$5.8 Billion Hearing Implants and Biomaterials Market, 2023

Small implant, great results is the norm. The best results were found among children who received the cochlear implant at 0-3 years of age. They achieved 90-95% hearing and language improvement. 80-90% of these children develop a hearing and speech equal to those of children with normal hearing.

Biomaterials inside CI are biological materials that are implanted into the ear area to repair hearing. All CI manufacturers use platinum contacts in electrode production. Iridium oxide coatings have been investigated, which show beneficial effects of impedance.

Biomaterials for hearing implants depend on components, structural polymers, and electrodes. Biomaterials have transformed medical treatment of hearing loss. The ear functioning, hearing loss is able to be addressed with functioning repaired via a device implant that leverages biomaterials.

The cochlear implant has become widely recognized as an established treatment for profound hearing loss. This bodes well for market growth, as there is minimal, less than one percent market penetration now. New materials and greater surgeon experience are expected to reduce the cost of the implant, both the device and the procedure.

Economies of scale always decrease costs and increase market size. The trend likely to continue is for Cochlear implants as medical devices to continue to be used more often. Implants bypass damaged structures in the inner ear and directly stimulate the auditory nerve. They are surgically implanted to improve hearing in people with severe or profound hearing losses. They can create a range of sound, but do not replace normal hearing.

Cochlear implants are not indicated for all hard of hearing or deaf people. They are not recommended in people who function well with hearing aids.

The implant works by picking up incoming sounds. Incoming sounds are converted to electrical currents and directed to a number of contact points on the internal wire. This operation creates an electrical field which directly stimulates the auditory nerve, thus bypassing the defective inner ear. Cochlear implants convert sound waves to electrical impulses and transmit them to the inner ear, providing people with the ability to hear sounds and potentially better understand speech without reading lips.

According to the lead author of the team that prepared the study:

Cochlear implants extend the medical device markets by enabling a bypass of damaged structures in the inner ear. They directly stimulate the auditory nerve. They are surgically implanted to improve hearing in people with severe or profound hearing losses. They can create a range of sound, but do not replace normal hearing.

The worldwide market for Hearing Implants and associated biomaterials is $1.8 billion in 2017, anticipated to reach $5.8 billion by 2023. The complete report provides a comprehensive analysis of hearing implants in different categories, illustrating the diversity of uses for devices in auditory surgery by age group. A complete procedure analysis is done, looking at numbers of procedures and doing penetration analysis.