Alexandria, VA, January 27, 2005---Hearing aid purchases in the United States topped 2 million instruments in 2004, for the first time in history.
The Hearing Industries Association (HIA) has released the hearing aid sales statistics for 2004 that peg hearing aid sales in the United States, to both private and public entities, at 2,146,095. Continuing the trend that intensified dramatically over the past year, 83% of the hearing aids purchased were digital technologies.
In announcing the 2004 sales statistics, HIA Chairman Jerry Ruzicka, Starkey Laboratories, observed, "This second million mark is an important one, but it took much too long to get here. With the help of President Reagan, the industry topped the million mark in 1983, and together we must all ensure that it is not another two decades for the next million." He noted that HIA programs for 2005 and beyond, including the Association's aggressive support for a hearing aid purchase tax credit, are all targeted to the goal of increasing the absolute numbers, as well as the percentage of individuals with hearing losses who benefit from using hearing aids.
The members of HIA have voluntarily contributed sales statistics to the Association on a quarterly basis for the last 40 years, enabling what was originally an group of small, entrepreneurial, privately-held businesses to track the growth of the hearing aid industry in the US. Carole Rogin, HIA Executive Director, commented that "the HIA Statistical Program has really allowed our members to see how well they are doing together in meeting the needs of people with hearing losses. Without this program, there would have been no more than anecdotal information about hearing aid use. The program has progressed from a report that reflected only gross sales of the member companies to a rich report that reflects virtually all the hearing aid sales in the United States by model (CIC, ITE, BTE, etc.), by type of technology (digital, programmable, and classic), and by state destination, along with other important market information."
HIA is the trade association, representing the firms that manufacture the majority of the hearing aids and components sold in the United States on an annual basis.
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