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Tell HN: A Health Care Startup Idea. And a question to ponder.

7 points by quickpost ↗ HN
I recently acquired idiopathic tinnitus. In other words, I now have ringing in my ears 24/7 and I don't know the cause.

What's even more maddening is that there are no good treatments for this condition. It is one of many "Cinderella Conditions" in healthcare - very little money is spent on what seems to be an eminently treatable and maybe even curable disease. Not to mention a profitable one.

As of right now, "Approximately 40 million Americans have chronic tinnitus. For 10 million of these people, tinnitus can be a severely debilitating condition." according to Oregon University (source: http://www.ohsu.edu/ohrc/tinnitusclinic/factSheet.html#relieving%20tinnitus)

Not only that, but each of those 10 million people would be willing to spend SIGNIFICANT sums of money for viable treatments. Look no further than what one YC user had to say about this condition:

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"Ask HN: What would you love to pay for if it was available?" A proven cure for tinnitus. I'd clean out my bank account and cash in all my 401Ks, if need be, to pay for the treatment. For those who don't know what tinnitus is, just imagine having a high-pitched ringing sound in your head that never, ever, ever stops. Ever. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=551872

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The closest viable option comes from a company called "Neuromonics" which basically charges $5000 for an IPod like device that retrains your brain to not hear the sounds. Really? That's the best solution the market can provide for 10 million sufferers with money in their hands?

Not to mention the fact that the number of people needing a solution like this is going to explode given the prevalence of noise induced hearing loss that is going to be present in this and future generations.

So that's my idea - take it and run with it, please. :)

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The broader question is: Why Aren't There More HealthCare Startups?

Every one of us probably knows someone suffering from a condition for which there aren't any good treatments? Why aren't WE doing MORE to improve these conditions?

Additionally, every one of us will eventually come down with a disease or chronic condition that will either kill us or make certain aspects of our lives' miserable. Do you really want to trust that other people will solve these problems before we encounter them?

I understand that health care startups are hard. The barriers to entry are high, the success rates are fairly low, and the problems are difficult to solve. But the reward to humanity and quality of life is higher than just about any web app you could build.

Does the world really need another twitter mashup? Or should we be striving to work on more impactful things?

Food for thought, I guess.

7 comments

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csomar
I study medicine. We studied about ear, in French, but I identified the illness. In fact, this is a neurological disease and I'm not sure about the "Neuromonics" device. The reason is that your auditory fibers are affected and keep sending signals even if there is no sound at all. So I would be curious to know how that handy device work to solve this problem.

Now solving this problem isn't easy, and solving it will consequently solves other problems. Solving it needs someone that study neurophysiology in depth and does endless researchers. Someone that spends his day/night/holiday studying, testing and trying things. He can end up with a result and this result would solve many problems.

He'll need at least 15 years studying this specialty in depth and may be another 10 years researches. So someone young of 20 years old, will end up with the result when he is 45 years old, wouldn't be easier to start a high-tech startup and make money in his first year? Or loss his youth and 'may be' become rich (extensively rich but 'may' is a matter).

The shorter way is the safer.

mbrubeck
There are lots of health startups. Where I live (Seattle), biotech/pharma/medical startups are a major part of the local economy. If you're doing research that points to a viable solution for a health problem that affects tens of millions of people, you can get funding for it.
bbgm
"Were". The Seattle biotech industry is in shambles. Icos is gone, Rosetta is gone, Zymogenetics has scaled down, and so on. The debris is pretty visible. The non-profit research side is going great guns though.
spoonyg
A bit off topic, but I have been doing medical startups for 10 years now and can provide a little insight into your questions.

Directly helping people with technology is extremely satisfying and I would definitely recommend it as a career. That said, it is not an easy career. You have to be patient. Getting a new device from concept to even human trials (much less market approval) can take 2-4 years and depending on the complexity. You have to be diligent and tireless. The complexity and amount of paperwork to meet regulatory compliance requirements would shock you. The current product I am working on has about 15,000 pages of documentation, test reports, etc. Nothing extra above the regulatory requirements is included in this number.

In the end, my opinion is that the direct difference you can make in peoples lives in the healthcare industry outweighs the difficulties.

Mz
I guess it depends in part on your approach. I promote dietary and lifestyle changes as a means to treat chronic illness, which isn't subject to the same regulation as "medical" stuff. If you want to create medical stuff, then you are talking heavy regulation. If you want to create or promote alternative stuff, you are likely to face less regulation. Study after study after study shows that chronic illness is significantly influenced by diet and lifestyle. Encouraging dietary and lifestyle changes to promote wellness is usually not considered "medical" per se.

My current plan is to work on better ways to share my mental models and experiences/practices so people can more effectively implement lifestyle changes and protective practices that work for me. To that end, I intend to write a simulation at some point -- aka a game. I doubt I will run up against any medical regulation in writing a game as a means to promote health and wellness education.

FWIW: Tinnitus can sometimes be treated successfully with chelation and supplements. (Magnesium comes to mind.)