The Audiometer Market Competition Will Become Fiercer
Hearing industry diagnostic instruments cover brainstem evoked potentials from pure audiometry audiograms to electrophysiological tests, ranging from acoustic impedance to otoacoustic emission examinations. According to incomplete statistics, there are at least more than 30 instruments. More than 100 models, widely used in clinical and rehabilitation. However, no matter how fast the new technology is developed and how many new products are available, the audiometer is still the main test instrument in the hearing industry and the necessary standard test equipment. According to statistics, 90% of the world's audiometers are provided by 5 or 6 hearing device manufacturers under the two listed companies, including WDH's international hearing, GSI, Amplivox, etc. and Dabei Group's Madsen hearing; these hearing devices Sales account for only about 10% of the total number of these companies, and hearing aids and other hearing aids remain the main source of profit.
In the past few years, the two companies have basically purchased the existing audiometer companies in the market, and the integration process of hearing equipment has basically ended before 2010. However, at the Boston American Audiology Annual Conference, the reporter found that the “new faces” of some audiometers all appeared in the exhibition, and the number increased. The reporter has roughly counted the number of companies, including at least 10 companies, including those from Denmark, Germany, Russia and China. In the interview, the sales people of these manufacturers expressed that they are optimistic about the audiometer market and believe that the current audiometer production companies in the market do not completely monopolize the entire market. In developing and developed countries, the demand for new audiometers remains strong. However, higher requirements are also placed on the functions and technologies of the products, such as the intelligence of the audiometer and the wireless link and the ability to connect to the computer, etc., are the entry-level technical indicators. At present, our company (MELISON) has increased the research and development of audiometers and absorbed more R&D personnel.
According to industry insiders, the scope of application of audiometers has expanded from a single pure tone hearing threshold test to different modules including speech, children, tinnitus, rehabilitation, psychology and even electrophysiological tests. The venue of modern clinical hearing center can no longer continue to increase. More single devices, so integrated and integrated hearing instruments are gradually gaining the love of clinical audiologists, and their development trend is becoming more convenient and diverse, just like the fitting software for hearing aids. Based on this, it can be predicted that in the next one or two years, we will see more models and functional audiometers put on the market, and the competition will be more intense.