Acoustic Associates

What Acoustic Associates does

Acoustic Associates, Ltd. is a privately held, family-operated consulting and training firm founded in 1987 by Dr. Tom Thunder, headquartered in Minneapolis with historical operations in Schaumburg, Illinois. The company specializes in CAOHC-certified audiometric testing and hearing conservation education, serving occupational health professionals (nurses, technicians, safety officers), industrial employers, and school nurses who require CAOHC certification for OSHA compliance. Its core product is a portfolio of four online courses delivered via live Zoom sessions: a comprehensive 5-morning CAOHC certification course ($995), a 10-hour CAOHC refresher ($595), and two 2-morning courses on hearing conservation and audiometric testing ($575 each).

The underlying technology stack is a straightforward e-commerce and video-conferencing platform: courses are sold directly through acousticassociates.com with online payment processing, and instruction is delivered via scheduled monthly Zoom sessions. Course kits (CAOHC manuals, otoscopes, hearing protection) are physically mailed to participants. The company has pivoted its business model from in-person seminars to fully online delivery since July 2020, enabling geographic reach beyond the Midwest.

Revenue is generated through three streams: per-participant online course tuition ($575-$995, one-time fees), product sales of hearing protection (Etymotic ER-20 earplugs, manuals, study guides), and professional services including forensic audiology testimony, STS work-relatedness reviews, and hearing induction loop system installations. Pricing is fully transparent and published on the website. The company has no external funding, operates with 11-50 employees (4 named team members all surnamed Thunder), and claims a customer roster that includes Mayo Clinic, 3M, Ford, ExxonMobil, GE, Johnson & Johnson, and McDonald's, primarily listed as training recipients rather than contracted enterprise accounts.

Name

Acoustic Associates

Legal name

Acoustic Associates, Ltd.

Website

https://acousticassociates.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Acoustic Associates is a family-operated, CAOHC-certified training firm founded in 1987 that delivers online audiometric testing and hearing conservation courses via Zoom to occupational health professionals and industrial employers seeking OSHA compliance and certification.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Occupational Health Training

NAICS

Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists (62134)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus (3841)

akta.pro primary industry

Audiology & Hearing Services (ENT-Affiliated) (HLAKAMAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Assistive Listening & Classroom Audio (FM/DM, Soundfield) Systems (EDAKAIAE), Audio Accessories (Ear Tips, Cables, Stands, Cases, Transmitters) (CRACANAM)

Keywords

• Hearing conservation training
• Audiometric testing courses
• Occupational health education
• CAOHC certification training
• Forensic audiology services

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Online Course Tuition: CAOHC-certified training courses delivered online with certification eligibility. Includes course materials, gift kits with manuals, tools, and hearing protection.
2. Product Sales: Sale of hearing protection products (earplugs), study guides, manuals, and educational materials.
3. Professional Services: Forensic audiology, STS reviews, and hearing induction loop system consultations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Acoustic Associates delivers CAOHC-certified online training courses in audiometric testing and hearing conservation, led by founder Dr. Tom Thunder via live Zoom sessions. The company also sells hearing protection products (earplugs), study guides, and manuals, and provides professional services including forensic audiology, STS reviews, and hearing induction loop system installations for occupational and healthcare clients.

Product overview

Acoustic Associates offers a portfolio of online professional training courses and hearing-related products. The core offerings are four online courses: the comprehensive Online CAOHC Training Course (5 mornings, $995) leading to CAOHC certification; the Online Audiometric Testing Course (2 mornings, $575) for OSHA compliance; the Online Hearing Conservation Course (2 mornings, $575) covering occupational hearing conservation; and the Online CAOHC Refresher (10 hours, $595) for recertification. Additional products include CAOHC manuals, study guides, high-fidelity earplugs (ER-20 HI-FI and ER 20XS), and EarWax MD. Services include forensic audiology, STS work-relatedness reviews, and hearing induction loop system installations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Online CAOHC Training Course

Named customers16 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Howard Leight by Honeywell: Mass-market hearing protection brand (earplugs, earmuffs) owned by Honeywell. Competes on consumer/institutional hearing protection but as part of a much broader safety portfolio rather than a niche audiologist-led offering.
• 3M Personal Safety Division: Large incumbent supplying E-A-R hearing protection and broader PPE to industrial customers — overlaps with Acoustic Associates' industrial clients (including 3M itself) but as part of a diversified safety conglomerate.

Direct peers

• Sensaphonics: Specializes in hearing conservation products, custom earplugs, and in-ear monitoring for musicians and audio professionals. Comparable niche focus on hearing protection plus musician/audiology education with an audiologist-led approach.
• Etymotic Research: Developer of high-fidelity ER-series earplugs (ER-20, ER-20XS) that Acoustic Associates resells through its course gift kits and storefront. Etymotic operates in the same hearing conservation product category and shares an audiologist-engineer product philosophy, making it a direct upstream/adjacent peer.
• AudiologyOnline: Online continuing education platform serving audiologists and hearing healthcare professionals with webinars and self-study courses. Closest direct competitor on online CE delivery in the audiology/hearing conservation space.
• Westone: Custom hearing protection, in-ear monitors, and hearing healthcare products with deep audiologist heritage. Directly competes in hearing protection/eartips and shares the audiologist-engineer DNA.
• Plural Publishing: Leading publisher of textbooks and CE materials for audiology, hearing science, and speech-language pathology. Comparable audience of hearing professionals and overlapping content categories (audiometry, hearing conservation).

Others

• Audigy Group: Practice management and growth services for audiology and hearing care practices. Operates upstream in the same professional ecosystem, supporting the clinics that employ Acoustic Associates' graduates.
• National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA): Professional association advancing hearing loss prevention through advocacy, education, and a national conference. Adjacent ecosystem player that shapes the same OHC professional community Acoustic Associates trains.
• CAOHC (Council for Accreditation in Occupational Hearing Conservation): The accreditation body that certifies Course Directors like Dr. Thunder. Not a competitor but the standards-setting authority and gateway to the market Acoustic Addresses serves.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/AcousticAssociatesLtd
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/acoustic-associates

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Acoustic Associates