Eargym | Perpetio

Helping companies tackle hearing loss: the biggest problem you've never heard of

The Client

eargym

eargym is a startup helping users take better care of their hearing through a variety of assessments, training games, and learning materials.

mobile

Overview

Period: 9 months.Client location: UK.Business model: Dedicated team.

Services

Flutter Development, QA

The Challenge

1 in 6 adults in the UK is facing a hearing loss problem. The eargym
app is here to help users identify hearing issues and improve their
hearing health. The app is targeted at the elderly who face natural
hearing loss, people working in challenging hearing environments,
and everyone feeling like their hearing is not at its 100% right now.
Perpetio’s task was re-designing the app and adding new hearing
health features along with working on Unity games integration and
support. The Perpetio team also committed to the continuous
deployment of new features requiring hearing health research
involvement.

The Solution

The Perpetio team developed a workflow and delivery system that allows effectively scoping and introducing features that require a significant amount of research activities. The app’s codebase and Unity integration flow were improved dramatically. We also added new analytics tools for the app, such as Smartlook and A/B testing.

The Result

Thanks to the team’s efforts, eargym rolled out a new version of the app with a
greatly improved user experience, new games, a Learn Tab with useful resources
about hearing health, and a gamification system for motivating users to exercise
every day. Additionally, we reshaped the app’s structure so that it introduces a
subscription business model and set up a number of analytics and research metrics.

Hearing Tests

eargym features a set of study-based hearing tests for users to check their hearing
abilities and assess their overall well-being as hearing comprehension is directly
correlated with cognitive performance. The app offers a SIN test that detects
hearing in noise abilities, an ear age test that allows checking the general quality of
hearing health, Lubben's social life engagement test, and the Amsterdam Inventory
for Auditory Disability and Handicap. More tests are to be added with the
continuous work of the team.

Hearing Training Games

One of the main points of eargym is games targeted at training one’s hearing
abilities. The Perpetio team worked on improving the games’ performance and
fixing technical issues with the Unity game engine integration. Now, eargym features
two smoothly-working games: Busy Barista, where a user practices hearing people in
a noisy environment, and Tone Tap for practicing telling different tones apart.

Daily Activities and Progress Tracking

Perpetio introduced a Daily System in the Home Tab, reminding users about
completing their goals in the app. This feature will keep the user’s motivation up for
regular exercising through a gamified point system. A total of 100 points can be
earned weekly by completing hearing tests, participating in games, and discovering
reading materials.

Discover Tab

A new version of eargym features a Discover Tab containing various useful resources.
The tab offers two types of content: the Learn Tab with articles on hearing health
and the Listen Tab with ambient sounds for relaxation and focus. It is a step towards
making eargym a more versatile solution that holistically looks at hearing as part of
physical and mental well-being.

Company Log In

One of the target audiences of eargym is businesses taking care of their employees’
hearing health, for example, those working in busy environments. That’s why one of
the login options is joining through a company using a corporate email address.

A New Monetization Model

One significant innovation our team suggested for the eargym app is a subscription
monetization model. Together with eargym’s in-house research team, Perpetio
specialists conducted research to explore how much time it takes for a user to take
up a new habit, such as completing exercises in the app. We found that, on average,
it takes 14-21 days to form a new habit and utilized this data into a new
monetization model for eargym.

As a result, eargym now offers a 14-day free trial for users to try out the app and
form a useful ritual of taking care of their hearing every day. Users are now
motivated to obtain a monthly membership as opposed to purchasing a subscription
blindly before. A/B testing demonstrates a positive result of this innovation, with a
40% increase in the app’s active users.

Technical details

Team size:
4 people

Period:
9 months

Client location:
UK

Social login:
Google, Facebook, Apple

Analytics:
Facebook, Firebase analytics,
Smartlook, Mailchimp

Payment services:
Revenuecat

In-app purchases:
Recurring subscription

Crash reporting tools:
Firebase analytics

Languages:
Flutter

IDE:
Android Studio, VScode