In audiology who owns what?
UPDATE – 13 October 2022: This article has been updated for the 2022 v9 edition of the Hearing Industry Map
The hearing aid industry is a massive business, and like many industries, some manufacturers have been forging ahead with vertical integration: setting up stores to sell their own products direct to you the consumer rather than just rely on independent audiologists.
It can be difficult to get a complete overview of who owns what, or who is behind every brand in the hearing aid industry landscape. But Hearing Tracker has come to the rescue with a new release of their Hearing Industry Map.
The map shows which manufacturers own which brands, not just in relation to hearing aids, but also the branded clinics they have set up as a way to reach the consumer directly.
If you want to access a high-resolution version of the 2022 map you can get it here.
Changes to the new edition
The Late 2022 Edition of the Hearing Industry Map incorporates a slew of changes—including new mergers and acquisitions, new brands, and a handful of newly updated logos.
The advent of over-the-counter devices in the US has also seen the single brand category grow considerably.
We spent a lot of time poring over the map and highlight below the relevant manufacturers, their hearing aid brands, and retail brands that are relevant to the Australian market.
This way you get an understanding of which clinics are linked with which manufacturers and which brands of hearing devices you are likely to be recommended at those clinics.
There are of course many other clinics not linked directly to a manufacturer who may offer more choice if required.
In late 2022 the Australian hearing aid manufacturer landscape remains relatively unchanged. Some additional consumer brands have been added to the device offerings including well know brand Sony which is having its devices produced by WS Audiology.
The biggest change is the number of singe brand companies with more coming to the fray as the US adopts an over-the-counter model.
WS Audiology
WS Audiology is a privately-owned manufacturer of hearing aids with headquarters in Denmark and Singapore with roots going back to 1878 and Siemens AG. The current company was created following the 2019 merger of Sivantos Group and Widex.
Demant
Demant is another Danish manufacturer. It was founded in 1904 by Hans Demant under the name Oticon. In 1997 the company changed its name to Demant.
- Hearing Aid Brands: Oticon, Philips, Bernafon, Amplifon (for Amplifon), Sonic
- Retail Clinics: Audika, Hearing Life
Amplifon
Amplifon is the world’s largest hearing aid retailer. It was founded in 1950 in Milan and now has a presence in over 29 countries. Amplifon does not manufacture their own hearing aids but sells their own branded version of other manufacturers’ devices.
- Retail Clinics: Bay Audiology, Amplifon, Attune
Sonova
Sonova is a Swiss manufacturer and holds 24% of the global hearing aid market in terms of sales. It recently purchased the consumer arm of the Sennheiser brand.
- Hearing Aid Brands: Lyric, Unitron, Kirkland (for Costco), Amplifon (for Amplifon), Phonak
- Other Brands: Sennheiser
- Retail Clinics: Connect Hearing, Blamey Saunders Hears
GN
In Denmark yet again for the Great Northern Telegraph Company, as GN was called when founded in 1869. GN expanded its hearing health offering in 2000 when it acquired Jabra.
Starkey
Starkey Hearing Technologies is an American privately owned company based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota that makes hearing aids, and is one of the largest hearing aid manufacturers in the world. As of 2019, the company had more than 5,000 employees in 24 facilities, serving more than 100 markets worldwide
- Hearing Aid Brands: Starkey
- Retail Clinics: iHear
Other brands and organisations
Here we have only looked at vertically integrated organisations with a retail outlet for their products in Australia. There are other brands and products in the market, including several new entries and single-brand manufacturers. These include brands we already know of in Australia and more we may hear of soon if they expand into our market:
Also on the map are cochlear implant manufacturers and brands including Cochlear, Medel, Advanced Bionics, and Oticon Medical.
We’ll keep an eye out for any updates and reflect those in this article as they happen.
