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The differences we make for people living with hearing loss is our most important contribution to society and to a more sustainable world.

Today, one in five people live with hearing loss according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and, due to increasing life expectancy, this number is growing. If left untreated, hearing loss can impact a person’s ability to interact, contribute and feel a sense of belonging.

We help people overcome hearing loss through awareness and improve their quality of life through innovative solutions and personal care and. And we want to, ultimately, make a positive impact on global health. 

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Improved lives

2030 target
More than 16 million lives improved

2024 performance
11 million lives improved


 

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Awareness

2030 target
Increase awareness by hearing-testing more than 2 million people

2024 performance
1.5 million people hearing-tested


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In the framework of our International Campaign for Better Hearing, many countries in which Demant is present with hearing clinics developed local awareness initiatives

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Interacoustics Research Unit supported the roll-out of ACT test, allowing hearing care professionals to predict the quality of a person’s aided hearing in everyday speech-in-noise scenarios

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Oticon’s research centre, Eriksholm, participated in the EU-funded project EASYLI, which aims to examine and optimise the cost/benefit ratio of effortful listening in occupational settings

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Through the dedicated scientific focus on Artificial Intelligence, the Eriksholm Research Centre advanced AI research to enhance benefits for people living with hearing loss

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Helping the world hear better: International Campaign for Better Hearing 

The International Campaign for Better Hearing helps to break down barriers to better hearing and ensures that more people can enjoy the benefits of improved hearing health.

Since 2018, Demant’s Hearing Care business area Audika Group has been championing global efforts to actively elevate the hearing healthcare agenda all around the world through the International Campaign for Better Hearing. This campaign is dedicated to raising awareness about the vital importance of hearing health. It emphasizes the benefits of treating hearing loss, the serious consequences of neglecting it as well as the importance of early hearing screenings.

The campaign has a strong local focus and many hearing care clinics worldwide participate. It is based on three main pillars: raising awareness, providing free screenings and making hearing aids accessible through a give-back program.

The clinics engage with their local communities through local awareness-raising events and different public relations campaigns.

Research1 indicates that fifty percent of adults over the age of 60 years are affected by clinically meaningful hearing loss. Early detection and timely intervention are crucial, especially from this age onwards, to address the problem as early as possible and reduce the risk of other challenges related to hearing loss. Therefore, all participating hearing clinics offer free hearing tests for different age groups, including anyone aged 60 or above.

Every time someone gets their hearing tested at a participating clinic, the clinic donates a specific amount of money to the campaign. These funds are used to directly provide free hearing aids to people in need who otherwise could not afford them, through locally managed give-back programs, thus removing a critical barrier to better hearing.

 

1 Deal, J. A., Reed, N. S., Pedersen, E. C., & Lin, F. R. (2020). Causes and Consequences of Age-Related Hearing Loss. In K. S. Helfer, E. L. Bartlett, A. N. Popper, & R. R. Fay (Eds.), Aging and Hearing (pp. 173-198)

Driving innovation in hearing healthcare: inside our research centers  

Innovation and technology are our core driving forces, enabling us to turn big ideas into real and meaningful solutions for people living with hearing loss. Beyond the dedicated R&D teams, we boast two primary research centres, Eriksholm Research Centre and Interacoustics Research Unit, that are pivotal in driving innovation within the field of hearing health.

Their researchers and scientists continuously push the boundaries of what is possible in hearing healthcare through cutting-edge research and the development of advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence. Both centres actively collaborate with universities and other educational institutions, fostering a dynamic environment of knowledge exchange and innovation.

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Eriksholm Research Centre

Eriksholm Research Centre, which is part of Oticon, is the largest scientific research facility in the hearing aid industry and it was established in 1976. Their researchers make audiological discoveries with the potential to significantly enhance hearing aids users benefits in the future of hearing healthcare.

Eriksholm has developed a deep understanding of the real-life implications of hearing loss and continues to leverage that each year. This happens in continuous dialogue with a large number of people living with hearing loss and dedicated hearing care professionals, as well as strong academic partnerships.

The centre has four research areas:

  • Personalised audiology
  • Cognitive hearing science: aims at identifying key factors that influence unwanted use of working memory capacity
  • Intent decoding: to fully understand how execution of attention works and the situations when the listener does not wish to execute full attention to certain sound sources
  • Artificial intelligence
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Interacoustics research unit (IRU) 

The Interacoustics Research Unit (IRU) is part of Interacoustics, Demant’s Diagnostics business area and it is located at the heart of the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). IRU is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for people living with hearing loss by advancing the field of audiology and pioneering new technology and innovative solutions.

At IRU, scientists transform breakthroughs in audiology and hearing science into innovative diagnostic solutions for audiologists and hearing care professionals. Their work focuses on applied and clinical projects in audiometry, electrophysiology, hearing aid fitting and impedance.

Established in 2013 to work on open research projects in technical audiology, IRU’s scientists work closely with different universities around the world to rewrite the future of hearing care.


Innovation to solve real-world problems
Some of the most groundbreaking projects spearheaded by our research centres are driven by a common purpose: solving real-world problems though innovation. By taking a closer look at these initiatives, we can appreciate the significant progress being made by audiology research and the promising path that lies ahead.
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Enhancing hearing aid technology through artificial intelligence (AI)

The researchers at Eriksholm Research Centre are investigating how the brain focuses on specific sounds in noisy environments. The project utilizes electroencephalography (EEG) to measure brain activity while participants listen to speech amidst background noise.

By tracking brain responses to speech in noisy conditions, the research aims to create hearing aids that better support users in challenging listening situations. This approach not only promises to improve the user experience but also contributes to the broader understanding of auditory attention and its implications for hearing aid technology.
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Improving hearing aid fittings in infants

A core theme for Interacoustics Research Unit (IRU) is to improve validations of fittings in infants that are too young for behavioural hearing testing. In many countries, newborn babies are offered a hearing screening test, which means that many hospitals and clinics are good at detecting hearing loss at an early age. But when it comes to verifying that a hearing aid or cochlear implant is actually working as intended, clinicians have had to wait until the child is around 9 months old to be able to complete a behavioural test in which the child responds to external sounds.

In collaboration with the University of Manchester, IRU has developed a new, objective method which enables clinicians to verify that a hearing solution has been fitted correctly in infants that are a mere three to seven months of age.

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Noise at the workplace

We know that disturbing noise is the most frequent workplace complaint. On one hand, noise leads to stress and fatigue, which are further linked to increased sick leave, early retirement and productivity loss. On the other, communication enables interaction and participation, which is crucial for health and well-being.

Since 2024, Eriksholm has been participating in the 5-year EU-funded project EASYLI with many international partners. The goal is to examine the balance between benefits of effort and costs of effort and optimise the ratio between costs and benefits of effortful listening in work situations.

The learnings can help detect fatigue early on and prevent the negative effects of high listening effort. Individualised interventions can improve the listening value, thus reducing the negative effects and socioeconomic burden of listening that requires a lot of effort.