When you start thinking about buying a hearing aid, the choices can be dizzying. On first look, you would think there are hundreds of manufacturers. The reality is simpler. While there are scores of name brands, in fact only seven manufacturers control about 90 percent of the worldwide market for hearing aids.
The hearing aid industry is truly global. Two of the current leaders are based in the U.S., one is based in Switzerland and one in Germany. But the hotbed of hearing aid design and manufacturing is Denmark, home to three of the seven world leaders. These Seven Sisters together sell about $2 billion worth of hearing aids.
Here are the leaders ranked by global market share, according to estimates by Sonic Innovations, the smallest of the seven:
Siemens, Germany, 21%
Oticon, Denmark, 18%
GN Resound, Denmark, 14%
Starkey Laboratories, U.S., 12%
Phonak, Switzerland, 11%
Widex, Denmark, 8%
Sonic Innovations, U.S., 5%
30-Plus Others, 10%
So, when you are trying to choose a hearing aid, go first to the websites of these manufacturers. All of them give nice overviews of the features and benefits of their many different products and the technologies behind them. The knowledge will make your product search and sessions with your hearing aid dispenser, audiologist or ENT (ear, nose and throat) physician far more productive.