Amplifon : Good music makes us feel better

Florence, May 22nd, 2019 - It's time for summer hits, good music and outdoor concerts. At Firenze Rocks 2019 (June 13-16, Visarno Arena) it's also time to raise the awareness of thousands of young people and music lovers about the risks that improper exposure to music poses for healthy hearing. That's how the project "Ci Sentiamo Dopo", promoted by Amplifon during the renowned summer music festival, was born. The project focuses on the importance of protecting your hearing and listening to music responsibly.

Estimates show that more than 1 billion people between the ages of 12 and 35 risk having hearing problems linked to noise exposure1. Not to be underestimated, either, is the continuous use of headphones to listen to music on public transportation or on the street at increasingly louder levels in order to drown out the background noise. The little-known link between music that is too loud and the risk of damages or early hearing loss lies at the heart of Amplifon's "Ci Sentiamo Dopo" project: during the concert free hearing tests will be provided and latest generation hearing protection devices will be distributed which make it possible to reduce the excessive noise without having to miss the experience of enjoying good music.

Already in 2015, the company sponsored the international consensus paper "Coping with Noise, which, for the first time, shed light on how excessive noise can increase the probability of some form of hearing loss by around 30%, and can also more than double the occurrence of mood swings, insomnia, difficulty concentrating and headaches.

"From Beethoven to nowadays: the history of music is full of world-renowned artists with hearing problems", says Mark Laureyns, Chairman of the European Association of Hearing Aid Professionals (AEA) and a member of the World Health Organization (WHO)'s Safe Listening Group, "Many musicians are exposed to the risk of compromising their most precious instrument: their hearing. The improper exposure to music is also a danger, above all, for the thousands of fans of all ages that everyday listen to their favorite music on devices without using adequate protection".

Preventing hearing loss has become common practice in many European countries and in the United States. The intention of Amplifon, as the market leader, is to raise awareness and educate in its "native' country" during Firenze Rocks, one of Italy's biggest music festivals. The enhancement of sound and all the emotions that it embodies, as well as the value that sound has in everyone's daily life, lies at the heart of Amplifon's mission. Therefore, after having tread on the red hot stage of Firenze Rocks, in September the edutainment project "Ci Sentiamo Dopo" will involve more than 800 classes of middle and high school students in Italy's main cities.

Amplifon has been at the forefront of raising the awareness of people and youth for some time. In 2018, for example, the company participated in Sónar+D in Barcellona - an international symposium focused on creativity held at the same time as the famous avant-garde music festival - and sponsored a creative competition focused on innovative forms of hearing experience.

Innovation and digitalization are the refrain of the company's technological development. Recently Amplifon developed a new multichannel ecosystem, digital and physical, the heart of which is the Amplifon APP: the application is an advanced medical device that allows for simple, quick regulation of your hearing device, like adjusting the volume and the different listening programs; it provides access to advanced functions including reduction of wind noise and focus on speech. It also makes it possible to analyze device

1https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/deafness-and-hearing-loss

usage through big data and artificial intelligence in order to provide ad hoc recommendations and personalized solutions with a view to increasing device usage and maximizing customer satisfaction. Thanks to these technological developments it's possible to provide hearing solutions that are increasingly tailor made and digital, as well as an enhanced life experience through devices conceived to facilitate a full, healthy life regardless of age.

About Amplifon

Amplifon, global leader in the hearing care retail market, empowers people to rediscover all the emotions of sound. Amplifon's some 16,000 people worldwide strive every day to understand the unique needs of every customer, delivering exclusive, innovative and highly personalized products and services, to ensure everyone the very best solution and an outstanding experience. The Group operates through a network of around 11,000 points of sale in 29 Countries and 5 continents. More information about the Group is available at: www.amplifon.com/corporate.

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