Copenhagen - Tiny Denmark, with fewer than 6 million people, supplies half the world’s hearing aids, and local makers aim to advance that commanding position as baby boomers and the iPhone generation age.
GN Store Nord, headquartered in Ballerup, near Copenhagen, has a product it hopes will reach that demographic – famously averse to accepting the depredations of age – by taking the stigma out of wearing an aid.
The world’s fourth-largest maker has collaborated with Apple to develop a device packed with bluetooth-like technology that installed in the ear allows users to stream voice and music from their iPhones without the need for an intermediary device.
Denmark’s expertise in sound technology can be traced back to 1904, when William Demant Holding Group was founded by Hans Demant, whose wife had a hearing disability.
Nearly 110 years later, William Demant is the world’s second-largest maker of hearing aids, behind Switzerland’s Sonova.
Strong public and private co-operation has driven development in audio products from microphones to amplifiers in Denmark.
Denmark’s technical university offers an engineering acoustics masters programme that attracts students from around the world and hosts a sound technology innovation network funded by the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation.
The World Health Organisation estimates there are 360 million people – more than 5 percent of the world’s population – with a disabling loss of hearing, yet current hearing aid production meets less than 10 percent of global need.
Premium products in the US sell for about $3 000 (R30 000), including GN’s Verso range, and GN has said it will probably launch LiNX at a 5 to 10 percent premium to that.
But there are hopes that the new technology can overcome some of the stigma by making the devices more attractive, accelerating single-digit volume growth in a market that will benefit from an ageing population and rising wealth in emerging markets.
UN figures project that one in five people in a world population of between 8.3 and 10.9 billion will be over 60 by 2050, up from just under one in 10 of the current seven billion.
It was a technical challenge to get the 2.4 GHz technology used in the LiNX into a tiny, discreet hearing aid that could run for several days without frequent and fiddly battery changes.
It had a head start on bluetooth technology for hearing aids as one of the world’s biggest wireless headset makers, but conventional bluetooth devices tend to be notoriously profligate users of energy and require sizeable antennas.
Overcoming those limitations gives LiNX users a cosmetic advantage by eliminating the need for a separate transmitter, typically worn round the neck.
Lars Viksmoen, chief executive officer for GN’s ReSound hearing aid business, described the 2010 launch of its first 2.4 GHz product – with a third device for streaming – as a “live or die” moment.
“Had that launch failed, we perhaps wouldn’t have been here today,” he said.
Luckily, the 2.4 GHz frequency was picked last year by Apple for its iPhones. Apple went to all manufacturers and said it wanted to have a direct link from hearing aids to its phones using 2.4 GHz and, because GN was already on its second generation of such products, an instant pairing was made.
Frequent visits followed between California and Copenhagen to build up the protocol and improve power-efficiency.
The buzz surrounding the made-for-iPhone device and a major cost-cutting programme have helped send GN’s share price up 60 percent this year, beating the 27 percent rise in Sonova and the 6 percent rise in William Demant.
Some remain sceptical that the main user base – the over 65s – will feel the need for the connectivity offered.
“I think it will provide new avenues for innovation… but I am less convinced it will structurally change the industry,” said Tom Jones, a Berenberg analyst.
Still, GN’s bigger rivals are taking stock.
William Demant, which has a 23 percent market share, says there is greater engagement with the cellphone industry.
William Demant, Sonova, Germany’s Siemens and Widex in Denmark all use lower frequency bands which some argue provide better sound quality.
They also have 2.4 GHz in third devices, but not in their hearing aids.
Starkey Technologies in the US uses an 800-900 MHz platform. It is working on a made-for-iPhone hearing aid, but will not provide details about what technology it will use.
But most agree GN is a step ahead, and Viksmoen said it would look to work with other cellphone makers – the bigger Android market, for instance – after the iPhone device.
“It’s a no-brainer that we will not stop here,” he said.
Reuters