Jobs in Singapore: “How I combined my love for music with a career in engineering and R&D”

Trevor Wong, 28, is an Engineer in the Electro Acoustic Design team focusing on R&D, at WS Audiology, a global leader in the hearing aid industry. He is also a Spotify artist and musician who plays live shows. Trevor holds a Bachelor of Engineering from Singapore University of Technology and Design and a Masters of Engineering from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
 

1. What is your role exactly and can you describe what a regular day at work is like?

My job is to improve the electronics and acoustics of hearing aids to ensure optimum performance. This means troubleshooting issues that arise, making recommendations for design changes to improve performance and solving issues related to acoustic performance of the device.

I start work by calibrating my audio measurement equipment so that the measurements are as accurate as possible. Then, I begin audio testing of hearing aids. This involves playing different sound stimuli for the hearing aid to capture and then measuring the responses produced by the hearing aids. Based on these measurements, I prototype changes to the design of the acoustic or electronic portions of the hearing aid to improve performance.

I also help to assess and solve issues that arise with the acoustic performance of the hearing aid, such as distortion of sound, or no sound produced.
 

2. How did you end up in this role at WS Audiology?

After graduating from SUTD, I started out in NTU’s Digital Signal Processing Lab as a researcher for audio electronics, machine learning and the Internet of Things. I also concurrently began my Master of Engineering course part time.

I knew I wanted to work at WS Audiology, to be directly involved in the design of a product that would help people regain the benefit of hearing.

The job scope is also unique as most people either have experience in audio or electronics, but not both combined. This is aligned with my own unique skillsets. This job also allows me to use a lot of creative problem solving which is not something that you can easily find in most jobs

3. What’s most meaningful to you about your role?

Sound is a huge part of my life so being able to work on devices that provide wonderful sound for all is very meaningful to me.

As a musician who plays a lot of live shows, I am actually at a higher risk of hearing loss so working on hearing aids could potentially help me in future as well.

Singapore has an aging population so a lot more of us will need hearing aids in the future. It’s important to me that hearing aid technology keeps improving. Losing your hearing is a huge detriment to communication – making it easy to get isolated. I witnessed this with my late grandfather who had hearing loss and slowly stopped communicating with everyone, accelerating his dementia.

By improving hearing aid technology, we are preventing this from happening to more people and making Singapore a better place for everyone.
 

Global manufacturers like WS Audiology benefit from Singapore’s strategic advantages, such as its diverse talent pool and strong support for innovation. Its 200-member R&D team in Singapore has been instrumental in spearheading WS Audiology’s global product innovation efforts to serve the Asia-Pacific market, which is one of the primary drivers of the company’s growth. Read more about our thriving MedTech sector.