VANCOUVER, BC--The hearing aid market in China and India, now valued at over $1 billion, will nearly double by 2017, according to a new report by iData Research (www.idataresearch.net). The Canadian-based authority on the global medical device market includes both retail and wholesale sales in its figures.
There is plenty of room for growth, says iData’s analyst manager, Douglas Fung, who noted that hearing aid penetration among the 400 million people with hearing loss in China and India is currently only 1%. He added, “Increased disposable incomes in these countries will drive these hearing aid markets to become two of the fastest growing in the world.” But, he cautioned, “Despite this growth, the penetration rate will progress only marginally by 2017, due to limited education among consumers and underdeveloped retail networks.”
The data report anticipates that growth in China and India will be driven by improved distribution by major foreign retail chains, such as Amplifon. The company also sees hearing aid promotion and education from brand-name manufacturers as a factor in market growth. The report states that, in India, major international hearing aid brands such as Widex and Beltone have opened retail locations. Other companies that iData says are positioned to benefit from increased demand in Asia are William Demant, GN ReSound, Sonova, Starkey, and Rion.
