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SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 26 March 2026 – EarBalance Pte. Ltd., a well-established audiology clinic in Singapore, has unveiled a series of significant developments that underscore its commitment to redefining hearing and balance care. Formerly known as Sound Balance, the clinic has officially rebranded to EarBalance to better reflect its expanded scope of services and its collaborative approach with Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) specialists. Alongside this transformation, the clinic is preparing to launch Singapore’s first FDA- and Health Sciences Authority (HSA)-approved over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid solution, while also spearheading a major community hearing awareness initiative set to take place in June 2026.

These developments position EarBalance at the forefront of a shifting audiology landscape, one that increasingly prioritises accessibility, education, and holistic patient care.

A Strategic Rebrand to Reflect Broader Clinical Collaboration
The transition from Sound Balance to EarBalance Pte. Ltd. marks more than a change in name. It signals a strategic evolution in the clinic’s identity and clinical philosophy. While the former name emphasised audiology and sound perception, the new brand encompasses a more comprehensive understanding of ear health, thus integrating both hearing and balance functions.

“Our ears are not just for hearing. Very often, we think about our five senses, which include hearing. The sixth sense, which is our balance, is often forgotten,” said Dr Kenneth Chua, Senior Principal Audiologist at EarBalance Pte. Ltd. Dr Chua also noted that the rebrand reflects the clinic’s commitment to addressing both aspects of ear health through a collaborative, multidisciplinary model that includes close partnerships with ENT specialists.

EarBalance has established strategic collaborations with several ENT groups, including ASCENT ENT Group, enabling a more seamless patient journey from diagnosis to treatment. This integrated care model ensures that patients presenting with hearing loss, dizziness, or vertigo receive comprehensive evaluation and management under one coordinated framework.

Introducing Singapore’s First FDA- and HSA-Approved OTC Hearing Aid
In April 2026, EarBalance will launch the CERETONE OTC hearing aid, developed by a Canadian company in partnership with ENTRUST. This marks a significant milestone in Singapore’s hearing care sector, as it represents the first OTC hearing aid approved by both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority (HSA).

Designed for individuals with mild hearing loss, CERETONE offers a cost-effective and accessible alternative to traditional prescription hearing aids. The device allows users to manage their hearing needs more independently, making it particularly suitable for those who may not yet be ready to commit to medical-grade solutions.

“This hearing aid is ideal for those with mild hearing loss and who may not be ready for medical-grade prescription hearing aids. We plan to continue expanding the inventory of innovative technological solutions to help people ‘hear better and live better,’” noted Dr Chua.

The CERETONE device combines a user-friendly design with specialised sound processing technology, enabling wearers to adjust settings according to their listening environment. This innovation aligns with EarBalance’s broader mission to “help people hear better and live better” by expanding its portfolio of technological solutions.

Addressing Industry Misconceptions Through Education
EarBalance’s latest initiatives also reflect its stance on a persistent challenge within the hearing care industry: The perception of hearing aids as consumer commodities rather than medical interventions.

“The hearing industry has long been shaped by transactional relationships, where hearing aids are viewed as products to be sold,” added Dr Chua. “However, as healthcare professionals, our role is not to sell devices, but to guide patients in making informed decisions about their hearing health.”

This philosophy is particularly important in light of growing evidence linking untreated hearing loss to broader health risks. Studies have shown that up to 8 per cent of modifiable risk factors for dementia may be attributed to hearing loss. Early detection and intervention are therefore critical not only for communication but also for long-term cognitive health.

EarBalance places strong emphasis on patient education, ensuring that individuals understand the implications of hearing loss and the range of available interventions. By shifting the focus from sales to informed care, the clinic aims to foster trust and empower patients to take ownership of their hearing health.

Community Hearing Awareness Initiative to Launch in June 2026
In line with its commitment to public health, EarBalance will co-organise a large-scale community hearing awareness and education event in June 2026. The initiative is a collaboration between ASCENT ENT Group, EarBalance Audiology Clinic, and Thomson Medical Centre, with support from WS Audiology under the WSA (Wonderful Sound for All) foundation.

The event aims to address a critical gap in public awareness regarding hearing health, particularly the importance of early intervention. It will offer a comprehensive programme that includes hearing screenings, educational sessions, and professional consultations.

“Untreated hearing loss can lead to social isolation, reduced communication ability, and even cognitive decline,” Dr. Chua explained. “Through this initiative, we hope to encourage individuals to take proactive steps in managing their hearing health.”

The programme is expected to screen approximately 100 participants, with an estimated 40 to 50 individuals identified as needing hearing amplification support. For those facing financial barriers, refurbished hearing aids will be provided through CSR contributions, ensuring that care is accessible to underserved segments of the community.

A Holistic Approach to Hearing Rehabilitation
Beyond screening and education, the June initiative will provide referral pathways for continued care, connecting participants with ENT specialists and audiologists for further evaluation and treatment. This integrated approach ensures that individuals identified with hearing loss receive not only a diagnosis but also actionable solutions.

The programme will also feature hearing health education sessions, designed to demystify common misconceptions and equip participants with practical knowledge about ear care. Topics will include the impact of hearing loss on overall well-being, the benefits of early intervention, and the range of available treatment options.

Media coverage and community engagement will play a key role in amplifying the initiative’s impact. WS Audiology, as a CSR partner, will be recognised through branding on programme materials, event displays, and media campaigns.

Sustainability Through Hearing Aid Upcycling
EarBalance is also exploring sustainable practices within the hearing care space, particularly through the upcycling of hearing aids. Recognising that some patients may discontinue use of their devices, the clinic is considering programmes to refurbish and redistribute these aids to individuals in need.

“This initiative addresses two important issues, which are reducing electronic waste and improving access to hearing care,” said Dr Chua. “There are many individuals who could benefit from hearing aids but are unable to afford them. At the same time, there are devices that go unused. Bridging this gap is both a social and environmental responsibility.”

The proposed upcycling programme aligns with EarBalance’s broader vision of responsible healthcare, where innovation is balanced with sustainability and community impact.

Expanding the Scope of Ear Health: Hearing and Balance
A defining feature of EarBalance’s clinical approach is its focus on both hearing and balance, which is an often-overlooked aspect of ear health. While hearing loss is widely recognised, balance disorders such as dizziness and vertigo are frequently misunderstood or underdiagnosed.

“Our ears are not just for hearing,” Dr Chua emphasised. “The vestibular system, located in the inner ear, plays a crucial role in maintaining balance. When this system is disrupted, patients may experience dizziness, vertigo, or instability, which can significantly affect their quality of life.”

EarBalance provides specialised assessment and rehabilitation for balance disorders, offering patients a comprehensive solution that addresses both auditory and vestibular health. This dual focus sets the clinic apart in Singapore’s audiology landscape, where balance care is often treated as a separate discipline.

Looking Ahead: Building a Future of Integrated Care
As EarBalance continues to expand, it is exploring opportunities to further integrate hearing and balance services within clinical settings, including potential collaborations with Thomson Medical Centre. These efforts aim to create a seamless continuum of care for both adult and paediatric populations.

The clinic’s long-term vision includes the development of community-based programmes that extend beyond one-off initiatives, fostering sustained engagement and awareness around hearing health.

“Our goal is to build a healthcare ecosystem where hearing and balance care are accessible, integrated, and patient-centred,” said Dr Chua. “By combining clinical expertise, technological innovation, and community outreach, we hope to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives.”
Hashtag: #EarBalance

https://earbalancesg.com/

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About EarBalance Pte. Ltd.

EarBalance Pte. Ltd. is a Singapore-based audiology clinic dedicated to providing comprehensive hearing and balance care. Through a collaborative approach with ENT specialists and a focus on patient education, the clinic offers a range of services, including hearing assessments, hearing aid solutions, and balance rehabilitation. EarBalance is committed to helping individuals hear better and live better through accessible, innovative, and holistic care.

For more information, please visit: https://earbalancesg.com/

CHENGDU, CHINA – Media OutReach Newswire – 26 March 2026 – Air China launched a direct passenger flight from Chengdu to Brussels, the capital of Belgium, with service starting March 26. This marks Chengdu’s 12th regular direct passenger route to Europe. The inaugural flight recorded a load factor of 95%, with the return leg reaching 85%, underscoring strong market demand.

According to Air China’s Southwest Branch, the Chengdu (Tianfu International Airport)-Brussels route offers three round trips per week on the Airbus A330-300, with flights scheduled on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Previously, Chengdu had already opened a dedicated all-cargo route to Brussels. The launch of the passenger service now establishes a dual-track system for both passenger and freight transport.

Before the route’s launch, travelers from Chengdu to Brussels typically required a transfer, with the whole journey taking more than 17 hours. The new direct service cuts travel time to under 11 hours, creating a faster and more convenient aerial corridor for economic and trade cooperation, cultural exchange, and people-to-people connectivity between China and Belgium.

This route also represents Chengdu’s first newly launched intercontinental passenger service of the year. To date, the city operates 19 intercontinental passenger routes, including 12 connecting major European cities such as Frankfurt, London, Paris, and Brussels, with nearly 40 weekly flights. Chengdu’s regular international and regional direct routes have now clocked up 85, markedly boosting its global connectivity.

The ever-expanding international flight network has further stimulated inbound tourism. In 2025, Chengdu received 2.38 million inbound tourists, a year-on-year increase of 44.3%, signaling a strong recovery of the inbound tourism market. During the recent 2026 Spring Festival, the city welcomed 77,000 inbound tourists, up 47.2% year on year, with a growing number of international travelers choosing Chengdu as their top destination for experiencing China.

As noted by The Times in its feature on 12 of the Best Places to Visit in China: “Home of the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, this city has become a popular stop on many China tours. Foodies will relish their visit—it’s one of the original UNESCO cities of gastronomy, so you’ll find the best of Sichuan cuisine here. Highlights include spicy hotpot, mapo tofu, and the myriad street foods you’ll find outside Chengdu’s many temples. It’s also the departure point for tours to the national parks of Jiuzhai Valley and Huanglong, and the autonomous regions around Sichuan.”

To enhance the travel experience of international passengers, Chengdu has introduced a package of measures covering tax refunds upon payment, language services, smart navigation, and promotional incentives, all aimed at improving convenience and adding to the appeal of inbound tourism. Policies such as instant tax refunds, direct payments via overseas e-wallets, and over 600 tax refund stores have largely facilitated travel for international tourists.

In 2025, Chengdu had more than 6,000 taxi drivers trained in English, and the scenic area Xiling Snow Mountain rolled out an international booking platform supporting real-time translation in 24 languages and transactions in 29 currencies, with multilingual AI translation screens installed across major tourist attractions and transportation hubs in Chengdu.

Meanwhile, Jinli Street—once named by CNN as one of the world’s most beautiful streets—officially introduced the “Open Chengdu” cultural tourism base on February 6. The base features a professional English-language service team, more than 300 bilingual signs, and over 10 bilingual self-service ticketing machines supporting multiple ID types. Across more than 50 locations in Jinli, from museum gift shops to street vendors, international credit cards such as VISA are widely accepted.

In addition, Chengdu Eastern New Area, where Chengdu Tianfu International Airport is located, offers international transit passengers subsidies of up to 400 yuan per person, including 200 for hotel stays, 100 for consumption vouchers, and 100 for railway tickets.
Hashtag: #ChengduInformationOffice

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

New all-in-one platform to help businesses develop and deploy at scale with maximum ROI

CHATSWORTH, US – Media OutReach Newswire – 25 March 2026 – Tintri, the innovator in workload-aware, AI-powered data management, and Platform9, the leader in simplifying enterprise private clouds, today announced a strategic partnership to deliver a bundled AI-ready infrastructure solution that streamlines deployment and reduces operational costs. The out-of-the-box offering makes it simple for enterprises to stand up and scale modern AI systems without the complexity of traditional stacks.

The Problem: AI Is Getting Expensive

Running AI to process and analyze data in real time, requires moving enormous amounts of data at extremely high speeds. Existing infrastructure wasn’t built to manage the sheer volume and velocity of data required for on-demand inferencing and ongoing model training, ultimately causing slowdowns and driving up operational costs. Tintri and Platform9 directly addresses these critical bottlenecks in the by cutting the cost per AI transaction, as low as possible.

What’s in the New Platform

The new offering has two main parts:

1. A powerful data center component built on standard server hardware that can run multiple types of virtual machines and containerized applications side-by-side, without resource impacts. Tintri’s patented technology monitors each application individually, making sure the most critical ones always get the resources they need.

2. An edge AI component designed for capturing real-time data to continuously learn and update inference models.

A core component of the platform is Tintri VMstore, which uniquely runs multiple virtualization platforms and Kubernetes (the industry-standard system for managing containerized applications) all within the same platform. This is a significant differentiator: most competing solutions require separate infrastructure for each. Tintri’s patented technology observes each application individually and guarantees real-time resource delivery, even when the system is under heavy load. This eliminates the “noisy neighbor” problem, where resource-intensive applications steal resources and slow down everything else.

Why It Matters

Many companies today have AI running in multiple locations, either in a central data center, as well as out in the field on cameras, sensors, or other devices. Managing all of that separately is complex and expensive. This new platform unifies the entire setup under one management system (provided by Platform9), so IT teams spend less time juggling tools and more time moving their business forward.

Available now through Tintri’s global network of authorized partners, Phil Trickovic, Senior Vice President of Tintri said:“This launch represents a major milestone in our commitment to providing intelligent, autonomous infrastructure. We’re giving customers the exact tools they need to conquer the complexities of modern AI and edge computing, all while driving down operational costs.”

Hashtag: #Tintri #Platform9

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About Tintri

Tintri delivers the industry’s only workload-aware, AI-powered data management platform, built specifically for virtualized and containerized workloads. Its VMstore platform autonomously manages data at the level of individual VMs, containers, and databases; providing per-workload automation, guaranteed QoS, and predictive analytics that eliminate routine tuning and troubleshooting. Recognized for this innovative approach, Tintri was named “Overall Data Storage Company of the Year” in the 2025 Data Breakthrough Awards. Learn more at tintri.com.

About Platform9

Platform9 is the leader in simplifying enterprise private clouds. The company’s flagship product, Private Cloud Director, has all of VMware’s enterprise-grade features today along with private cloud features for the future. Platform9 was founded by a team of VMware cloud pioneers and has over tens of thousands of nodes in production at some of the world’s largest enterprises. Platform9 is an inclusive, globally distributed company backed by prominent investors, committed to driving private cloud innovation and efficiency. For more information, go to: https://platform9.com/.

Delivering unprecedented full-stack visibility, the new OpenTelemetry-based solution eliminates storage silos, accelerates troubleshooting, and empowers IT teams with a seamless, vendor-agnostic monitoring pipeline.

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS – Media OutReach Newswire – 25 March 2026 – Tintri, innovator of the industry’s only workload-aware, AI-powered data management platform for virtualized and containerized workloads, today announced a strategic partnership with Integration Plumbers, observability integration specialists. Together, the companies have launched a highly anticipated, no-cost, and open-source integration designed to seamlessly connect Tintri’s intelligent VMstore platform to the modern monitoring ecosystems that enterprise IT teams rely on daily.

This collaboration marks a significant milestone in enterprise infrastructure management, bridging the historical gap between storage arrays and application-level observability. By leveraging open standards, Tintri and Integration Plumbers are delivering maximum visibility without the burden of proprietary dependencies.

In today’s hyper-complex, cloud-native IT environments, every minute of downtime or performance degradation translates directly to lost revenue and diminished user experience. When an incident occurs, rapid root-cause analysis is critical. However, for many organizations, determining whether a performance bottleneck originates in the application code, the network layer, or the underlying storage system is a convoluted, manual process.

Historically, storage monitoring has existed in a vacuum. Storage administrators utilize specialized, vendor-specific dashboards, while DevOps and Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) teams rely on entirely different platforms for application and infrastructure monitoring. This fragmentation forces teams to log into multiple disconnected tools, manually correlate timestamps, and engage in time-consuming cross-departmental coordination. The result is a bloated Mean Time To Resolution (MTTR), increased operational costs, and unnecessary architectural complexity. IT teams are burdened with managing disparate monitoring systems, redundant alerts, and separate credentials just to piece together a holistic view of their infrastructure.

The newly announced integration fundamentally transforms this paradigm by establishing a single, unified pipeline for all telemetry data. Built natively on OpenTelemetry, the rapidly adopted open industry standard for collecting, processing, and routing monitoring data; this solution ingests Tintri’s granular storage metrics directly into the existing observability pipelines that IT teams already use.

Rather than forcing engineers to consult a separate “storage only” application, this integration acts as a seamless data feed into a centralized command center. Tintri’s VMstore is architected to track performance at the level of individual virtual machines and containerized applications, eschewing the traditional, opaque LUN or volume-level metrics. The data it generates is uniquely detailed, context-rich, and immediately actionable.

This integration effortlessly surfaces VMstore’s rich telemetry in whatever monitoring platform an enterprise has already standardized on, such as Grafana, Datadog, Dynatrace, Prometheus, and any other OpenTelemetry-compatible tool.

Phil Trickovic, Senior Vice President, Tintri stated: “Storage telemetry has historically been stuck in vendor-specific silos. This integration changes that, giving platform and operations teams a unified view of their entire stack, including storage, without adding new tools or new contracts.”

The Tintri and Integration Plumbers partnership delivers immediate, measurable benefits to enterprise IT operations:

• Faster Troubleshooting and Reduced MTTR: When an incident occurs, IT teams can now visualize storage performance data side-by-side with application and infrastructure telemetry in a single, unified dashboard. This contextualized view drastically cuts the time required to identify and remediate root causes.
• Zero Additional Licensing Costs: The integration is designed to work flawlessly with the monitoring platforms customers already have deployed. No need to procure, deploy, or train staff on a separate, standalone storage monitoring product.
• Total Freedom and Flexibility: Because the solution is built entirely on the OpenTelemetry open standard, customers are protected from vendor lock-in. Should an organization decide to migrate to a different monitoring vendor in the future, the transition requires only a simple configuration update, not a complete architectural overhaul.
• Built to Last and Evolve: By contributing this integration directly to the open-source OpenTelemetry community, Tintri and Integration Plumbers foresee the tool continuously evolving alongside broader industry standards, rather than being constrained by a single vendor’s proprietary roadmap.

For platform engineers and technical architects, the integration is engineered as a standard OpenTelemetry Collector component. It intelligently harvests metrics from both physical VMstore appliances and the Tintri Global Center management platform via robust REST APIs.

Crucially, these metrics are meticulously mapped to OpenTelemetry semantic conventions. This standardization enables out-of-the-box correlation with Kubernetes environments and application-level telemetry. Standard Collector exporters facilitate the seamless routing of this data to any OTLP-compatible backend including Prometheus, ClickHouse, Datadog, and Dynatrace; requiring absolutely no modifications to the Tintri integration itself.

Demonstrating a profound commitment to the open-source ethos, the project will be officially contributed to the OpenTelemetry ecosystem. It is architected from the ground up for long-term community maintainability and strict compliance with OTEL project standards.

Trickovic elaborated “By combining Tintri’s workload-aware storage metrics with the OpenTelemetry ecosystem, we’re giving customers the unified observability they’ve been asking for – storage shouldn’t be the blind spot in your monitoring stack.”

Tintri and Integration Plumbers will be hosting a 60-minute deep dive into OpenTelemetry-native storage observability, including a live technical demo on April 15, 2026 at 10:00 AM PT / 1:00 PM ET. https://tintri.com/experience/tintri-integration-plumbers-4-15-26/

Hashtag: #Tintri #IntegrationPlumbers

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About Tintri

Tintri delivers the industry’s only workload-aware, AI-powered data management platform, built specifically for virtualized and containerized workloads. Its VMstore platform autonomously manages data at the level of individual VMs, containers, and databases; providing per-workload automation, guaranteed QoS, and predictive analytics that eliminate routine tuning and troubleshooting. Recognized for this innovative approach, Tintri was named “Overall Data Storage Company of the Year” in the 2025 Data Breakthrough Awards. Learn more at tintri.com.

About Integration Plumbers

Integration Plumbers is an observability integration specialist that designs and builds custom OpenTelemetry collectors and pipelines for enterprise environments — making disparate systems speak a common observability language using open standards. Learn more at integrationplumbers.io.