Company to Showcase Prototype
Tinnitus Add-on Feature for
HyperSound Clear 500P at AudiologyNOW!
2016 Convention and Expo
San Diego, CA – April 11, 2016 – Tinnitus is a
serious and widespread hearing health problem, and preliminary data from the
latest clinical study by Turtle
Beach Corporation (NASDAQ: HEAR), a
leading audio technology company for over 40 years, suggests
that the Company’s revolutionary HyperSound
Clear™ 500P directed audio system may have the potential
to help people living with this condition. Commonly known as “ringing in the
ears,” Tinnitus is the perception of sound when no actual external noise is
present, and there is currently no cure for most types of Tinnitus. Additionally,
the American Tinnitus Association1
states, “Millions of Americans experience Tinnitus, often to a debilitating
degree, making it one of the most common health conditions in the country. The
U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates that 15% of the general public –
over 50 million Americans – experience some form of Tinnitus, with
approximately 20 million struggling with chronic Tinnitus, and two million
living with extreme and debilitating cases.”
“When we initially discovered HyperSound’s ability to help people
struggling to hear the television we knew we had something huge, something
important, and we jumped at it full force to develop our first consumer facing
product to help this audience of millions of people around the world,” said
Rodney Schutt, SVP and General Manager for the HyperSound business at Turtle Beach. “Now, having just launched the
HyperSound Clear 500P a few months
ago, we find ourselves in a similar position regarding Tinnitus. Through our
commitment to research and developing progressive clinical capabilities for how
HyperSound® technology can
help people living with hearing issues, our latest research suggests we may be
able to improve the quality of life for people living with Tinnitus. This is another
significant milestone and achievement for the technology, and for helping to
alleviate this condition that affects so many people.”
Late last year, Turtle Beach launched the HyperSound Clear 500P, the Company’s
revolutionary directed audio system for the home that’s been shown to
significantly improve sound clarity and speech intelligibility in individuals
with hearing loss2. HyperSound technology is a fundamentally new
approach to sound delivery that generates a directional, narrow beam of audio in the air that can
be pointed to a very specific location. Similar to how a flashlight
directs a beam of light, the HyperSound
Clear 500P directs a beam of
audio to targeted listeners, delivering an immersive, 3D audio experience. Turtle
Beach’s HyperSound Clear 500P helps people hear and understand
the television more clearly, once again allowing them to enjoy home
entertainment with family and friends while watching their favorite shows,
listening to music or playing video games while hearing crisp, clear audio.
With the HyperSound
Clear 500P now in the market, Turtle Beach continues to iterate and move HyperSound directed audio technology
forward. The Company’s recent clinical study was conducted to assess whether HyperSound’s higher-frequency directed
audio using ultrasound technology, has the potential to reduce Tinnitus, with
promising initial results.
“Our latest study included 11 adult patients
with chronic Tinnitus who we had listen to a selection of customized acoustic
stimuli through HyperSound’s work-in-progress
Tinnitus application,” said Dr. Ritvik Mehta, Founder and Medical Director of
the California Hearing & Balance Center. “While sitting in the HyperSound Clear 500P’s directed audio
beam, subjects in the study experienced impressive reductions in Tinnitus
loudness and annoyance. As a hearing healthcare doctor, this early data is very
exciting because HyperSound
technology now also may have the potential to help people manage chronic
Tinnitus without wearing any type of headset, offering a future sleeping
solution for many Tinnitus patients suffering from insomnia. Again, these are early
findings and there’s certainly more research and product development to be
done, but even preliminarily, this is great news for the hearing healthcare
market.”
To further research and test their latest
Tinnitus findings, Turtle Beach will show a prototype version of its new
Tinnitus add-on feature for the HyperSound
Clear 500P at this year’s AudiologyNOW! Convention and Expo in order to
garner additional feedback. The convention takes place Wednesday, April 13-16
at The Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona and the HyperSound team will be at booth #1159,
located at the opposite end of the Main Entrance, by the Concessions area
between Hall 4 and Hall 5.
To learn more about HyperSound technology and the HyperSound
Clear 500P, please visit the official website at http://hypersoundhearing.com.
Also, a HyperSound presentation has
been made available on the investor relations section of Turtle Beach’s website
at http://corp.turtlebeach.com/investor-relations.
About
Turtle Beach Corporation
Turtle Beach Corporation (http://corp.turtlebeach.com)
designs innovative, market-leading audio products for the consumer, healthcare
and commercial sectors. Under its award-winning Turtle Beach
brand (www.turtlebeach.com),
the Company has been the clear market share leader for the past five-plus years
with its wide selection of acclaimed gaming headsets for use with Xbox One
and PlayStation®4, as well as personal computers and mobile/tablet
devices. Under the HyperSound brand (www.hypersound.com),
the Company markets pioneering directed audio solutions that have applications
in hearing healthcare, digital signage and kiosks and consumer electronics. The
Company’s shares are traded on the NASDAQ Exchange under the symbol: HEAR.
Cautionary
Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This
press release includes forward-looking information and statements within the
meaning of the federal securities laws. Except for historical information
contained in this release, statements in this release may constitute
forward-looking statements regarding assumptions, projections, expectations,
targets, intentions or beliefs about future events. Forward looking statements
are based on management’s statements containing the words “may”, “could”,
“would”, “should”, “believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “estimate”,
“target”, “project”, “intend” and similar expressions constitute
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and
unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ
materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Forward-looking
statements are based on management’s current belief, as well as assumptions
made by, and information currently available to, management.
While
the Company believes that its expectations are based upon reasonable
assumptions, there can be no assurances that its goals and strategy will be
realized. Numerous factors, including risks and uncertainties, may affect
actual results and may cause results to differ materially from those expressed
in forward-looking statements made by the Company or on its behalf. Some of
these factors include, but are not limited to, risks related to the Company’s
liquidity, the substantial uncertainties inherent in acceptance of existing and
future products, the difficulty of commercializing and protecting new
technology, the impact of competitive products and pricing, general business
and economic conditions, risks associated with the expansion of our business
including the implementation of any businesses we acquire, our indebtedness,
and other factors discussed in our public filings, including the risk factors
included in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and
the Company’s other periodic reports. Except as required by applicable law,
including the securities laws of the United States and the rules and regulations
of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Company is under no obligation
to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement after the date of
this release whether as a result of new information, future developments or
otherwise.
1 Source: American Tinnitus Association website. Retrieved
from https://www.ata.org/understanding-facts.
2 Mehta,
R., Mattson, S., & Seitzman, R., Kappus, B. (2015, August). Speech
recognition in the sound field: directed audio vs. conventional speakers.
Audiology Online, Article 14901. Retrieved from http://www.audiologyonline.com.
Dr. Mehta and Dr. Mattson are paid consultants of Turtle Beach.
###
For Media/PR
Information, Contact: For
Investor Information, Contact:
MacLean Marshall Cody
Slach
PR/Communications Director Investor Relations
Turtle Beach Corp. Liolios
858.914.5093 949.574.3860
maclean.marshall@turtlebeach.com hear@liolios.com