Industry Trends The hearing device market is limited by the difficulty that it takes to sell these devices. In many regions, the right to sell hearing aids is limited to audiologists and hearing instrument specialists. Audiologists require several years of schooling and, in most places, hearing instrument specialists are required to take a two year

The hearing aids and audiology devices market includes hearing aids, bone-anchored hearing aids, cochlear implants, direct drive implants, otoacoustic emission analyzers, auditory brainstem response analyzers, audiometers, tympanometers, real ear analyzers, otoscopes and video otoscopes and hearing aid batteries. The market potential is sizable, as more than 40% of those diagnosed with a hearing loss can be classified as having moderate or severe impairment. Growth of the hearing device market is largely dependent on technological innovations that are offered by manufacturers and the growing aging population.

Industry Trends Manufacturers of cochlear implants will differ with the numbers of electrodes. The device provides a treatment option for those with hearing loss too severe (due to loss of cochlea sensory hair cells) to be treated with standard hearing aids, as well as those with damaged middle ears but viable cochleas, who are also

Industry Trends Historically, the adoption rate of hearing aids by hearing impaired individuals has been low. In terms of age groups, the 50 to 60 age group has low adoption rates, despite many marketing attempts to capture this particular demographic. Adoption rates are highest among patients with moderate to profound hearing loss. Evidence suggests that

Audiometers are machines used for evaluating hearing loss. They are standard instruments in audiology centers and at ear, nose and throat (ENT) clinics. They consist of an embedded hardware unit connected to a pair of headphones and a feedback button, which is controlled by a computer. Conductive hearing mechanisms can be analyzed when audiometers are used in conjunction with born vibrators. The market for audiometers includes revenues from both the audiometer hardware and the accompanying software.

A bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA) is a surgically implanted device designed to treat hearing loss by transmitting the sounds it receives through direct bone conduction to the nerve fibers of the inner ear. The device consists of an externally worn receiver and sound processor, which resembles a standard behind-the-ear hearing aid, and an external abutment that vibrates a titanium implant. The hearing aid is operational once the titanium fixture bonds with the surrounding tissue (osseointegration). This process usually takes two to six months from when the device has been implanted. Patients with conductive and mixed hearing loss are the primary candidates for bone-anchored hearing aids; this includes patients with chronic inflammation or infection of the ear canal which prevents the use of standard hearing aids, patients with conditions which have led to malformation of the ear canal, patients with single-sided deafness, patients with a bilateral conductive loss due to ossicular disease and patients who have malformed or absent outer ear and ear canals.

Diagnostic hearing devices are designed to assist physicians, audiologists and hearing instrument specialists to evaluate patient hearing and conducting physical diagnosis in and around the ear. These devices fit into three broad categories: equipment used for conducting a clinical diagnosis of hearing loss, equipment for screening potential hearing loss and equipment used for performing physical diagnosis. Diagnostic audiometers and tympanometers are used for clinical diagnosis. Screening and industrial audiometers (also known as occupational audiometers) are used for hearing loss screenings. Otoscopes are used for performing physical diagnoses.

Full report suite on the global market for zinc air hearing aid batteries. Includes analyses of disposable batteries in sizes 10, 312, 13 and 675 intended for use in non-implanted hearing aid devices and unit analysis of sales and the installed base of hearing aids divided into rechargeable and battery-powered, or conventional devices.

Growth in this market is due to a few major trends. The first is increasing aging population, which drives the demand for new hearing aid installations and consequently increases the installed base of devices requiring batteries. The second contributor is that manufacturers offering private label hearing aid batteries have been offering an increasing number of batteries per pack. This gives the consumer a more economical choice over the leading brands, and is a strategy that the rest of the industry may soon adopt.

Middle ear implants (MEIs) are a relatively newer entrant into the hearing device market. MEIs are designed for people who cannot use or are dissatisfied with conventional hearing aids. MEIs are used on people who have moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss or conductive/mixed hearing loss. While the technology uses a direct drive similar to those of percutaneous bone conduction system, it is distinct in both its designed indication as well as its function.

Otoacoustic emission (OAE) analyzers are diagnostic devices designed to detect sound generated within the inner ear as a means of detecting hearing defects, which could arise in a number of different cellular mechanisms within the inner ear. Studies have shown that these sounds disappear in unhealthy inner ears. The results allow the audiologist to identify the specific parts of the auditory system causing the hearing loss.

Standard otoscopes (also known as auriscopes) are medical devices is designed to assist a physician in making physical diagnoses, making it possible to see the outer and middle ear. Otoscopes are considered a required device by any physician performing physical diagnoses. The device is handheld and consists of a power supply base and a magnifying head. This allows the physician to immediately magnify and illuminate a small area of the patient’s body, including in the mouth and ear canal. Otoscope design consists of a head (with light source and low-powered magnifying lens), disposable plastic ear specula which can attach to the front end (distal) and a lens on the rear of the instrument that enables physicians to see into their patient’s ear canal. Most otoscopes are portable and battery powered.

Real ear analyzers are pieces of diagnostic equipment designed to provide an audiologist with an objective test of how well a hearing aid performs in the patient’s ear. They are especially important for hearing aid fittings because the shape and size of the individual’s ear canal can significantly influence the performance of the hearing aid. Sound is presented to the test person using a loud speaker and the sound intensity is measured using a microphone. A second microphone measures the sound’s intensity inside the ear canal. They measure the sound pressure level at the patient’s eardrum at given amplification settings of the hearing aid being tested. The sound pressure level recorded at the eardrum is used for evaluating response (the absolute sound pressure at the eardrum) and gain (the sound pressure at the eardrum relative to the input level).

A bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA) is a surgically implanted device designed to treat hearing loss by transmitting the sounds it receives through direct bone conduction to the nerve fibers of the inner ear. The device consists of an externally worn receiver and sound processor, which resembles a standard behind-the-ear hearing aid, and an external abutment that vibrates a titanium implant. The hearing aid is operational once the titanium fixture bonds with the surrounding tissue (osseointegration). This process usually takes two to six months from when the device has been implanted, but has been dramatically reduced by Oticon’s new minimally invasive surgical procedure.

Standard hearing aids require specialized batteries, typically zinc-air, in order to function. These batteries must be replaced by the user or an audiologist. Virtually all hearing aid batteries sold on the market are zinc-air. They have a high energy density that is achieved by using the oxygen in the air as the cathode portion of the cell. This eliminates the necessity to package a cathode electrolyte in the cell, allowing for more effective current-generating volume for the same amount of space.

The full report suite on the European market for hearing devices includes hearing aids, hearing aid batteries, cochlear implants, and bone anchored hearing systems. In contrast to the United States, direct drives (middle ear implants) and personal sound amplification devices (PSAPs) have yet to enter the European market in a sustained way. One major trend within the European hearing device market is the constant focus on product innovation. Within the hearing device market, product innovation is a theme that runs through all the segments. Virtually all products, even batteries, are consistently upgraded with the newest features and technologies. This will drive the market by having a positive effect on the ASP of certain product lines.