Sound Scouts

What Sound Scouts does

Sound Scouts is an Australian digital health company that has built a clinically validated, game-based hearing test application for children aged four and older and adults. The core technology, developed in collaboration with the National Acoustic Laboratories, delivers an immediate screening report with recommended next steps, and the product is published in the International Journal of Audiology and recommended by Hearing Australia. The company distributes the app through the Apple App Store, Google Play, and Microsoft Store for direct consumer use, while serving institutional buyers—schools and clinicians—through a separate desktop product called SSIMPL (Sound Scouts Integrated Management Platform), which also hosts the APD Suite for clinical Auditory Processing Disorder assessment.

The business operates a multi-segment go-to-market targeting parents and families, schools and educators, clinicians and healthcare professionals, and adults and aged-care facilities. Sound Scouts transitioned to a paid subscription model on July 1, 2023, marking a deliberate shift from prior free access toward recurring revenue, with enterprise pricing handled via quote-based direct sales rather than public listing. The company maintains regional localization for Australia, the United States, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom through its SSIMPL platform.

Sound Scouts is a privately held, founder-led company (Founder & CEO Carolyn Mee) operating from Crows Nest, NSW, with a headcount of 1–10 employees. Historical capital sources include a Jobs 4 NSW grant (2015), a $4M round in 2018, and digital-health support from ANDHealth, with additional non-dilutive backing from the NSW Government and the National Acoustic Laboratories. The company has not disclosed external venture investors, and revenue figures are not publicly available.

Name

Sound Scouts

Legal name

Sound Scouts HQ Pty Ltd

Website

https://soundscouts.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sound Scouts is an Australian digital health company that delivers a clinically validated, game-based hearing test app for children aged 4+ and adults, serving parents, schools, clinicians, and aged-care providers via app stores and its SSIMPL management platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Health / Pediatric Hearing Screening Software

NAICS

Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists (621340)

SIC

Services-Medical Laboratories (8071)

akta.pro primary industry

Audiology & Hearing Diagnostic Centers (HLAFAKAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hearing Enhancement / Assistive Listening Audio Devices (CRACANAL), Assistive Listening & Classroom Audio (FM/DM, Soundfield) Systems (EDAKAIAE)

Keywords

• Hearing screening app
• Pediatric hearing test
• Auditory processing assessment
• Digital health diagnostics
• School hearing screening

Headquarters

HQ city

Sydney

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. App-based hearing test: Sound Scouts transitioned to a paid model on July 1, 2023. The app is available for download on Apple App Store, Google Play, and Microsoft Store with pricing determined upon contact with the company.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sound Scouts develops and sells a game-based online hearing test app that delivers immediate screening reports with next-step recommendations for children aged 4+ and adults. The company also operates the SSIMPL integrated management platform, which hosts the APD Suite clinical tool for Auditory Processing Disorder assessment, serving schools, clinicians, and organisations alongside individual consumers.

Product overview

Sound Scouts offers a portfolio of hearing health products anchored by its core hearing test app—a game-based screening tool for children (4+ years) and adults delivering immediate results. This core app is complemented by SSIMPL, an integrated management platform that aggregates screening data and hosts the APD Suite for clinicians. The products are designed for individual consumer use (via app stores), schools, clinical organisations, and aged care settings, with SSIMPL serving as the administrative and data management layer across these segments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SSIMPL: Sound Scouts Integrated Management Platform - hosts the APD Suite for clinicians and Sound Scouts screening data for schools, clinicians and organisations
• APD Suite

Products and services

• Sound Scouts Hearing Test App
• SSIMPL (Sound Scouts Integrated Management Platform) A desktop-accessible management platform that lets organisations and clinicians create, edit, and track Client/Player information for Sound Scouts screenings and APD Suite assessments. It serves as the administrative and data-management layer for schools, clinicians, and aged care organisations conducting hearing and APD screening programs.
• APD Suite A clinical assessment tool for Auditory Processing Disorder (APD), hosted within the SSIMPL platform and used by clinicians to evaluate and manage APD in patients as part of a broader hearing-health workflow.
• Sound Scouts for Schools Program A dedicated program that delivers Sound Scouts hearing screening to primary schools and educational institutions, enabling classroom and school-wide screening of students without requiring travel to clinical facilities. Targeted at regional schools where audiology access is limited.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1 in 10 children and 1 in 3 adults suffer from hearing loss

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Acoustic LaboratoriescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSound Scouts collaborated with the National Acoustic Laboratories to create the online hearing test app. This partnership provided the scientific foundation and clinical validation for the hearing test technology.
• ANDHealthminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerANDHealth supported the development of Sound Scouts as part of their digital health innovation initiative.
• NSW GovernmentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNSW Government provided support for the development of Sound Scouts hearing test technology.
• Hearing AustraliacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHearing Australia recommends Sound Scouts as an evidence-based hearing screening tool, validating the clinical utility of the app.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Olive Union: Olive Union combines a hearing self-test app with consumer hearing aids in a direct-to-consumer bundle, competing in the same digital hearing-test entry point that Sound Scouts targets.
• Audicus: Audicus is a hearing care company offering online hearing tests alongside direct-to-consumer hearing aid sales — comparable as a digital hearing health player, though focused on device retail rather than dedicated screening software.
• WS Audiology (Widex & Signia): WS Audiology is one of the world's largest hearing-aid manufacturers; relevant as a deep-pocketed incumbent that could bundle or acquire a clinically validated digital screening capability like Sound Scouts' offering.
• Cochlear Limited: Cochlear, the Australian-listed implantable hearing solutions leader, is an adjacent incumbent that operates in hearing healthcare and could partner with or compete against Sound Scouts in pediatric hearing pathways.
• Apple Hearing Test (AirPods Pro 2): Apple introduced a clinical-grade hearing test feature built into AirPods Pro 2 and the iPhone Health app — a platform-native, free competing screening tool that reaches the consumer funnel Sound Scouts depends on.

Direct peers

• hearX Group (hearScreen): hearX's hearScreen product is a mobile-based hearing screening solution used in schools and clinics across multiple countries — directly comparable to Sound Scouts in both technology (smartphone hearing test) and target segments (pediatric and clinical).
• SHOEBOX Audiometry: SHOEBOX Audiometry offers tablet-based, clinically validated hearing screening tests targeting clinics, schools, and occupational health — directly overlapping Sound Scouts' core product, target buyers (clinicians and schools), and business model.
• Mimi Hearing Test: Mimi offers a consumer-facing app-based hearing test that delivers instant results — competing with Sound Scouts' direct-to-consumer app for adult self-screening on the same app-store channels.

Emerging players

• Tuned: Tuned is an employer/benefit-plan hearing health platform offering hearing tests and audiology access; intersects with Sound Scouts in the digital hearing-screening space and the B2B benefits channel.

Regional players

• National Hearing Test (Dutch): A telephone/online hearing screening service operating across Europe; comparable to Sound Scouts as a population-level self-administered screening tool but serving a different geography and distribution model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/soundscoutsgame
• Facebookfacebook.com/soundscoutsapp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors3 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 Sound Scouts