CompotechAsiaEEPW ESMC

BTE HEARING AID REFERENCE DESIGN

Mechanical switch

for program switching

Mechanical potentiometer

for program volume control

Microphone

Air conducting receiver

(speaker)

Telecoil – converts

electromagnetic

fields to electrical

energy (phones). R3110 DSP System

A VISUAL HISTORY OF HEARING AIDS

trumpets

ear tubes

Analog HA

Digital HA

Smart HA

THE FUTURE OF LIP READING

Will your next hearing aids have cameras?

The AI Technology Involved

GN ReSound is one of three Danish hearing aid manufacturers

that have become some of the world's biggest suppliers of

hearing aid technology. They were first to market with a

made for iPhone hearing aid.

Their mission of “Life is on” means they aim to help people

with hearing loss to interact freely, communicate with

confidence, and live without limit. Phonak was founded in 1947

in Zurich. They are currently owned by the Sonova Holding AG

company.

Headquarted in Denmark, Widex boasts an entirely CO2-

Neutral building. They are a family-owned company founded

in 1956;

They are known for their groundbreaking computer modelling

and laser technology custom earpieces (CAMISHA shells), as

well as having the first fully digital in-the-ear hearing aid

Founded in Denmark in 1904 by Hans Demant to help his wife

Camilla who had a hearing impairment herself. Oticon was

later run by his son William Demant and is still owned by the

William Demant Holding Grouptoday

(Note: Sivantos was formally Siemens, which is now 1 of 2 Sivantos

brands, the other being Signia;

Siemens began in 1878 by Werner von Siemens after he developed

a telephone for people with hearing loss to better understand

conversation on the phone;

They are most well-known for releasing the first digital hearing aid

with two microphones (directional microphones), the first wireless

hearing aid, and more recently the first waterproof digital hearing

aid

Their philosophy “Hearing is our concern” began in 1967 with

founder William F. Austin. Starkey has a strong commitment to

philanthropy, donating to the Starkey Hearing Foundation every

time a Starkey hearing aid is purchased. Through this foundation,

they have given away over 1 million hearing aids to people around

the world.

Starkey is the only american-owned and operated hearing aid

provider

HEARING AID KEY PLAYERS SHARE

OVERVIEWKEY PLAYERS SHARE

Estimated Unit Market Share of Key Players

Market share: 4-8%

OTHERSMarket share: 7-10%

Market share: 21-25%

Sonova Group

Market share: 14-17%

William Demant Group

Market share: 10-14%

GN North

Market share: 14-16%

Market share: 18-21%

Sivantos

MARKET SEGMENTS

• Approx. 85-90% of market

• Global in scope

• Most have internal IC design teams

and consider their DSP as core

capability

• Starkey – open-programmable DSP

• GN ReSound – foundry services

Characteristics

Current engagements

• Offer peripheral ICs (memory, battery

management) and packaging services

as entry point

Engagement strategy

Key players

Tier 1 “Big 6”

• Approx. 5-6% of market, but high

value

• Regional in scope (except Panasonic)

• Some with internal algorithm

capabilities

• All – preconfigured DSP

• Rion & Panasonic – open-

programmable

Characteristics

Current engagements

• Sustain business with competitive

product offerings

Engagement strategy

Key players

Tier 2 “Little 6”

• Approx. 5% of market

• Smaller regional players and/or start-

ups

• Americas 30; Asia/Pac 25; EMEA 10

• Limited internal R&D capabilities

• Supply preconfigured DSP to most

Tier 3s directly or through distribution

via IntriCon (value-added reseller)

Characteristics

Current engagements

• Serve strategic few direct (high growth

potential especially in Asia)

• Migrate to distribution where possible

Engagement strategy

Key players

Tier 3

Hearing Aid Type

Behind-The-Ear (BTE) Types (75-80% of units sold)

Conventional BTE Receiver-In-Canal (RIC)

Mini-BTEInvisible-In-Canal

(IIC)Completely-In-Canal (CIC)

In-The-Canal (ITC)Full-, ¾-, Half- Shell

ITE

In-The-Ear (ITE) Types (20-25% of units sold)

TREND

Discrete and “invisible”Smaller RIC and new IIC styles more

popular with Baby Boom generation as they

begin to adopt hearing aids

Wireless communication

and connectivity

Current technologies: 2.4 GHz, 900 MHz and

Near Field Magnetic Induction (NFMI) with

Bluetooth-capable relay device

Fully automatic and

‘intelligent’

Volume control and signal processing adapts

automatically to sound environment for

greater effectiveness and user comfort

Shift to 65 nm process

or below; Miniaturized

packaging techniques

Need for interoperability

and advanced

packaging techniques

Increasing processing

power and

sophistication of

algorithms

TRENDS IMPLICATIONS

Power consumption

Consume < than 1 mA

at ~1.25 V operating

voltage

Size

Multiple chips and

chip area < 10 mm2

Mixed-signal

Digital and analog

functionality

DESIGN CHALLENGES

HA BUSINESS MOMENTUM:

Over 5% of the population – 360 million people in the World,60 million in China;

Development Country 20% use HA,China:-5%

7.1 7.7 8.1 8.3 8.49.8 10.3

11.011.9

12.813.9

15.0

0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

12.0

14.0

16.0

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Ind

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Sale

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MARKET SIZE AND GROWTH

Source: HIA Statistics and internal estimates

Key Drivers

• Aging populationPopulation growth and longer life expectancy

• Emerging marketsRising disposable income in China, India, Brazil and Eastern

Europe

• Hearing loss prevalenceDriven by noise exposure, diabetes, smoking

• Government policy support

• Transition time from Analog HA to Digital HA

2010-2015 CAGR estimated to be 6-8%

Golden Boomers Era

• Growth expected to accelerate as “baby boomers” hit retirement age (2012-2030)

• Challenge so far has been to get boomers to adopt hearing aids earlier (average age of first use remains at 69-70 despite efforts to encourage earlier adoption)

Key Facts

• 12.5% of children 6-19 have permanent hearing damage due to excessive noise exposure

• 18% of adults 45-64, 30% of adults 65-74, and 47% of adults 75+ are hearing impaired

• Price of premium hearing aid $3,000-$4,000 per device

SALES CHANNEL

Traditional Channel

Internet Sales

Hospital/ClinicPharmacy

Personal Sound Amplifiers (PSAPs)

Traditional Fitting Process

FUTURE CONCEPT

FUTURE CONCEPT