As of 2013, hearing aids constitute one of the fastest growing areas of the Healthcare industry and along with the technology evolving at an exponential rate the Hearing Aid Market is keeping pace. A decade or two ago, a hearing aid was just a hearing aid—but this is no longer the case. Today’s selection of advanced and customized hearing aids is growing at an exponential rate, and resulting, so is the amount of revenue being brought in by the market as a whole. Indeed, as of 2012 The Global Hearing Aids Market is valued at $7.33 billion and it’s set to continue growing at a CAGR of 7.17 percent for the 2012-2016 period.
These numbers are divided amongst 4 key segments and their sub-categories: Behind-the-Ear (BTE), In-the-Ear (ITE), In-the-Canal (ITC), and Completely-in-the-Canal (CIC).
Presently, BTE is the largest segment accounting for well over half of the Global Hearing Aids market in 2012. Nevertheless, as technology evolves making more advanced hearing aids more accessible to end-users, the shares of each segment are likely to shift around a bit.
For instance, demand for ITE hearing aids is expected to increase due to the release of invisible ITE hearing aids. The ITE segment captured around 15 percent of the Global Hearing Aid Market in 2012, and is expected to witness a faster growth rate than the other segments during the forecast period. CIC hearing aids are also expected to capture market share from traditional BTE hearing aid manufacturers.
With this in mind, many vendors are expanding their product portfolios to include more than one hearing aid type while others are entering strategic mergers and acquisitions to extend their market reach. For instance, William Demant Holding acquired Oticon in 2009 after Oticon introduced the US FDA-approved Ponto bone-anchored implant system. Since then, the company has also acquired Grason Stadler, and Neurelec.
As is the case in any market, the more end-users who are happy, the more profitable the business—and when it comes to the Global Hearing Aid Market the key to fulfilling this aim, is offering a wide selection of advanced and high-quality products. The demand is there, and it’s up to vendors to rise to the challenge of meeting it!
For more information, view our 2012-2016 report on the Global Hearing Aid Market.
