Ear Professionals Group Acquires Soundly

Ear Professionals Group has acquired Soundly, the consumer-facing hearing solutions site known for hearing aid reviews, online tools, and shopping. Ear Professionals Group is the umbrella organization that encompasses UnitedHealthcare Hearing, EPIC Hearing Healthcare, and AARP^® Hearing Solutions™ provided by UnitedHealthcare Hearing —positioning it as an overall link between health plans, members, and a national provider network.

The deal, announced February 3, is designed to create what Ear Professionals Group describes as a “seamless bridge” between consumers’ online research and local clinical care. Starting in March 2026, Soundly will be folded into group’s broader portfolio of programs. The purchase price and terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

In an interview following the announcement, Ear Professionals Group CEO David Falda told HearingTracker that the intent is to pair Soundly’s “digital-first” engagement with the company’s provider infrastructure, bringing more consumers into clinics who are better educated and more ready to move forward. “We believe we can serve as that bridge between those who are seeking online hearing health research and getting them into a clinic,” he says.

For hearing care professionals and industry leaders, the acquisition is a sign of the times, with large benefit and network organizations increasingly battling for the “top of the funnel”—where consumers begin searching, comparing, and self-triaging prescription and over-the-counter hearing solutions.

Ear Professionals Group has expanded markedly since UnitedHealthcare launched “UnitedHealthcare Hearing” in June 2019, bringing together EPIC (acquired from Sonova in 2018) and the hi HealthInnovations. Industry observers have since suggested UHC Hearing has grown enough in volume to rival Costco in hearing aid distribution. The organization later consolidated branding under Ear Professionals Group to reduce confusion while continuing to operate distinct programs for different markets.

Why EPG acquired Soundly

In its press release, Ear Professionals Group frames the acquisition as a response to a growing consumer demand for a simpler, more trusted path from initial online exploration to clinical care:

“The acquisition of Soundly allows us to combine a digital-first consumer experience with the deep clinical expertise of our network,” states Falda. “By prioritizing simplicity and trust, we are serving a growing industry demand—ensuring that a consumer’s journey from initial online search to professional in-clinic care is more streamlined than ever.”

The company believes Soundly can help close a strategic gap—particularly the online “handoff” from education to prescription hearing aid care. While Soundly has built a sizeable online presence of people seeking guidance, Falda said the platform historically lacked a stronger pathway to connect prescription-seeking consumers directly with local providers.

Network providers have also been a significant impetus for the Soundly acquisition. With competition rising and a tougher market in the past year, network providers want more patient leads as clinics balance private pay, Medicare Advantage, and price-sensitive consumers who are cross-shopping multiple channels.

What will change at Soundly—and what won’t

Ear Professionals Group says Soundly will remain an online entity, but with a more direct connection to the group’s provider network for consumers seeking prescription hearing care.

Falda told HearingTracker that prescription-seeking consumers will be directed into the EPG network, and he said he was “excited to link the consumer that’s seeking the prescription pathway…through the network.”

At the same time, he emphasized their intent not to “meddle” with Soundly’s front-end identity or the core reason consumers come to the site in the first place: its approachable education, tools, and product guidance. “From a branding side, or from sort of the core purpose or mission of it all, we bought Soundly because we like what it already does organically, drawing in consumers,” Falda said. He added that the group expects to bring more “behind-the-scenes capabilities” to help scale service as volumes grow.

Co-founder Blake Cadwell and audiologist Amy Sarow, AuD, will remain in their positions. “Blake and Amy are continuing to be a core part of that team, and we’re excited to welcome them into Ear Professionals Group,” said Falda.

“Since inception, Soundly has built meaningful relationships with over 15 million consumers by prioritizing clarity, trust, and education,” said Cadwell in a press statement. “Together, we’re creating new opportunities to connect engaged consumers with clinical care through Ear Professionals Group’s best-in-class provider network.”

Relate private label to be featured—alongside name brands

The group also plans to feature its private-label hearing aid brand Relate^® on Soundly, alongside a curated selection of brand-name devices. Historically, Relate has been a Sonova product that most closely resembles Unitron hearing aids.

Falda said Relate’s visibility will increase, but positioned it as a “value option” rather than an exclusive push. “We always want to highlight the value of that brand… [but] I’m really proud that our business has always carried all name brands, ensuring people have access to what's best for them,” he said.

OTC remains part of the mix for Soundly

Soundly’s historically OTC-inclusive content strategy won’t change, with the website continuing to provide resources for both prescription and OTC options.

Falda said Soundly’s existing OTC affiliate relationships are expected to remain in place. “Nothing [is] intending to be changed there…We’ve been adopters of OTC products, because we know it fills a need,” he said, pointing to factors like mobility, distance, and self-service preferences, while stressing that professional care should remain “a few clicks away.”

In other words, Soundly will continue serving the self-directed OTC shopper while also serving as a feeder to local clinics for consumers who want prescription hearing aids, fittings, and follow-up care.

What it means for EPG’s provider network

From Ear Professionals Group’s perspective, the provider-network upside is straightforward: more informed consumers, more high-quality leads, and a platform that helps patients arrive with clearer expectations about products, pricing, and care pathways.

In its press release, Vice President of Clinical Delivery Laura Richardson, AuD, said the goal is to improve engagement at the point of care by transitioning consumers from online education to local clinical guidance.

For clinics participating in Ear Professional Group’s programs, Soundly could become another front door—one that starts upstream of benefits eligibility, discount programs, or plan enrollment. That’s strategically important because many consumers begin with Google searches and review sites long before they know (or understand) what coverage they may have. In that vein, the acquisition of Soundly looks less like a traditional “media buy” and more like a deliberate move to control a larger portion of the consumer journey—from first search to clinic appointment—while still keeping OTC pathways visible for the right candidates.

If Ear Professionals Group executes as described—preserving Soundly’s consumer trust and tools while tightening the handoff to clinical care—the deal could increase competitive pressure on independent lead-generation channels, and raise the bar for how benefit-linked networks engage consumers before they ever step into a clinic.