Pine Tree Society is proud to be Seabren’s audiologist and even prouder to watch him follow his vision to make his invention a reality.
Brunswick High School student Seabren Reeves knows what it’s like to wake up in the morning with a busy day ahead, only to discover that his hearing aids didn’t charge overnight.
“It’s frustrating. I’ve had days when they didn’t charge and I still have to go to school,” he said. “Not being able to hear affects tons of stuff in your life.”
Rechargeable hearing aid docking stations have deep contours with tiny charging points that require aids to be placed in exactly the right spot.
“It often doesn’t connect correctly to the hearing aid, leading to a lack of overnight charging. For people with arthritis this is even more likely to happen,” Seabren continued. “Having uncharged hearing aids negatively affects your entire next day. If it’s a problem for me at my age with good eyesight and steady hands, it’s a problem for a lot of people.”
Seabren was born with a rare kidney disease that causes hearing loss and has worn hearing aids since second grade. He’s struggled with charging challenges ever since.
Last year, he decided to take action and find a better way. His entrepreneurial spirit earned him the High School Tier Grand Prize at the Maine StartUp Challenge. His hearing aide charging invention utilizes wireless charging pad technology and waterproof materials.
“There’s no reason why we shouldn’t switch to a wireless charging pad,” he said. “The technology already exists. It isn’t expensive, it’s portable and the charge time is only about 30 minutes longer than the current style of charger. There are no negatives.”
His next step is to apply for a patent and bring the product to market.
“His mother, Whitney, and I always support entrepreneurial activity,” said his father, Seabren. “Bren is very solution oriented. The entrepreneurial journey is a winding road and our hope is for him to embrace that and learn the steps as he goes.”
His mother couldn’t agree more.
“Bren is a big advocate. Instead of focusing on his disease, he has always focused on the advocacy. He thinks there should be changes and he is driven to share his ideas for how to make things better. It’s been neat for us to see him follow this path,” Whitney said. “This is more than just an invention. That’s what makes it so special.”
For more about Seabren’s Maine StartUp Challenge award follow this link.
For more about Pine Tree Society’s audiological services follow this link.