The hearing aid market in France

A hearing aid is a medical prosthesis designed for people with impaired hearing, enabling them to amplify certain sounds according to their needs.

Historically, the first modern hearing aids appeared in the early 20th century, when the Sonotone company invented the first earphone in 1929. Hearing aids have since become portable and increasingly discreet, thanks in particular to the use of smaller, more efficient microprocessors since the late 1990s.

The hearing aid market can be divided into three product categories:

In-the-ear hearing aids ;

BTE" hearing aids, which contour the user's ear;

In-the-canal" hearing aids, in which the microphone is placed in the ear canal to reduce the size of the external housing.

The global hearing aid market is enjoying sustained growth, with the number of devices sold increasing, until the health crisis put the brakes on this momentum. The market is concentrated around a few international players.

There has been a decline in ENT consultations, with the result that the French do not necessarily wish to alleviate their hearing deficiencies with appropriate hearing aids. We are also witnessing a rejection of hearing aids: according to an IFOP study, almost 25% of people under 35 would not wear hearing aids, even if they had confirmed hearing problems.

The French market, meanwhile, has been growing steadily for several years, and has not really been impacted by Covid-19. This market is driven in part by an aging population and increasingly efficient technologies. What's more, the recurrent use of headphones and earphones causes considerable discomfort and hearing problems.

Price was a barrier to purchase, but to give more French people access to a medical hearing device, the governmentsince January 1, 2021, the French government has introduced the 100% Santé, RAC 0 ("reste à charge zéro") scheme, which means that hearing aids are fully reimbursed. [DREES]

The implementation of the 100% Health reform has had an extremely beneficial impact on the hearing aid market (much more so than for optical sales). 2021 and 2022 were record years, with sales up 82% in 2022 compared with 2020 [L'Ouïe] In 2023, hearing aid manufacturers sold 7% fewer hearing aids than in 2022. Forecasts nevertheless point to higher sales in value and volume terms in 2025 and 2026.

Finally, new hearing aid trends have emerged. One possible new feature is the appearance of hearing aids connected to phone applications, which could revolutionize the sector.