Tel Aviv-based startup Bettear is quietly growing into a global leader in assistive listening and audio streaming. 

The company’s AI-powered personalized solution enables individuals to access live audio in public, cultural, educational and entertainment spaces through their own hearing aids, cochlear implants or earphones. 

Though Bettear is only five years old, its system is already available in concert halls, museums, theaters, cultural centers, university campuses and senior residences in 60 countries – with 4,000 venues and institutions using it in Israel alone. 

When Bettear installed its technology at the May 2022 Maroon 5 concert in Tel Aviv, streaming the audio to hard-of-hearing fans among the 60,000 attendees, it was likely one of the first implementations of its kind at that scale worldwide. 

And now, Bettear is one the first in the world to offer solutions based on Auracast, the new Bluetooth standard in broadcast audio.

A personal connection

“Accessibility has always been important to me because my wife, Dana, is visually impaired — and she’s also a speech therapist,” Bettear CEO and cofounder Itamar Gabbay tells ISRAEL21c. 

“This gives me a deep understanding of the daily challenges that people with disabilities face, and has made this mission even more meaningful to me.”

Gabbay and CTO Yami Thor established the company after working as managers in the professional audio industry.

“During this time, we came across so many venues that were improperly accessible for people with hearing impairment, even when they were supposed to be. We looked into it and realized that the existing assistive technology was very old, difficult to use and simply not compatible with the digital world.”

These legacy systems require infrared-equipped headphones provided by the venue. Gabbay says they stream audio in poor quality and aren’t user-friendly.

“We really believe in the ‘bring your own device’ mission. The slogan of Bettear is ‘Be Part of the Moment.’ We wanted to create a really a comfortable, unique experience in the venues.” 

Moriah Lixenberg, CMO of the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem, acknowledged that the museum’s infrared hearing system was “a barrier to engagement and accessibility.” Replacing it with the Bettear synchronized streaming solution, she said, “has been truly transformative. This innovation has undeniably enhanced our museum’s allure, creating an inclusive and individualized journey for every guest.”

A better listening experience 

More than 1,500 people took part in Bettear’s research studies that contributed to creating its accessibility solutions. 

The studies were led by the company’s chief science officer, Nir Fink, also head of the Acoustics and Noise Research Lab at Ariel University. 

“For most of his career, Dr. Fink served as head of acoustics in the IDF Medical Corps where he led research on the effect of exposure to weapon noise on soldiers’ hearing as well as developed innovative hearing protection devices and accessories,” Gabbay explains. 

With Bettear’s AI scientist, Yossi Bar-Yosef, the findings were incorporated into AI- and machine learning-based deep audio processing (DAP) technologies enabling personalized and adjustable listening and understanding of live audio content in various settings.

Gabbay calls it “a unique platform that enables hundreds of millions of people worldwide with hearing difficulties to listen and enjoy a wide range of real-time audio content in any public space.” 

With or without an app

Bettear’s initial product involves installing the Bettear Show system in the venue. Bettear Show sends audio over Wi-Fi to the user’s device via the Bettear smartphone app.

“For the first time, we are providing a purely independent and seamless listening experience,” says Gabbay. “It ensures that each person hears clearly.”

With the new product line based on Auracast, a new Bluetooth protocol that enables high-quality, low-latency audio streaming directly to headphones, hearing aids or cochlear implants, users don’t need to download an app. 

“We are very proud to be one of the leading companies in the world driving digital innovation and shaping the future of public audio streaming. The Auracast protocol is really a big thing in the assistive listening sector, making content in public spaces available to everyone. Not just people with hearing impairment,” says Gabbay.  

“This technology will enable us to expand into new markets, such as public transportation stations, airports, shopping malls and many other public spaces.” 

The older and newer systems (Wi-Fi and Hi-Fi) can be used in tandem, making any venue fully accessible for those equipped with Auracast-compatible hearing devices and those without. 

Lifechanging

Bettear has 20 employees in Israel and several others in Korea and in Japan.   

“In Israel, we are working directly with the venues, including the Israeli Opera, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Live Nation, the Cameri Theatre and Habima theatre. Worldwide, we work with a lot of distributors and resellers,” says Gabbay.

Yifat Kidar, Project Manager and Head of Accessibility at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, said, “Bettear has provided the museum with a simple and convenient solution to make its shows and concerts audio-accessible. With the Bettear App, our visitors can effortlessly connect to the systems installed in the halls with just one button press and enjoy all the available content. The feedback has been great, and the impact was immediate.”

Thinking back to that Maroon 5 concert in Tel Aviv, Gabbay relates that a social media activist for people with hearing impairment attended the event and made a TikTok video showing how Bettear’s technology enabled her to fully enjoy the show.

‘She has two cochlear implants, and she was using the app and was so excited about what she experienced in the show. The producer, Live Nation, sent her TikTok video to Maroon 5. It was really, really exciting. It’s really lifechanging,” says Gabbay.

For more information on Bettear, click here.