Question
Sonova is a big name in the hearing aid world, but I recently heard that Phonak’s parent company also acquired Advanced Bionics. Does this mean the cochlear implant manufacturer will start to use some of the same technology as Phonak?
Answer
Until recently, Sonova’s main focus was on the manufacture and distribution of hearing aid products, although it now includes a medical division focusing on the manufacture and distribution of cochlear implants. In addition, Sonova owns some hearing aid retail operations, and is the market leader in wireless communication systems for audiology applications. The history of the hearing industry fundamentally changed when Sonova purchased Advanced Bionics. At Advanced Bionics, we have access to 60 years of proprietary Phonak technology that no cochlear implant manufacturer has ever had access to prior to now.
For Sonova, the goal in acquiring Advanced Bionics was to expand their offerings and grow to a full-service hearing healthcare solutions company. There has been a lot of positive change for Advanced Bionics since we were acquired. We have been able to work closely with our sister brand, Phonak, which is the largest hearing aid company in the world. We are working on projects to leverage key technologies from both companies to create innovative solutions that have not yet been offered for cochlear implants, but have, in many cases, been offered for recipients of Phonak technology for some time.
We’ve been focusing heavily on leveraging the technology of both companies, not only to further the benefit of cochlear implant recipients, but to look at how we can improve the experience of bimodal hearing for recipients of both an Advanced Bionics cochlear implant and a Phonak hearing aid. Bimodal hearing is an interesting and exciting space, but also one that requires a lot of thought and effort in figuring out how to bring forward products in the best way possible both for professionals as well as the recipients. We believe that the marriage of these technologies will change the industry. Thank you for your question.
Editor’s Note: This Ask the Expert was taken from the AudiologyOnline interview with Tracey Kruger. To read the complete interview, please go to https://www.audiologyonline.com/interviews/interview-with-tracey-kruger-vice-6637-6637
