Canadian hearing equipment maker, Unitron Hearing, part of the 1.5 billion Swiss franc Sonova Group, has incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary in India as part of its emerging markets strategy.

Unitron Hearing India will soon launch an array of digital hearing aids, including the latest bluetooth-pairing products, in the domestic market.

The company is tying up with 500 audiologists across the country to market the products and aims at 8 per cent market share in the initial year of operations.

“Compared to the saturated developed markets where growth is less than four per cent, the emerging markets are growing faster. We are focusing on emerging markets like India, China, South America and Eastern Europe for future growth,” said Ken Liew, director of new business development of Unitron Hearing.

According to Rakesh Ojha, managing director of Unitron Hearing India, the Rs 170-crore Indian hearing aid market is growing at 20 per cent and the shift from analogue pocket hearing aids to digital equipment is happening rapidly, especially in the cities. The country consumes 350,000 units annually and the higher noise pollution levels and use of mobile phones are increasing the incidence of hearing disability.

“Almost 50 per cent of the market is still with analogue units. But the Union and state governments, which procure these units for their various donation programmes, too, have started taking steps to shift towards digital units. This opens up a bigger market for us,” he said.

Compared to analogue units priced between Rs 1,500 and Rs 4,500, the digital units start at Rs 6,000 and go up to Rs 1.5 lakh. Unitron’s latest bluetooth-paired brands—Passport and Latitude—are priced above Rs 29,000.

In digital hearing aids, Unitron competes with Sie­mens, Widex and Starkey.