Beltone

Type	Private
Industry	Hearing aids
Founded	1940 (1940)
Headquarters	Chicago, Illinois, USA; Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Key people	President David Molella
Parent	GN Store Nord

Beltone is a hearing aid company founded in 1940, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Beltone products are sold in the United States, Canada, and over 40 countries across the globe.

In North America, Beltone has over 1500 independently owned "hearing care centers." Beltone provides hearing screenings, hearing aid fittings and follow-up care for patients. In addition, Beltone offers an aftercare program which covers Beltone hearing aids in several ways for as long as their patients own them.^[1]

The Beltone Hearing Care Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, was established in 2014 with the intent to donate hearing instruments to those in need of hearing help who may otherwise be unable to access it. Both individuals and organizations are eligible to receive assistance from the Foundation through direct nominations by Beltone staff or network members.^[2]

Types of hearing aids

Beltone hearing aids come in dozens of styles. Beltone's smallest hearing aid, the Beltone microInvisa, is about the size of a raspberry. Known as an Invisible-in-the Canal (IIC) hearing aid, the Beltone microInvisa is custom-manufactured to conform to a patient's ear canal. That allows the hearing device to sit comfortably within the ear canal, out of sight.

Other models fall into the lightweight Behind-the-Ear (BTE) category. A very small case hides in the shadow behind the ear, and connects to the ear canal via a tiny, clear tube. BTE hearing aids let a patient have a hearing evaluation and receive hearing aids the same day. Beltone hearing aids are programmed to address an individual's specific hearing deficit.^[3]

Beltone's history

• 1940: Sam Posen opens Beltone in Chicago, IL and introduces the Model H hearing aid
• 1944: Beltone launches Mono-Pac, the first all-in-one hearing aid in the industry
• 1946: Beltone releases Harmony – the smallest hearing aid available at the time
• 1969: Beltone creates earmolds for astronauts in the space program to protect their hearing during lift-off and re-entry
• 1971: Beltone begins conducting hearing loss research and development at their headquarters
• 1979: Beltone opens for business in Canada
• 1983: Beltone introduces its first custom in-the-canal (ITC) hearing aid
• 1998: Beltone launches Beltone Digital – its first hearing aid with digital technology
• 2011: Beltone introduces Beltone True ^[4] – a hearing aid capable of offering 2.4 GHz wireless streaming of sound from hand-held devices
• 2014: Beltone releases Beltone First ^[5] – the first made for iPhone hearing aid ^[6]
• 2014: Beltone releases Beltone Boost – designed for people with severe to profound hearing loss ^[7]
• 2015: Beltone announces that its line of advanced hearing aids, including the Beltone First ^[8] and Beltone Boost, are now compatible with Android via the Beltone HearPlus app.^[9] Initially compatible with Samsung Galaxy S5, Beltone's hearing aids will expand to include other Android devices later in 2015.^[10]
• 2015: Beltone launches Beltone Legend ^[11] – the first "Made for iPhone" custom hearing aid on the market ^[12][13]
• 2015: Beltone expands connectivity with HearPlus App ^[14] for Apple Watch^[15]
• 2015: Beltone expands Android Compatibility of its HearPlus App.^[16]
• 2016: Beltone announces launch of Boost Plus ^[17] – a hearing aid for consumers with severe to profound hearing loss ^[18]
• 2017: Beltone announces launch of Beltone Trust^[19]
• 2018: Beltone announces launch of Beltone Amaze^[20]
• 2020: Beltone Amaze Hearing Aids Win 2020 BIG Innovation Award^[21]

See also

• Hearing loss
• Noise-induced hearing loss

References

• Beltone First Release in the US