Learn more

For more information about Ear Community, go to EarCommunity.org.

For more information about Max Virtual, go to maxvirtual.com.

A Broomfield organization that helps people with hearing impairments got an early Christmas gift this year when a company nearly 1,700 miles away donated unique hearing devices to families in need.

Ear Community, a Broomfield-based nonprofit organization, was able to give out free hearing devices Saturday at an event at the Broomfield Community Center. The devices, integrated into baseball-style hats, were donated by Delaware-based company Max Virtual.

After learning about Ear Community’s mission to help those with hearing impairments, Max Virtual decided Ear Community was an ideal organization to which to donate its newly-developed hats, which include discreet microphones and other hearing-related devices. The hats are meant as a subtle alternative to bulky hearing devices that are not waterproof, do not fit under a bike helmet or are not suited for contact-type sports.

Max Virtual donated 13 hats to people ranging from 17 months to 29 years old.

Many were surprised or delighted when they realized how well they could hear while wearing the hats, said Melissa Tumblin, founder of Ear Community.

“It was really neat seeing the kids, their eyes lighting up,” she said.

Tumblin said Ear Community aims to help parents around the world by connecting them with hearing solutions — whether they come in the form of surgery, hearing aids, specialized doctors or other options.

Tumblin started the organization after her daughter, Alyssa, was born with the hearing impairments Microtia and Atresia.

FINDING THE FIT: Ally Tumblin, 4, with dad, Brent, and sister, Hailey, 7, is fitted for a Cynaps Enhance hat on Saturday. (David R. Jennings / Broomfield Enterprise)

Microtia is a condition in which the outer ear does not fully form . Ally also has Aural Atresia, a related condition that causes partial closure or absence of an ear canal. That can result in some hearing loss, but can be improved or corrected through surgery or specialized hearing aids.

The hearing-impaired community can be pretty tight-knit, even when people live on different coasts, said Mike Freeman, product developer for Max Virtual.

Freeman, who learned about Ear Community from a friend of a friend, said his company began with a totally different aim — creating devices for video games.

After working on a few accessories, such as a vest that lets game players feel vibrations from video game action, the company moved on to creating more audio-related items.

Some users with hearing problems said Max Virtual’s new headgear was well-made, and asked the company to create a product specifically for those who are deaf or hard of hearing.

“It was a whole new world to learn how many people can’t afford hearing solutions,” he said.

The company developed Max Virtual’s Cynaps Enhance, a type of “head gear that helps you hear,” which takes the form of a baseball-style hat that includes hidden hearing aid technology, such as microphones in the brim that help orient listeners to the sources of sounds. The hats also have a headband that uses bone conduction to send sounds directly to the inner ear using vibrations. The headband vibrations work well for people with certain types of hearing loss, such as those whose ear canals are not fully formed, he said.

Tumblin said the hats are ideal for people who want to go on vacation, play sports or do other activities where bulky hearing aids might get in the way or run the risk of getting damaged. Other children who want to play sports or run outside can wear a hat instead of worrying about a hearing aid getting smashed, she said.

Of the 13 people who received the hats on Saturday, some were adults who plan to wear the hats at work, Tumblin said.

One recipient works in a deli and cannot hear customers when his back is turned. The hat will give him a fuller range of hearing, she said.

The company makes hats for all ages, including small, pink-and-purple hats and superhero-style hats for kids.

Working with kids and seeing their reactions to the Cynaps Enhance hat is rewarding, Freeman said.

“I hope we give these kids an option, a future, so they don’t miss out,” he said.

Contact Enterprise Staff Writer Megan Quinn at 303-410-2649 or quinnm@broomfieldenterprise.com