Unitron Hearing, the hearing aid manufacturer announced their India launch today. The hearing aid company plans to launch their vast portfolio of products ranging from the very affordable entry level digital hearing aids with trimmer controls to sophisticated advanced instruments with wireless capability (blue tooth) across the country.
A large part of Unitron’s plan is to create awareness of the problem of hearing and the issues surrounding it. Unitron Hearing aims to do this by reaching out to the masses via audiologists across the country.
Hearing loss affects 300 million people worldwide. As per a census, India has an estimated 80 million with hearing impairment. The irony is that a large percentage of this population is unaware of their condition. Ken Liew, Director New Business Development – Unitron said, "Most people assume that the typical candidates for hearing loss are senior citizens, people who listen to loud music, construction workers and miners. However, it's the things we do every day that can do the most damage. The world is getting noisier especially in fast developing cities, but turning a deaf ear is not the answer to cope with the situation.”
Andrée Boissonneault, Senior Audiologist, Unitron Hearing said, "Due to fear, vanity, embarrassment, social stigmas or apathy, people aren't doing enough to prevent or measure potential hearing loss, and there hasn't been an easy, private way for people to test their own hearing performance - until now."
In addition to the various plans discussed, Rakesh Ojha, Managing Director - Unitron Hearing, India also said, “Our plan is to upgrade the small town dealer who dispenses hearing aids, from "selling" conventional analog hearing aids across the counter, and train them to dispense sophisticated digital hearing aids through proper counselling of the patients”.
Unitron creates products that make life easier for the hearing impaired individual. Unitron’s range of hearing solutions are comfortable, flexible and clear, tailored to precisely address the degree of hearing loss and to complement the lifestyle of the individual. Unitron’s main goal is to help individuals hear better in everyday environments whether at home at school, college or meetings or at the movie theatre. Unitron’s hearing aids offer features like noise reduction, speech enhancement, wind noise management and anti shock which takes care of sudden noises, for example the sudden slamming of a door.
Stressing on the huge problem-in-the-making among youth, Rakesh Ojha, Managing Director, Unitron Hearing, added: “Younger adults between the ages of 18-34 years are most at risk as they tune into a radio station or their MP3 player on a regular basis. Most of the youth turn up the volume to block out noise in everyday situations such as at home, on the street, or while commuting. They ignore the recommended 60/120 rule: listen at 60 percent of the maximum volume for up to 120 minutes which increases the chances of a hearing loss.”
Having set foot in India in April 2010, Unitron will commence operations by holding free audiometery open houses in Tier 2 towns to check for hearing loss coinciding with the International Day of the Deaf observed on September 26, 2010.