Most of us take hearing for granted. But if you are deaf or hard of hearing, and can’t find a job, it’s even tougher. Roughly 62 percent of the deaf are unemployed. The Survey of Income and Program Participation is one of a few national surveys that regularly collect data identifying those with hearing loss or deafness, and it indicates that fewer than one in 20 Americans are deaf or hard of hearing. In round numbers, nearly 10 million persons are hard of hearing and close to 1 million are functionally deaf.
Jason Curry, CEO and founder of sComm has been deaf since birth. His mother, Emma Curry, vice president, says being deaf never stopped Jason from accomplishing what he set out to do.
“He grew up pretty much like any other kid except he had a sign language interpreter when he attended public school in Sedalia, Mo.,” said Emma Curry. “As for playing with other children, they learned to sign.”
Jason graduated from the University of Central Missouri and in 1993 worked as a life insurance agent. He went on to work as a financial analyst for 10 years for the U.S. General Services Administration.
Birth of UbiDuo
Up to this time Jason was communicating through sign language, interpreters, and lip reading. The story he tells is of when he and his father, David Curry, a real estate investor, were discussing business over breakfast at a local restaurant. They were having problems communicating. Thinking there could be a faster way to communicate and avoid some of the frustration, David Curry said, “Let’s go home. I have an idea.”
Although David Curry had no engineering background, he drew his concept of the UbiDuo, a portable, wireless, battery-powered device that facilitates face-to-face communication by means of two displays and two keyboards. It looks like a laptop. UbiDuo is the combination of the words “ubiquitous” and “duo” – the desire for every deaf person to have access to this device and because one unit is comprised of two halves.
“I was so excited when my dad drew the diagram,” said Jason Curry. “I knew instantly that this device would change the world for people who are deaf or hard of hearing in their everyday living with face-to-face communications.”
The company, sComm, stands for simultaneous communications, applied for a National Institutes of Health grant. It took five years for the funding to come through. In 2005 the company received a $1.5 million grant.
