New Varicom Hearing Aids From Sonic Innovations Provide Wireless Connectivity To Phone, Television, MP3 Players And More

In keeping with its new parent company’s promise to continue supporting the brand, Sonic Innovations has introduced its new Varicom hearing aid family providing wireless connectivity to your telephone, television, MP3 player, and more. The Varicom family also provides a range of performance features, fitting options and form factors befitting a new flagship family of hearing aids.

When Sonic Innovations was acquired by William Demant Holding last year, customers questioned whether the Sonic Innovations brand would continue as an independent brand or whether it would be swallowed up by Oticon, the holding company’s leading global hearing aid brand. But now, following William Demant’s recent statement saying it would support Sonic Innovations, is seems clear that, for now, the brand is here to stay. Read more

William Demant Commits To Maintaining Sonic Innovations Hearing Aid Brand With Product Improvements And Appointment Of New Leader

William Demant Holding, which recently won a bidding war to acquire Otix Global, has committed to supporting Otix’s Sonic Innovations hearing aid brand, with the appointment of a new leader and product expansion including a new version of its super-power Endura hearing aid family. The Sonic Innovations brand will be a sibling to Demant’s flagship brand, Oticon hearing aids, which is one of the world’s top six hearing aid suppliers.

The parent company recently appointed Joseph A. Lugara, a 25-year hearing-industry veteran, to lead Sonic Innovations as President and COO. It also added a new model in its Endura hearing aid family, Endura 6, providing severely impaired customers with a broader range of features at different price points. Sonic Innovations will also move its headquarters in the U.S. from Salt Lake City, where it was founded, to New Jersey, near the U.S. headquarters of both Oticon and another William Demant hearing aid brand, Bernafon.

While William Demant and GN ReSound Fought Over Otix, Sonova Widened Its Hearing-Aid Industry Market Lead

As GN ReSound and William Demant battled over who would win the battle to acquire Otix Global this fall, hearing-aid industry leader Sonova stuck to its knitting and on Nov. 16 claimed it has widened its market share lead. But at the same time, all three of the publicly traded hearing-aid manufacturers hinted they have turned the corner after several years of anemic growth in the global recession.

Sonova, parent of Phonak and other hearing-aid brands, reported more than eight percent organic growth in the first six months of its fiscal year in addition to revenue gains from the acquisitions of cochlear implant maker Advanced Bionics and InSound Medical, developer of the “invisible” Lyric hearing aid. With the growth in the global hearing aid market projected at no more than five percent in 2010, Sonova’s growth, powered by a slew of successful new products introduced over the past two years, earned it a substantial increase in market share. However, in the same report, the holding company lowered its earnings forecast for the remainder of the year, disappointing investors looking for earnings growth combined with faster revenue growth in the industry. Read more

Bidding War Breaks Out For Otix Global As William Demant And GN ReSound Vie For Market Share In Consolidating Hearing Aid Industry

A bidding war has broken out for Otix Global, maker of Sonic Innovations hearing aids and one of the world’s seven largest hearing-aid manufacturers, with William Demant Holding today matching GN ReSound’s $58 million (USD) acquisition bid. GN ReSound last week had topped William Demant’s initial $50 million bid to acquire the struggling U.S.-based company. Today’s $58 million, $10-per-share matching offer by William Demant, parent of global hearing-aid brands Oticon and Bernafon, demonstrates it remains intent on acquiring the Sonic Innovation brand to increase its share of the global hearing aid market. There was no immediate response from GN ReSound parent GN Store Nord on whether it will keep the bidding war going by responding with another higher bid. Read more

Sonic Innovations’ Super-Power Endura Hearing Aid Has All The Bells And Whistles Patients With Severe Hearing Loss Need

With the first shipments of its new super-power Endura behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids this month, Sonic Innovations is providing a satisfying high-end bookend to its line of hearing aids spanning the needs of all users.

The market for hearing aids for patients with severe-to-profound hearing loss is smaller than the markets for patients with mild-to-moderate hearing impairments, and sometimes manufacturers’ high-end product lines lack the bells and whistles available to their mainstream customers. But features such as adaptive directional microphones, Bluetooth capability, multiple programs for different listening environments and the latest and greatest feedback cancellation and noise-reduction algorithms are just as if not more important to people with severe hearing impairments as they are to those with more moderate hearing loss.

Sonic Innovations Endura hearing aids provide a maximum gain of 140 decibels, enough power to fit even the most profound hearing loss. They provide adaptive and automatic directional microphones and utilizes the company’s latest “Sonic Sound” digital sound processing software. They also feature integrated Direct Audio Input (DAI) for external personal sound amplifiers, cell phones, MP3 players and other devices. Because DAI provides a hard-wired connection rather than the wireless connection through a telecoil favored by many mainstream hearing aid systems, it can provide a more reliable signal that provides a welcome improvement in comprehension to severely impaired users who need as clear and undistorted audio as possible.

“With the addition of Endura to our family of products, we offer high quality, cutting-edge products for people with all levels of hearing loss,” said Sonic Innovations CEO Sam Westover. Read more

Sonic Innovations Jumps Into Open-Fit Fray With Ion Hearing Aid Family

Sonic Innovations has jumped into the booming market for comfortable “open-fit” mini behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids with its new Ion Open Ear family, which it touts as the smallest and most powerful in its class. Read more

Starkey ‘nFusion’ Hearing Aids Automatically Adjust To Acoustic Environment

With its nFusion hearing-aid architecture featured in a new flagship Destiny hearing-aid family, Starkey Laboratories has taken a giant step forward in the digital world. Read more

GN Acquisition Of Interton Accelerates Hearing-Aid Industry Consolidation

The big are getting bigger in the hearing-aid industry, with GN Store Nord, parent of the GN ReSound Group, acquiring German hearing-instrument developer Interton for DKK 350-million ($56 million USD). Read more

Sonic Innovations Banks on Innova Sales

Sonic Innovations issued its first-quarter earnings release a few days ago, and this weekend I finally listened to the webcast of CFO Stephen Wilson’s conference call with financial analysts. The bad news is that sales are down two percent from last year’s record first quarter. At first glance it looks like an indicator of weak demand and flat sales generally in an industry that should be seeing healthy growth from consumers whose need for hearing assistance is constantly growing. But Sonic Innovations is betting heavily on its new Innova line of hearing aids, which it didn’t introduce until early April after the fiscal quarter ended. Read more

The Seven Sisters of the Hearing Aid Industry

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. Read more