15 November 2024

Private hearing aid sales recover in third quarter

The British Irish Hearing Instrument Manufacturers Association (BIHIMA) has reported quarterly and annual growth in sales of private hearing aids in the third quarter of 2024.

Private hearing aid sales rose 9% compared with the second quarter of 2024 and nearly 6% against Q2 last year. By contrast, sales to the NHS dropped 6.7% versus the previous quarter and 5% year on year.

The figures reverse the trend seen in the second quarter of 2024. Paul Surridge, BIHIMA's chairman, said: "This quarter's data is interesting as - so far in 2024 - we've been seeing growth predominantly in NHS hearing instrument acquisition. However, this has shifted in the opposite direction, with sales to the private sector doing very well and NHS facing a slight drop."

Hearing aid sales in the Republic of Ireland have risen 8.7% since the last quarter and 0.9% from the third quarter of 2023. Read more.