From SPANX to Sound: Goldman to Lead Audien's Hearing Aid Revolution

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – February 10, 2026 – Audien Hearing, a disruptive force in the hearing solutions market, has appointed consumer branding heavyweight Laurie Ann Goldman as its new Chief Executive Officer. The move signals a bold new chapter for the company, aiming to transform the perception of hearing aids from a stigmatized medical necessity into an accessible, desirable wellness product, much like Goldman did for shapewear with SPANX.

Goldman, best known as the founding CEO who scaled SPANX from a startup into a billion-dollar global icon, is now tasked with leading Audien through its next phase of aggressive growth. Her appointment comes as the hearing health industry stands at a critical inflection point, fueled by new FDA regulations and a growing consumer demand for affordable, direct-to-consumer options.

A Proven Brand Builder Takes the Helm

Laurie Ann Goldman’s career is a masterclass in transforming consumer categories. At SPANX, she took a novel concept and built it into a household name, expanding its reach across 60 countries and fundamentally changing how consumers approached shapewear. Her subsequent leadership roles as CEO of Tupperware Brands and New Avon, along with a decade-long tenure leading worldwide licensing at The Coca-Cola Company, solidified her reputation as a leader capable of reinventing legacy brands and scaling high-growth enterprises.

At Audien, she is embarking on a mission she calls “The Great Un-Mumbling.” The goal is not just to sell hearing aids, but to normalize the entire category. “My goal is to expand our reach, deepen our capabilities, and bring clarity to this category at the scale it deserves,” Goldman stated, emphasizing a desire to create hearing solutions “people want to show off, not hide.”

This strategy hinges on shifting the narrative away from loss and disability toward connection and proactive wellness. It’s a playbook Goldman knows well: destigmatize the product, make it accessible, and rebrand it as an aspirational part of a modern lifestyle.

Disrupting a Billion-Dollar Industry

Audien has already made significant inroads by challenging the industry's traditional, high-cost model. Founded in 2019 by entrepreneurs Ishan Patel, Dylan Garber, and Zack Hubbard—inspired by their own grandparents’ struggles with expensive and inaccessible hearing aids—the company has rapidly captured a significant portion of the emerging over-the-counter (OTC) market.

While the global hearing aid market, valued at over $15 billion in 2025, is dominated by established giants like Sonova and Demant, Audien has carved out a powerful niche. The company reports over $100 million in business in 2025 and claims the title of the “No. 1-selling OTC hearing aid brand in the world,” having served more than 1.5 million customers. Its products are now available in thousands of major retail stores across the U.S., including a nationwide launch in Walmart, making hearing solutions as easy to purchase as reading glasses.

This retail-first approach directly addresses what Audien’s Chairman, Scott Cohen, calls a “hearing loss epidemic hiding in plain sight.” He noted, “Over 1.5 billion people globally are impacted by hearing loss, but less than 20% of them have access to the hearing care they need.” By offering FDA-registered devices at price points starting under $100—a fraction of the thousands often charged for traditional prescription aids—Audien aims to democratize access.

The New Frontier of Over-the-Counter Hearing

The landscape Audien operates in was fundamentally reshaped in October 2022, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) established a new regulatory category for OTC hearing aids. This ruling allows adults with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss to purchase devices directly from stores or online without a medical exam or prescription, unleashing a wave of innovation and competition.

The OTC market, valued at nearly $1 billion in 2025, is projected to grow significantly. Audien’s strategy is built on radical affordability, with its popular Atom series priced from $98 to around $289. These devices offer basic amplification and rechargeable batteries, appealing to budget-conscious first-time users.

However, the market is crowded with competitors offering different value propositions. Brands like Jabra Enhance and Lexie (powered by Bose) often command higher prices (upwards of $1,000) but provide more advanced features, such as sophisticated background noise reduction, Bluetooth streaming, and robust smartphone apps for customization. Others, like Eargo, focus on virtually invisible in-canal designs. Audien’s more advanced models, like the Atom X and Ion Pro, are beginning to incorporate features like Bluetooth streaming to compete, but its core identity remains rooted in accessibility and simplicity.

A Contentious Shift: Access vs. Audiology

The rise of Audien and the OTC model has been met with both praise and caution. Hearing health advocates celebrate the increased accessibility, arguing that affordable options are a crucial first step for millions who would otherwise go without care due to cost and logistical barriers. For many, an affordable OTC device is infinitely better than no device at all.

However, many professional audiologists express significant concerns. They argue that hearing loss is complex and highly individual. Without a professional evaluation, a consumer might misdiagnose the severity of their condition or fail to identify an underlying medical issue, such as impacted earwax or a tumor. Critics suggest that the most basic, low-cost devices function more like personal sound amplification products (PSAPs) than true hearing aids, simply making everything louder rather than clarifying speech in noisy environments.

Some audiologists report seeing patients who were dissatisfied with basic OTC devices, finding them ineffective or uncomfortably loud. The American Academy of Audiology continues to recommend a professional hearing test before any purchase to ensure the correct solution is chosen. This tension between radical accessibility and professional-guided care remains the central debate in the evolving hearing health industry.

Rebranding Hearing as a Pillar of Wellness

Audien’s strategy under Goldman appears poised to sidestep this debate by reframing the entire conversation. The company is aggressively linking hearing health to broader, powerful trends in preventative health, longevity, and brain science. Recent research has identified untreated hearing loss as a leading modifiable risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia, a fact Audien is leveraging in its marketing.

By positioning its products not just as a fix for hearing loss but as a proactive tool for maintaining brain health and social connection, Audien aims to attract a younger, more health-conscious demographic. This approach recasts hearing aids as a wellness device, akin to a fitness tracker or a meditation app—an investment in one's long-term quality of life.

“As I dug deeper, I was continually struck by the scale of unmet need in this space,” Goldman explained. “I became a true believer.” With her at the helm, Audien is betting that a powerful brand narrative, combined with an accessible product, can finally break down the decades-old stigma surrounding hearing care and build a lifelong relationship with consumers, starting earlier and evolving with their needs.