Sonova Holding AG (Phonak Holding AG before 1 August 2007) is an internationally active Swiss group of companies headquartered in

Stäfa Stäfa () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Meilen (district), Meilen in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zurich (canton), Zürich in Switzerland. Geography Stäfa has an area of . Of this area, 46.1% is ...

that specializes in hearing care ( hearing instruments,

cochlear implant A cochlear implant (CI) is a surgically implanted Neuroprosthetics, neuroprosthesis that provides a person who has moderate-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss with sound perception. With the help of therapy, cochlear implants may allow for imp ...

wireless communication Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information (''telecommunication'') between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided med ...

). The Sonova group operates through its core business brands Phonak, Unitron, Advanced Bionics, AudioNova and

Sennheiser Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG (, ) is a German audio equipment manufacturer headquartered in Wedemark. Sennheiser specializes in equipment for both the consumer and professional audio markets, including microphones, headphones, and loudsp ...

(Licensed). It is one of the largest providers in the sector worldwide. The group and its brands hold 24% of the global hearing aid market in sales. As of 11 September 2022, Sonova was a component of the

Swiss Market Index The Swiss Market Index (SMI) is Switzerland's blue-chip stock market index, which makes it the most followed in the country. It is made up of 20 of the largest and most liquid Swiss Performance Index (SPI) stocks. As a price index, the SMI i ...

History

The group traces its roots back to the

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

-based AG für Elektroakustik, which was founded in 1947 with the participation of Ernst Rihs who acquired a majority shareholding in 1965, renaming the company Phonak AG in 1977. His two sons, Hans-Ueli and

Andy Rihs Andy Rihs (2 November 1942 in Stuttgart – 18 April 2018 in Zürich) was a Swiss businessperson primarily in Medtech and Sports. Biography Andy Rihs' father Ernst had acquired the Zurich-based ''AG für Elektroakustik'' (founded: 1947) in 1965. On ...

, also went on to join the firm, along with Beda Diethelm; after Ernst Rihs' death, the two sons took over his shares while Beda Diethelm became a shareholder with equal rights. Phonak Holding AG was founded in 1985 as a

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...

for the Phonak Group. In 1987 corporate headquarters were moved from Zurich to

. The company was floated on the

SWX Swiss Exchange SIX Swiss Exchange (formerly SWX Swiss Exchange), based in Zürich, is Switzerland's principal stock exchange (the other being BX Swiss). SIX Swiss Exchange also trades other securities such as Swiss government bonds and derivatives such as sto ...

in 1994 and renamed Sonova Holding AG on 1 August 2007, although this change applied only to the holding company and in parts to the subsidiaries; the product names have remained unaffected.

Company

Sonova mainly develops and markets

hearing aid A hearing aid is a device designed to improve hearing by making sound audible to a person with hearing loss. Hearing aids are classified as medical devices in most countries, and regulated by the respective regulations. Small audio amplifiers ...

s, and

wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information (''telecommunication'') between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided transm ...

communication devices compatible with their hearing devices. The group consists of more than 30 constituent companies. Its research facilities are located in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, Canada, and the US, with manufacturing plants in

, China and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. Distribution is handled by its in-house wholesale network and independent sales partners. The group also owns retail outlets in selected countries. In November 2009, Sonova announced the takeover of the Advanced Bionics Corporation, a company based in California which specializes in developing and manufacturing cochlear implants. The purchase was successfully completed in January 2010. In March 2015, Sonova announced the takeover of Hansaton Akustik GmbH, a Hamburg-based, family-run wholesale hearing instrument company. The purchase was successfully completed in April 2015. In May 2016, Sonova announced an agreement to acquire AudioNova International B.V., one of Europe's largest hearing aid retailers, and successfully completed the acquisition of AudioNova in September 2016. The combination of AudioNova and Sonova creates one of the broadest hearing aid retail service networks in Europe.

Brands

Sonova operates through its following core business brands:

AudioNova

AudioNova International B.V (AudioNova) is one of Europe's largest hearing aid retailers, operating over 1,300 stores in 8 countries. In May 2016, Sonova purchased AudioNova for 830 million Euro, completing the acquisition in September of that year. In the United States, AudioNova operates over 436 clinics, offering both hearing aids and audiology services.

Phonak

Phonak manufactures a wide range of digital hearing aids and integrated wireless communication systems. After the merger of Advanced Bionics into Sonova, Phonak started developing wireless technology for Advanced Bionics cochlear implants; notably the Roger receivers that connect to cochlear implant speech processors. In 2016, Phonak launched their first rechargeable hearing aid device.

Unitron

Unitron is a hearing aid manufacturer founded in 1964 in Newfoundland, Canada. Today, it operates in more than 70 countries and is headquartered in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.

Advanced Bionics

Advanced Bionics was founded in 1993 and has been a subsidiary of the Sonova group since 2009. Advanced Bionics develops

technology designed to help children and adults with profound hearing loss receive greater access to sound. Upon the acquisition by Sonova, Advanced Bionics started integrating Phonak technology into their speech processors, starting with the Naída series. Along with sound processors, the company utilizes Phonak technology for bluetooth streaming, Easycall, and FM systems. As of 2016, Advanced Bionics' primary competitors were

MED-EL MED-EL is a global medical technology company specializing in hearing implants and devices. They develop and manufacture products including cochlear implants, middle ear implants and bone conduction systems. MED-EL is a privately owned comp ...

and

Cochlear Limited Cochlear is a medical device company that designs, manufactures, and supplies the Nucleus cochlear implant, the Hybrid Electric acoustic stimulation, electro-acoustic implant and the Bone anchored hearing aid, Baha bone conduction implant. Bas ...

in the cochlear implant market, in which those two companies held around 67% of the market; as percent of the market share Advanced Bionics (20%) holds less than

and more than

(17%). In 2022 Advanced Bionics lost 5% of the market to Cochlear Limited and Med-EL due to implant recalls. In 2020, the company released the world's first cochlear implant sound processor specifically for children. The Sky CI M uses Phonak's Marvel platform and has Phonak Roger technology built in.

Implant recalls

= HiRes90k injuries

= In November 2010, Advanced Bionics recalled a batch of its HiRes 90K implants after many recipients, including children experienced painful malfunctions that caused electric shocks, convulsing, and vomiting. In Sadler v. Advanced Bionics, the company was found to have been negligent and was forced to pay punitive damages as well as for the medical care needed by the victim of the faulty device, but the company announced it would appeal on the grounds of the

punitive damages Punitive damages, or exemplary damages, are damages assessed in order to punish the defendant for outrageous conduct and/or to reform or deter the defendant and others from engaging in conduct similar to that which formed the basis of the lawsuit. ...

being too high. Years before patients had experienced such drastic device failures, the company had been repeatedly warned of problems with the HiRes90k since 2004. Over 4000 devices were recalled, of which 1000 had failed.

=Ultra 3D quality issue

= In March 2020, Advanced bionics recalled a batch of its Ultra 3D implants due to poor performance.

Sennheiser (Licensed)

Sennheiser Consumer Business is a consumer electronics manufacturer specializing in audio. Sennheiser had announced that they are looking to sell their consumer business to a willing buyer to focus on the Professional business. It was announced on 7 May 2021 that Sonova would be acquiring the business for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition had been completed in early 2022. The brand has become part of Sonova's Consumer Hearing department. It is estimated that about 600 employees had been involved in the transition.

References

{{Authority control Medical technology companies of Switzerland Hearing aid manufacturers Companies based in the canton of Zürich Companies listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange Companies in the Swiss Market Index Multinational companies headquartered in Switzerland Swiss brands Stäfa