bleeds through right here and your entire team you know, james and Rubin, the entire Redux team so passionate, so innovative, you know. Thank you again for the innovations that you're bringing to the hearing health care industry with this Redux at home. So this is a system that hearing aid users and CI users have access to. What other audio consumers can use this device? Bluetooth earbuds or like Fitbit?

Dr. Mark Campbell-Foster:

Honestly, anything that can fit into this little chamber can be dry Now. So if you're wearing it again, you don't use any heat. So if you're wearing special musician, Ear monitors, or yeah, exactly ear monitored, earbuds, ear pod, things like that.

Dr. Mark Campbell-Foster:

you know you Fitbit your Apple Watches. Like you know you can just wipe up and put it in the moisture button if you don't know that, but otherwise you can take off the straps and put it on there. Now, having said that, the bigger the size, it just takes longer. But you know the it should be done within two hours time in there. So it's not just for those with hearing loss, but it's really for anybody that wears a hearable in their ear or off the ear, as I do. So, yeah, like that's the part and beauty of it, like you don't have to have hearing loss just to experience Redux, put on your ear pods, and that's, by and large, how we show the world how Redux works, because not everybody has hearing loss. So we'll dry anybody's ear pods and whatever device they like to use the Fitbit in there. I mean I'll even drive my mini mic in there and if I'm sweating a lot with it from the Peloton, just because it fits inside.

Blaise M. Delfino, M.S. - HIS:

So so many use cases. Really there will be so many use cases. And, to echo you, at least once a week I'll put my Bluetooth earbuds in my Redux and I'll put my Fitbit. I use a Fitbit Charge 5. I take the straps off and again, it's really to your point. It's that proper care and maintenance, because I want this stuff to last me quite some time and for the longest time.

Blaise M. Delfino, M.S. - HIS:

As you've mentioned many times before, you know moisture has been an issue not only for electronics, but you know mechanicals as well. So this is super exciting and, mark, you know my history, you know my background. A former private practice owner, I have literally had the opportunity to watch Redux grow within the hearing health care space and it's really been incredible to see many things to Matt Hay because he actually flew out to our office I think it was a few months after the COVID pandemic and had the opportunity to see how we use Redux. He came on the Hearing Matters podcast and I remember the first Redux system was like a cinder block I was going to say a brick but it was so effective and I just remember our team saying how have we gone this long without a Redux and how have our patients gone this long without a system like Redux.

Blaise M. Delfino, M.S. - HIS:

So tell me, I'm curious to know, you know, how is Redux disrupting the hearing healthcare industry? Why should hearing care providers who are on the fence implementing the Redux in their practice reconsider, and what is Redux? Goals and growth strategies? So that's a triple barrel question. My friend, you've got 30 seconds. No, just kidding.

Dr. Mark Campbell-Foster:

It's a great question, but Redux is kind of like a leap of faith because you know, like you said, everybody to the soon moisture, moisture, it happened. We can't prevent it, it's just going to be like that. But to your point, yes, you can't prevent it. Redux will never prevent moisture from getting it to your device. But proactivity is what you can do. So you never want these devices to break down on the Friday of a long weekend or you know of an important event you're going to. So being proactive, like you are with your ear pods every week and me using it, is the best thing you can do. Giving your patients access to that is going to be amazing. And so, first and foremost, just using the dryer the first line of defense of your practical soul, the majority of the issues that are related to moisture, which may be reduced receivers and things like that. So, just from a clinical efficiency standpoint, the fact that we offer a 30 day risk-free trial, you get to see how you might change your practice a little bit and with those 30 day trial, show it to your patients and you'll see that wow factor and we'll help your practice, monetize it and all of that. Redux is really onto something to the fact that we're in now several university studies we're going to get several publications coming early finding the showing that leading dryers out there are using too much heat, also leaving moisture behind, and they're also finding that directional microphones are actually affected because of the moisture involved in different. So these studies are actually helping us even further understand really what moisture is doing to these microphones and to affect word clarity. And so I think you really just going to start to see more evidence of research driven to what moisture is doing, because if you do a PubMed search, it's so little there that we're driving that research now we're not really going away.

Dr. Mark Campbell-Foster:

And so you talk about that triple barrel question. Well, first of all, you have a device that now can recover dead age 50% of the time. We can good age more than 80% of the time Because we know that from 129,000 data samples, 98% of hearing aids have moisture going into the device. It's a redux. So if you know you have a solution, I'll help 80% of the time. Why not try it? I think we're really onto something. So you talk about the triple barrel question. Is that part of our R&D is that we can see, given our work with our manufacturers and partnerships with the hearing company, that we've actually created the potential and the opportunity to have a in charger cradle dryer of redux and you're hearing a manufacturer of choice cradle charging option as well, so you can get cradle drying, cradle charging, drying in essence. So I can see that being the next wave, if you will, and I think that alone will just start to show how we really are disrupting the industry, because everybody's looking at redux right now.

Blaise M. Delfino, M.S. - HIS:

Well, mark, I can firsthand say how it positively influenced our practice. Patients coming in who were frequent fliers really, and we had them on that every month. Just drop your hearing aids, we'll bring them in the back, we'll redux them. You sit here for about 10 minutes and we had our. We actually trained our front office staff. You know we'd have redux days for any hearing care provider tuned in.

Blaise M. Delfino, M.S. - HIS:

Try a relax and redux, like once a month. Open up for Saturday and bring some patients in who are in warranty. Do it as a complimentary cleaning, because we know from our friend Bob Berg, the go-giver, that hey gave me his book. It's so important because hearing healthcare is so much more than a hearing aid. There are all of these different service models, different products, that when implemented, the hearing aid user is going to have that best experience, especially Mark, those first time hearing aid users, and we want them to have that experience. Okay, you know how do I take care of my hearing aids and if you start them off with a redux, especially a redux at home, what an experience.

Dr. Mark Campbell-Foster:

Well, with quality accessories right, because if you're using drivers that aren't effectively removing all moisture, then you're not fully addressing the problem and you're going to start going down rabbit hole. And to anybody listening, professional or consumer, if you're interested in anything about redux, hearing at reduxcom R-E-D-U-Xcom is a great way to get to reach me directly. In my boss, james, we work together in tandem and also we'll be launching our new website, and so reduxcom, our new website, I should say, since we currently have one, but it'll be updated as of July 15th. So, but, as always, just email hearing at reduxcom for any questions and whatnot.

Blaise M. Delfino, M.S. - HIS:

Mark, it's always a pleasure to have you on the Hearing Matters podcast. Always a pleasure to be with you, please. You're tuned in to the Hearing Matters podcast. Today we had Dr Mark Campbell Foster, who is the director of sales and marketing at Redux, Talk All Things Redux at Home. To learn more, visit reduxcom and if you need to get in contact with Mark directly, look in the show notes below, because his contact information is there. Until next time, your life story.

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