Otobuds runs the same hearing test (OAE) used by hospital screening programs, on an ordinary phone with a low-cost probe, so nurses and community health workers can screen babies.
Partner with usUniversity of Washington · Seattle Children's · University of Nairobi / Kenyatta National Hospital
Screening in KenyaChildren identified and supported by 6 months can develop language on pace with their hearing peers.
WHO Deafness and hearing loss fact sheet; Ndegwa et al. 2024.
Her parents saw a calm, peaceful baby, until she did not react to the sound of a loud power saw nearby. Visits to a pediatrician, an ENT specialist and a hearing organization followed, and she was diagnosed with profound hearing loss.
Read the full story on CIICA →After a difficult birth and time in neonatal intensive care, she had three years of routine check-ups that never picked up her hearing. She was diagnosed with profound hearing loss at age four, and her family says screening should have happened much earlier.
Read the full story on CIICA →With few options at home, a family travelled abroad for their son's care and drove hours every week for therapy. Today he thrives in a mainstream school, and his father has helped start an early hearing detection programme in Kenya.
Read the full story on CIICA →Stories summarized with permission from the Parents' Voices in LMIC collection of the Cochlear Implant International Community of Action (CIICA). These families have no involvement with Otobuds.
A low-cost probe; no sedation, works while the baby sleeps.
The app plays quiet tones and records the inner ear's natural echo.
A clear result on screen in about two minutes.
For referral into diagnosis and care.
Now underway: NIH R33 scale-up study in Kenya.
Kenya's ear & hearing care plan 2023–2028 includes early identification of hearing loss in children.
About 9 in 10 Kenyan infants receive their first routine vaccine dose, given at 6 weeks, so immunization visits are a natural moment to screen.
WHO/UNICEF estimates of national immunization coverage, Kenya, 2025 (DTP1: 91%).
Smartphones are now common across low- and middle-income countries, and the WHO encourages task-sharing and technology-based screening to close workforce gaps.
We will deploy only where a care pathway exists, with clinicians and partners, and are designing for integration with national health information systems. High-risk infants are referred for AABR.
Peer-reviewed studies in the US and Kenya, including use by nurses and community health workers.
An NIH R33 scale-up study is under way in Kenya.
Pilots with ministries of health and NGOs that include the full care pathway.
Every newborn screened, wherever they are born.
No. It is a screening test. A "refer" result means a baby should be seen for a full diagnostic hearing assessment, not that the baby has hearing loss.
It is designed for nurses and community health workers after short training, so screening can happen at routine maternal and child health visits rather than only in specialist clinics.
A standard Android smartphone, the Otobuds app and a small, low-cost probe with sized ear tips. No sedation is needed and the test works while the baby sleeps.
Not yet. Otobuds is currently used in research studies alongside conventional screeners while the team works toward the approvals needed for routine use.
In research studies in the United States and Kenya.
We will deploy only where a care pathway exists, with clinicians and partners, so referred babies can reach diagnosis, hearing technology and therapy. High-risk infants are referred for AABR.
Co-design pilots that include the full care pathway, from screening to therapy.
Support reliable device manufacturing and software for scale.
Join studies, share referral and follow-up expertise, and help shape training.
Collaborate on phone and earbud hardware, digital health tools and training resources.
Tell us who you are and how you'd like to work with us. We'll use your details only to follow up about Otobuds and won't share them.
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