Consumers Preferred MAX-D HD Audio for Safe Listening Volume and Sound Quality

SANTA MONICA, CA--(Marketwired - March 11, 2015) - Max Sound Corporation (OTCQB: MAXD) announced today the results of its Scientific Sound Study. 

The University of Florida's College of Speech, Language and Hearing Science, a global leader in auditory neuroscience, http://slhs.phhp.ufl.edu/research/research-labs/auditory-neuroscience, recently completed a blind study assessing preferred music styles and audio levels among 70 research participants, to assess what impact MAX-D has on these preferences. Under the direction of principal researcher Dr. Colleen Le Prell, an Associate Professor at UF's College of Public Health and Health Professions and Acting Chair for the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, the participants listened to music tracks at their own preferred listening level using the MAX-D HD Mobile Application on headphones.

MAX-D engaged with the University of Florida to conduct the study due to the significant increase in research demonstrating the decline in hearing health among todays teenagers, and the Company's belief that its technology could be one of the first useful solutions to this critical problem. See "A Billion at Risk for Hearing Loss from Exposure to Loud Music" (based on a recent report by The World Health Organization)
http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/06/health/hearing-loss-loud-music/index.html and
Siemens Teen Hearing Survey (46% of 500 teens show early signs of hearing loss)
https://us.hearing.siemens.com/media/2014/10/siemens.teen_.hearing.study_.key_.findings.fall2014.pdf

The following summarizes Key Results of the Study:

MAX-D ON Preferred: When the subjects' preferred music format was assessed of the participants who had a listening style preference, 62% (three out of five) preferred listening to music using the MAX-D application ON. This is was a statistically reliable style preference for a subset of the subjects. 

For the 70 participants, the average preferred listening level using MAX-D was 66 decibels (dBA) with MAX-D ON. None of the subjects preferred listening levels exceeding 80 decibels in either control or MAX-D ON listening condition. These listening levels are well below the 8-hour 90-dBA legal limit set by OSHA on noise exposure in the workplace https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/noisehearingconservation 

Importantly, at these lower listening levels, even with frequent or extended listening durations, there would be no significant risk of hearing loss over the long term for individuals like the 70 subjects participating in this MAX-D HD Application study. 

Other design information:

• Participant age ranged from 18-27 (mean=20.95 years).
• 100% of the participants reported that they typically use a personal music player, thus, the subjects were an appropriate population for assessing digital music format preferences.
• 74 subjects were consented and screened; 4 had occluded ear canals and could not be tested. 
• Audiometric testing was completed on the 70 participants that had un-occluded ear canals.
• Testing included tympanometry to assess the status of the middle ear, pure tone audiometry to assess detection thresholds, and words-in noise (WIN) testing as a measure of processing ability.
• The participants did not know which type of music formatting was being applied to the songs when setting preferred listening levels, or selecting a preferred presentation style for each song; the order of presentation was purely random and varied.

"We know consumers around the world yearn to explore music on our devices with much greater sound fidelity and with far-less long-term risk to our hearing," said Jonathan Spalter, the former CEO of the music technology company Snocap, which was founded by the creators of Napster, and Vivendi Universal Internet executive, who serves as a Board Advisor for Max Sound Corporation. "The LePrell study convincingly shows that the MAX-D HD software allows us to hear better, and at lower volumes. With MAX-D, the world of music will never be the same." 

Max Sound Corp. is pleased with the results of the study, and anticipates conducting additional research supporting MAX-D Technology. The App can be downloaded at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.maxsound.pitbull.player

About the University of Florida Auditory Perception Laboratory

Research in the Auditory Perception Laboratory is focused on changes in speech perception and basic auditory abilities with aging. Specifically, ongoing studies are investigating if speech recognition performance in older hearing-impaired listeners is associated with complex auditory abilities such as spectral shape perception. Other studies are aimed at understanding the nature of across-channel integration deficits in older and younger adults with and without hearing loss. The long term goal of this work is to be able to better understand the factors related to speech understanding abilities of older hearing-impaired individuals.

About Principal Researcher - Colleen Le Prell, Ph.D.

Dr. Colleen Le Prell is an Associate Professor and Interim Chair for the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at the University of Florida (UF); she has served as Director of the Hearing Research Center at UF since 2007. She received her doctorate in Psychology (Biospsychology area) from the University of Michigan in 1998, followed by post-doctoral studies at the Kresge Hearing Research Institute (1998-2001).

Current research programs in her laboratory at the University of Florida include a multi-faceted approach to hearing conservation. Studies led by Dr. Le Prell have been funded by the NIH, the DoD, foundations, and industry sources.

Dr. Le Prell has been invited to present her research findings nationally and internationally, and she has lectured on the challenges of translational research in Otolaryngology, including a short course delivered to the Association for Research in Otolaryngology in 2007 and a workshop delivered at the EuroHear Theoretical Training Course on Inner Ear Therapy in 2009. She is an active contributor to the DoD Hearing Center of Excellence Pharmaceutical Interventions to Prevent Hearing Loss working group, and recently co-authored three white papers on different topics related to this effort. She was the lead editor on the Springer Handbook of Auditory Research edition titled, "Noise-induced Hearing Loss: Scientific Advances," and was on the editorial team for the currently in press text, "Free Radicals in ENT Pathology: Oxidative Stress in Applied Basic Research and Clinical Practice." She is the former Director of Education for the National Hearing Conservation Association (2012-2014).

http://slhs.phhp.ufl.edu/people/faculty/leprell

About Max Sound Corporation: As creators of acclaimed MAX-D HD Audio, Max Sound can provide a better solution for Audio, Video and Data transmissions. Max Sound Corporation is the company that brings forth technologies for the betterment of our world, including VSL's Optimized Data Transmission Technology. Max Sound®, MAXD® and MAX-D Audio Perfected® are registered trademarks. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. To learn more about the MAX-D Technology, please visit www.maxsound.com

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