Earlens

What Earlens does

Earlens Corporation is a privately held medical technology company founded in 2010 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, that develops and commercializes the Earlens Contact Hearing Solution, a non-surgical direct-drive hearing device. The system comprises three interconnected components: a behind-the-ear Processor that captures sound and converts it into an audio-plus-power signal; a custom-molded Ear Tip that transmits the signal into the ear canal; and a tiny custom Lens placed directly on the eardrum by an ENT physician, which vibrates the eardrum across the full frequency range (up to 10 kHz versus approximately 5 kHz for conventional acoustic hearing aids). Both the Lens and Ear Tip are custom-designed from individual ear anatomy and assembled at the company's Silicon Valley facility. The product has FDA clearance and is supported by more than 185 US and international patents and a decade of peer-reviewed clinical research.

Earlens generates revenue through hardware sales of the Contact Hearing System (Lens, Ear Tip, and Processor), professional services tied to the multi-visit fitting process (ENT physician Lens placement plus audiologist programming), and ongoing consumable revenue from Ear Tips with replaceable cables and accessories. Pricing is set by individual providers and not publicly disclosed, with patient financing offered through CareCredit and a 3-year warranty plus Premium Service Program supporting after-sale revenue. Distribution is exclusively through a licensed network of ENT physicians and audiologists in the United States — not through retail or over-the-counter channels — augmented by a channel partnership with US ENT Partners announced in March 2021.

The company serves two primary customer segments: (1) adults aged 18 and older with mild to severe sensorineural hearing impairment who are dissatisfied with conventional acoustic hearing aids, drawn from an addressable population of approximately 48 million Americans with hearing impairment, and (2) licensed ENT physicians and audiologists who dispense the device and earn practice differentiation. Earlens has raised approximately $325 million across 12 disclosed funding rounds through April 2024, with a $10 million SEC-registered private placement filed in February 2025. Leadership includes Founder and Chairman Rodney Perkins, M.D., President and CEO Bill Facteau, and COO J. Connon Samuel (joined June 2022 from Audigy Medical). Earlens operates a wholly owned subsidiary, Earlens Hearing Center, Inc., which does business as Virsono Hearing Center.

Name

Earlens

Legal name

Earlens Corporation

Website

https://earlens.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Earlens Corporation is a Menlo Park-based medical technology company that designs, manufactures, and sells the Earlens Contact Hearing Solution, a non-surgical direct-drive hearing device dispensed through licensed ENT physicians and audiologists to US adults with mild to severe sensorineural hearing loss.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hearing Aids

NAICS

Electromedical and Electrotherapeutic Apparatus Manufacturing (334510)

SIC

Electromedical & Electrotherapeutic Apparatus (3845)

akta.pro primary industry

Otology & Neurotology (Ear/Hearing/Balance) (HLAKAMAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Audiology & Hearing Services (ENT-Affiliated) (HLAKAMAI), General Otolaryngology (ENT) (HLAKAMAA)

Keywords

• Contact hearing solutions
• Direct drive hearing aids
• Tympanic membrane hearing devices
• Prescription hearing technology
• Light-driven hearing systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Menlo Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Medical Device Sales: Sale of the Earlens Contact Hearing System including the custom Lens, Ear Tip, and Processor. The system is sold through a network of licensed ENT physicians and audiologists who dispense the device to patients. Pricing is set by individual providers.
2. Professional Services: Professional services revenue generated through provider network including ENT physician procedures for Lens placement/removal and audiologist fitting and programming services. The solution requires 2-3 visits for optimization including consultation, impression taking, Lens placement, and Processor fitting.
3. Supplies and Replacement Parts: Ongoing revenue from consumable supplies including Ear Tips with replaceable cables (sizes A through R in 2 mm increments), replacement parts, and accessories ordered through the provider portal or Customer Care.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Earlens manufactures and sells a prescription Contact Hearing Solution that uses light-driven direct drive technology: a custom-fitted Lens is placed directly on the patient's eardrum by an ENT physician, while a behind-the-ear Processor captures sound and transmits it through a custom-molded Ear Tip, causing the Lens to vibrate the eardrum across a broader audible frequency range than conventional speaker-based hearing aids. The system is dispensed exclusively through licensed ENT physicians and audiologists in the United States, with custom components assembled at the company's Silicon Valley headquarters and supported by proprietary NOAH-compatible fitting software.

Product overview

Earlens offers a unified contact hearing solution centered on its Contact Hearing System, which comprises three interconnected components: the Processor (behind-the-ear), custom Ear Tip (in-ear canal), and Lens (on the eardrum). This direct-drive technology bypasses traditional speaker-based amplification by vibrating the eardrum directly. The system is complemented by proprietary Fidelity Fitting Software for programming, the Earlens app for iPhone streaming, and a Premium Service Program for extended warranty coverage. Accessories include Ear Tips with Replaceable Cables. All components are custom-fitted per patient anatomy and assembled at the company's Silicon Valley headquarters.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Earlens Contact Hearing Solution (System) The flagship prescription hearing device system combining a custom Lens placed on the eardrum by an ENT physician, a behind-the-ear Processor that captures sound, and a custom Ear Tip that transmits signals to the Lens, designed for adults 18+ with mild to severe sensorineural hearing loss seeking broader frequency audibility and better speech understanding in noise than conventional hearing aids provide.
• Earlens Processor Behind-the-ear component of the Earlens Contact Hearing System that captures sound, converts it into an audio+power signal transmitted through the Ear Tip to the Lens, and includes noise reduction, adaptive directional microphones, feedback cancellation, 5 custom programs, 20 channels, Bluetooth MFi streaming, and a rechargeable battery.
• Earlens Lens (Tympanic Lens) Custom-built tiny Lens placed directly on the eardrum by an ENT physician that gently vibrates the eardrum across the full frequency range to activate the natural hearing system; powered by the energy emitted from the Ear Tip so no battery is required, and removable by any Earlens-trained ENT physician.
• Earlens Ear Tip Custom-molded in-ear component individually designed from ear impressions and assembled at Earlens' Silicon Valley headquarters, transmitting high-fidelity audio signals from the Processor to the Lens.
• Ear Tips with Replaceable Cables Chair-side cable replacement accessory for the Earlens Ear Tip, available in sizes A through R in 2 mm increments, eliminating the need for complete Ear Tip rebuilds when patients experience cable length issues, damage, migration, discomfort, or cosmetic concerns.
• Earlens Fitting Software (Fidelity Fitting Software) Proprietary NOAH-compatible software used by audiologists to program and fit the Earlens system, similar to fitting a traditional hearing aid, with built-in verification, feedback manager, acclimatization programs, and automatic streaming presets.
• Premium Service Program Premium service and warranty program that covers component replacement due to manufacturing defects, software upgrades, and one-time loss/damage coverage beyond the standard 3-year warranty included with the Earlens Contact Hearing System.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2.5x greater audible frequency range than traditional acoustic hearing aids
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• US ENT PartnerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 9 March 2021US ENT Partners entered into a collaborative partnership with Earlens Corporation to provide members priority access to the Earlens Contact Hearing Solution. US ENT offers 17-20% discounts to ENT doctors for high-cost medical supplies and equipment, and the partnership allows members to differentiate their practices with the novel Earlens technology. The partnership supports ENT practices around the country and expands availability of Earlens nationwide while supporting providers through practice-development services.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cochlear: Global leader in implantable hearing solutions (cochlear implants and bone conduction). Already an Earlens investor, Cochlear addresses severe-to-profound hearing loss surgically, while Earlens targets mild-to-severe cases with a non-surgical lens — together they bracket the hearing-loss spectrum with complementary technologies.
• MED-EL: Private implantable hearing solutions company offering cochlear implants, middle-ear implants, and bone-conduction systems. Comparable to Earlens as a specialty hearing-device company targeting patients underserved by conventional hearing aids via surgical/specialty-procedure pathways.

Broad incumbents

• Sonova (Phonak): One of the world's largest hearing aid manufacturers, owner of Phonak and Unitron brands. Competes with Earlens in the broader hearing-loss market but relies on conventional speaker-based acoustic hearing aids rather than direct-drive eardrum technology, and serves a much wider price/customer spectrum through retail and audiologist channels.
• Demant (Oticon): Major global hearing healthcare group owning Oticon, Bernafon, Sonic, and Philips Hearing Solutions. Competes across all hearing-aid price tiers and channels; relevant as an incumbent benchmark for distribution scale, R&D cadence, and clinical-evidence-driven go-to-market that Earlens must outmaneuver.
• GN Hearing (ReSound): Parent of ReSound and Beltone hearing aid brands; competes with Earlens in the prescription hearing aid space with strong audiologist-channel presence. Comparable as an incumbent with deep clinical-evidence generation and product-line breadth across mild-to-severe hearing loss.
• WS Audiology (Widex/Signia): Combined entity of Widex and Sivantos (Signia, Rexton), one of the three largest global hearing aid manufacturers. Direct competitor in the prescription hearing aid category with comparable audiologist distribution and product breadth; relevant for pricing benchmarks and channel partnership dynamics.

Emerging players

• Eargo: Direct-to-consumer hearing aid company (formerly NASDAQ-listed) targeting mild-to-moderate hearing loss with discreet, self-fit CIC devices. Comparable as a US-based non-incumbent hearing aid challenger competing for the same dissatisfied-acoustic-aid patient segment Earlens targets, but at a much lower price point and via a different channel model.
• Lexie Hearing: OTC hearing aid brand offering subscription-model self-fit devices direct to consumers. Comparable as a post-2022 OTC category entrant competing for first-time hearing-aid buyers; particularly relevant to Earlens as it represents the FDA OTC ruling's downstream competitive pressure.
• Audicus: Online direct-to-consumer hearing aid retailer offering pre-programmed and custom-fit devices at sub-$1,000 price points. Comparable as a digitally native hearing-aid brand bypassing traditional audiologist channels — relevant for evaluating how Earlens' premium prescription model stacks against lower-friction alternatives.
• Frequency Therapeutics: Clinical-stage biotech developing regenerative therapies (FX-322) to restore hearing by regenerating inner ear hair cells. Comparable as a hearing-loss-focused innovator with a fundamentally different mechanism (pharmaceutical/regenerative vs. device), representing a long-term competitive horizon for surgical and device-based solutions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/earlens
• Facebookfacebook.com/EarlensCorporation

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds12 records

Investors21 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Earlens