.jpg)
Children who wear hearing aids enter a world that mostly keeps silent on the issue. Kids who wear glasses will see those glasses represented in ads, in high-end stores, and on celebrity's faces.
But if you are a child that wears hearing aids, you might go days, weeks, or months without anyone mentioning the technology. It might seem like hearing loss is just rare but that's not the case.
The World Health Organization reports that 34M kids worldwide have hearing loss. One in ten Americans have hearing loss, and the numbers are increasing due to headphone culture.
It's time to start talking about hearing aids for what they are. Powerful, modern, assistive technology that helps millions of people hear better every day.
Why not start that process in the place where kids spend hours a day, Roblox.
If you know a young person between the age of 6 to 18, you’ve probably heard about the world’s most popular gaming platform for kids, Roblox. In the game, characters dress up their avatars to look like a lego inspired version of themselves and spend time running around in live games with other players.
Last year I discovered that Roblox has over 1,000 glasses that players can put on their avatars, but only one hearing aid. That didn’t feel right.
When the 50M+ kids that play Roblox each day search for hearing aids on the platform, they should see designs that celebrate who they are in a bold and colorful way that matches the platform.
We decided to design and develop a hearing aid collection with rich colors and imagination.
We got a group of designers together to create a new collection. After generating dozens of ideas, we finally landed on six hearing aid designs to form the launch collection. Then we worked with Roblox designer @0929Lego to bring the final designs to the avatar shop.
We wanted the collection to be as playful as the community on Roblox, and we wanted the designs to be bold and unapologetic.
Far from blending in, the Spike and Pink Fuzz create a striking visual that takes a new tone on what it means to wear hearing aids.
As of this morning all Roblox players can put on a pair of hearing aids to finish their avatar’s outfit. We priced the new collection at the minimum that Roblox allows and proceeds from the first month will be donated to Unicef.
What happened next?
In late August, we unveiled the collection. The Roblox community responded with thousands of social engagements and more than a dozen media stories.
Most importantly, hundreds of hard-of-hearing Roblox players put on their virtual hearing aids for the first time.
Explore The Collection
Pink Fuzz
Nature
Spiked
Lightning Bolt
Smiley
Pegasus Wings
