The year was 1986, gas prices were below $1/gallon and a former actor, Ronald Reagan, was the 40th president of the United States. It was the same year that HEARx was established – now known as HearUSA.
Founded by Paul Brown, a Harvard and Tufts University School of Medicine educated physician, HEARx opened their first center in 1987 in Hollywood, Florida. Brown entered the hearing industry to improve the delivery system of hearing aids, feeling that it was unregulated and needed improvement. He retired in 2011 when HearUSA joined the Siemens family. Four years later, HearUSA became a part of the Sivantos group founded after Siemens was sold to EQT. Since that time, HearUSA has grown to over 250 centers in the US and Canada.
In the United States and Canada, hearing loss is one of the most widespread health issues, while at the same time one of the least treated. According to the NIDCD*, about 28.8 million U.S. adults could benefit from using hearing aids. Among adults aged 70 and older with hearing loss who could benefit from hearing aids, fewer than one in three (30 percent) has ever used them. Even fewer adults aged 20 to 69 (approximately 16 percent) who could benefit from wearing hearing aids have ever used them.
In conjunction with Signia’s broad product portfolio that addresses all hearing loss needs and customer preferences, HearUSA has the opportunity to reach and help millions of patients. With our well-trained center staff, support from our corporate office employees and motivated leadership team, we will continue to:
- Be an advocate in the industry for increasing public awareness of hearing health care
- Challenge traditional channels and business models to deliver our hearing aids to more people
- Build a brand not like any other in the industry
“When we get up in the morning, we can look forward to something that most people will never have an opportunity to experience. To literally change people’s lives through better hearing… To combine the very best technology out there with the very best care and customer service this industry has ever seen,” states Craig Cameron, Vice President Global Retail.
*NIDCD Epidemiology and Statistics Program, based on December 2015 Census Bureau estimates of the noninstitutionalized U.S. population, personal communication; May 2016
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