CoAmplify brings their winter hats to a wider audience in partnership with cochlear implant manufacturer Advanced Bionics.
Media Contact: Meghan Carey, meghan@coamplify.com, 207-400-0783
For Immediate Release: February 23, 2021
Portland, ME — CoAmplify, a company launched by Meghan Carey and her husband in 2018, specializes in functional wearables and learning toys made especially for deaf children who use cochlear implants to access sound.
CoAmplify’s patent-pending Safe & Snug Winter Hat™ is designed to comfortably fit young cochlear implant (CI) wearers, and features a pocket on each side to snugly hold the magnetically-attached devices where they need to be. The hat was originally designed out of necessity by Meghan for her then one-year-old son, Percy, who was born deaf and hears with the aid of CIs.
“That first winter with Percy’s cochlear implants was difficult. We felt we had to choose between his warmth and his access to sound. Getting a hat on a squirmy baby — and keeping his magnets in place — was impossible! So we came up with the first Safe & Snug design,” says Meghan.
After a successfully-funded Kickstarter campaign, the design has been refined by experts and is now sewn by professional makers. Until now, they were only available through CoAmplify’s retail website (www.coamplify.com).
“Since Percy first got his devices at one year old, Advanced Bionics has been a very important part of our lives. 5 years later, we’re thrilled to announce that we are partnering with the Advanced Bionics team to make CoAmplify hats directly available to young CI wearers through their sales network and web store.”
Advanced Bionics (AB) is a global leader in developing the most advanced cochlear implant systems in the world. The company recently unveiled their latest platform, featuring a sound processor intended exclusively for children — the first of its kind.
“One of the reasons we chose Advanced Bionics as our son’s Cochlear Implant manufacturer was their commitment to leading the field in innovation. With the addition of our winter hats to the AB web store, we’re very excited to be a part of their ongoing quest to better serve all of their CI wearers.”
During the pandemic, CoAmplify has added to their store several mask options for hearing device wearers of all ages, and a summer weight version of the kids’ hat is currently in development with a fashion designer in New York.
“We’re very glad to be helping kids like Percy to comfortably live full, fun, and happy lives with their hearing devices. Our partnership with Advanced Bionics is just one more step on that journey.”
Technical note: A cochlear implant system includes several pieces of technology that work together to bypass the cochlea in the inner ear — restoring hearing by sending sound directly to the auditory nerve. An internal component is implanted by a surgeon, and a second set of external components is worn on the ear, connecting to the head and transmitting sound to the implant via a magnet. Cochlear implant technology has been around for 30+ years, and has advanced significantly in recent years.
Past coverage: Beaudoin, Geneviève. Facing Winter with Bionic Ears. Down East Magazine, December 2018. downeast.com/maine-made/facing-winter-with-bionic-ears/
Media Contact: Meghan Carey, meghan@coamplify.com, 207-400-0783
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