Breaking Through a 95% Oligopoly: How Boyin Hearing Carved Its Niche in the Global Hearing Aid Market

Hearing impairment is the third most prevalent chronic disease worldwide.

Relevant studies indicate that approximately 50% of hearing impairment cases are associated with genetic factors. In addition to genetic causes, affected individuals include those who have suffered accidental injuries and young people experiencing premature hearing loss. This patient population is substantial, and the condition can occur at any stage of life.

The report “Current Status and Development Trends of Hearing Health in China” indicates that the number of elderly people aged 65 and above, who constitute the majority of the population with hearing impairments, has reached 120 million in China. Moreover, according to data from the World Health Organization, approximately 1.1 billion young people worldwide (aged 12–35) are at risk of irreversible hearing loss. Factors such as staying up late, prolonged use of earphones, and working in noisy environments are posing significant hidden dangers to hearing health, leading to a gradual trend toward younger age groups among those affected by hearing loss.

Hearing aids are effective tools for compensating for hearing loss in individuals with hearing impairments and currently represent the most effective intervention for hearing disorders. However, the historically high cost of hearing aids, often reaching tens of thousands of yuan, has been a major factor deterring the majority of patients. The global average hearing aid adoption rate is approximately 17%, whereas in China, only 5% of individuals with hearing loss use hearing aids.

Unmet market demand and significant room for growth in domestic production are spawning new opportunities in the hearing aid market. With core technologies such as chips and algorithms having been successively mastered over the past two years, coupled with the rise of e-commerce channels, Chinese companies have rapidly emerged, reshaping the hearing aid market alongside overseas enterprises.BOIN Hearing Technology (SH) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “BOIN Hearing”), which focuses on developing the “AI-powered smart hearing aids + Hearing Expert Center” model, is one of the first domestic companies to break out in this sector.

After years of dedicated research and development, BOIN Hearing has navigated the most challenging phase of core technology development, mastered foundational technologies, and achieved the integration of hearing aid chips with Bluetooth and other chips into independently packaged multi-core chips. This innovation enables the replacement of top-tier international hearing aid and personal sound amplification product (PSAP) solutions with ultra-low cost, superior compatibility, and multifunctionality.

Hearing aids have long been a market segment monopolized by imports. Phonak, Oticon, Widex, Signia, Resound, and Starkey collectively account for over 95% of the global market share. However, for domestic enterprises, the strategy of purchasing core components such as application-level chips at high prices and then investing heavily in marketing to rapidly enter the market is no longer viable. Only by breaking through the core technologies of hearing aids and achieving localization of chips, receivers, microphones, panels, and even casing materials can product costs be reduced, thereby freeing hearing aids from their historically exorbitant price levels. Simultaneously, this will further enhance product performance, enabling better adaptation to the demands of the Chinese market and allowing domestic companies to truly capture the hearing aid market.

However, this is no easy feat. For a long time, most companies have struggled to make breakthroughs in the two core areas of technology and sales channels, thereby achieving a competitive breakout.

Jiang Xianquan, the founder of BOIN Hearing, previously worked at one of the world’s top five hearing aid manufacturers, gaining profound insights into market channels, sales strategies, and product R&D directions. Nevertheless, the company still faced internal and external challenges in its early stages. In Jiang Xianquan’s view, the most difficult aspect of establishing a hearing aid company is building a team and instilling confidence. If a team lacks the professional expertise to solve problems and has no confidence in its mission, it will find it nearly impossible to succeed amid fierce industry competition and significant external challenges.

It is precisely for this reason that BOIN Hearing Technology invested significant effort in building its team from the early stages, assembling a group with deep industry insights and passion. Even during the pandemic, while based in Shanghai—a city with stringent regulatory policies—the team secured 11 national patents and 22 software copyrights. Meanwhile,BOIN Hearing has achieved independent development of core algorithms for its full range of hearing aids, as well as independent development of mainstream chips. It has developed Chinese speech audiometric fitting algorithms tailored to the auditory characteristics of the Chinese population, along with fitting software designed to align with the operational habits of Chinese users. The company also possesses capabilities in hearing aid packaging design and more. Undoubtedly, BOIN Hearing has, to a certain extent, accelerated the development of China’s domestic hearing aid industry.

The application of digital technology to hearing aids represents a true revolution in their development. The use of digital technology has not only significantly improved the compensatory performance and controllability of hearing aids, but also endowed them with features such as low noise, low distortion, energy efficiency, miniaturization, and high adjustability, thereby better benefiting patients with hearing impairment.

Understanding speech in noise has always been one of the most common challenges in the practical use of hearing aids. Individuals with hearing impairment often find it more difficult to comprehend speech in noisy environments than those with normal hearing. From a fundamental technical perspective, the implementation of noise reduction, echo cancellation, loudness compensation, and directional enhancement largely relies on advanced digital speech processing algorithms such as scene classification and sound source localization. Chip-based algorithms can effectively improve users’ device efficiency and comfort to a certain extent. Therefore, the research and development of hearing aid chip algorithms is particularly important.

BOIN Hearing has achievedPlatform-agnostic, encompassing independent R&D of hearing aid algorithms such as multi-channel compression, intelligent noise reduction, speech enhancement algorithms, adaptive directionality, acoustic feedback management, frequency lowering, tinnitus therapy, and in-situ audiometry.

Among these, the company’s most core algorithmic technological breakthrough lies inSpeech Enhancement Algorithm. For the hearing aid industry, this is an advanced speech processing method. The algorithmDesigned based on a composite scientific framework incorporating speech signals and auditory characteristics, it compensates for patients’ hearing loss by modifying articulation patterns, thereby enhancing speech intelligibility.

Specifically, it establishes a conversion layer between individuals with hearing loss and speakers, reconstructing audio signals to make ordinary speech more intelligible.

Jiang Xianquan told VCBeat,Although Chinese differs significantly from English, imported products rarely incorporate algorithms specifically developed for the Chinese market to enhance speech enhancement capabilities in hearing aids.BOIN Hearing aims to enhance speech processing based on the characteristics of the Chinese language by improving algorithms’ understanding of acoustic properties, thereby helping Chinese patients achieve better hearing compensation.

Currently, enterprises are continuing to collaborate with research institutions such as Fudan University to conduct in-depth research on optimization algorithms for Chinese speech, aiming to better support the processes of hearing aid fitting and auditory compensation.

Not only that,BOIN Hearing has also overcome the challenges in hearing aid packaging design by adopting advanced SiP (System-in-Package) processes, developing its self-packaged “YunTing” SiP single-chip and solutions.It has resolved the longstanding challenge wherein developing products on each selected hearing aid chip platform previously required substantial human resources and time to learn and master the platform’s development tools and interfaces. Currently, the company has launched several medical-grade hearing aid products based on this technology.

It is understood that the “YunTing” platform encapsulates the kernels of various manufacturers’ platforms and Bluetooth chips into a HYBRID module, standardizing chip interfaces, enhancing the functionality of existing chips, and reducing production costs. While achieving standardization, it integrates chip solutions by combining the technical advantages of dedicated hearing aid chips, general-purpose Bluetooth chips, and comprehensive electroacoustic applications.

Furthermore, this chip endows hearing aids with maximum compatibility, enabling connectivity with iOS and Android smartphones. In the future, this solution could expand the comprehensive utility of hearing aid chips, allowing their application in scenarios such as noise signal acquisition, national defense and military operations, physiological monitoring, and GPS positioning.

Moreover, with standardized application programming interfaces (APIs) and programmers, users are not required to engage in in-depth learning of new platform technologies or master the development tools and interfaces for each hearing aid chip platform. Users can simply perform development and configuration by following the fixed models established by BOIN Hearing.

BOIN Hearing’s fitting software (API interface) and hearing aid programmers (communication interface) are both unified under standards established by BOIN Hearing. This allows for the direct sale of solutions as well as products, covering the entire upstream and downstream industry chain. It provides a complete solution for developers and end-users. In the future, BOIN Hearing has the potential to become one of the leading domestic alternative platforms for hearing aids and personal sound amplification products (PSAPs).

In addition to breakthroughs in core chip technologies, hearing aid fitting is also a critical factor in the purchasing process.

However, the historical scarcity of hearing care professionals and the uneven quality of their expertise often prevented individuals with hearing impairment from obtaining truly suitable hearing aid devices. Patients in second- and third-tier cities, in particular, faced difficulties in conveniently purchasing hearing aids, frequently necessitating travel between cities and entailing significant expenditures of time, cost, and effort.

BOIN Hearing has developed hearing aid fitting software, addressing multiple aspects to complement its hearing aids:

First, Chinese Speech Fitting Formula. Based on the auditory characteristics of the Chinese population and the features of the Chinese language, we independently developed the BY-F1 series of fitting formulas, which are specifically tailored for Chinese individuals with hearing impairment, pioneering the implementation of a Chinese speech fitting formula.

Second, a customized user interface. Tailored to the characteristics of the target user base in the Chinese market, where technical proficiency varies significantly between professional and basic users, the interface adopts a process-driven design augmented by assistive features, thereby enhancing both interactivity and practicality.

Third, the Spider Chart. BOIN Hearing’s proprietary hexagonal selection tool is the first to graphically represent complex and hard-to-compare hearing aid parameters, enabling users to quickly grasp product features. By presenting advantages from multiple dimensions, it allows audiologists and patients to clearly understand the strengths of the selected model, thereby facilitating rational decision-making for both professionals and end consumers.

Fourth, “Cloud Fitting” Assistance. The remote hearing aid fitting service model allows users to enjoy professional fittings by senior audiologists through precise and simple hearing tests conducted at home, thereby realizing intelligent healthcare.

Fifth, by leveraging the advantage of having hundreds of service audiologists, deeply learning from hearing aid fitting experiences, and optimizing automatic fitting algorithms, the one-click fitting success rate is significantly higher.

This not only addresses, to a certain extent, the longstanding issue of “exorbitantly priced hearing aids” (i.e., high-end hearing aids in China being more expensive than those in the United States and Europe), but also, with the opening up of e-commerce as a purchasing channel, online fitting services will bring greater convenience to patients in the future, further expanding the consumer base for hearing aid products.

As the market size of hearing aids in China reached RMB 5.821 billion in 2020, with consumption volume growing from 4.809 million units in 2013 to 13.634 million units in 2020, many people stated that the golden age for the development of domestically produced hearing aids had arrived.

Through BOIN Hearing’s solutions, it is evident that numerous domestic hearing aid brands are accelerating technological upgrades and increasing R&D investment in chips and algorithms. This has addressed multiple longstanding issues, including insufficient market education, complex fitting procedures, and underdeveloped infrastructure in remote areas. Furthermore, technologies such as chip integration have further expanded the application scenarios of traditional hearing aid products.

As the hearing aid industry faces a vast amount of unmet demand, the growth momentum driven by breakthroughs in domestic technologies is continuously strengthening.

References:

1. Development and Current Status of Several Major Algorithms in Digital Hearing Aids

2. A Review of the Current Status of Research on Key Algorithms for Digital Hearing Aids