By Rebecca Engmann* 

Since 1956, family-owned, Værløse-based hearing aid producer Widex has been at the forefront of international hearing aid technology. But over the past decade, the Danish company has fast-forwarded its technological prowess into the 21st century, offering digital solutions that improve quality of life for hearing aid users.

"From the early 1990's, we were really itching to bring digital innovations into the hearing aid market, but the technology wasn't ready. By early 1996, we were ready to unveil the first Senso model," explained Widex's Anders Westermann.

Top-of-the-line

From its inception in the mid-1990s, Senso was the world's first fully digital in-canal hearing apparatus. Today, the Senso line has expanded to include the Senso Diva, a top-of-the-line streamlined model that offers acute sound quality and discreet design. In 1999, the company unveiled its Bravo model, which offered digital technology at a fraction of the cost of leading deluxe models.

"For an individual diagnosed with hearing loss, there is an enormous difference between the digital hearing aids available today, and those on the market ten years ago - in terms of sound quality, fit, and automatic adjustment to surroundings.
In the future, this technology is going to continue to advance. We're already developing methods to make our hearing aids more dynamic, sharpening hearing quality in noise-filled areas, and improving feedback cancellation to filter out
external noises. The trend in hearing aid technology is moving toward more complex apparatuses, with more sophisticated frequency compression mechanisms," Westermann said.

Presence in 85 countries

For a company with solid, family-owned roots in Denmark, Widex is a company with one eye firmly fixed on the future. Based in the Copenhagen suburb of Værløse, it was founded in 1956 by the Tøpholm and Westermann families, whose heirs still own and operate the company today. Widex is represented in 85 countries, but it remains true to its Danish origins, valuing the craft and expertise that comes from in-house operation.

"All of our expertise, for the most part, is in-house. We do have some ad hoc partnerships with foreign partners. Denmark itself is a prime location for hearing producers, largely due to corporate cooperation with state-run hearing clinics, which really encouraged innovation to take off in this country," said Anders Westermann.

As one of the country's leading exporters of hearing aid technology, Widex has found its edge in bringing international colleagues home to them.

"Our advantage in being based in the Øresund Region has been chiefly due to the concentration of centralised infrastructure and a highly qualified workforce. We are extremely well situated with respect to transport and airport - with representatives from 85 countries, we log a lot of travel miles, and our foreign guests appreciate using prime airport and hotel facilities," said Westermann.

A commitment to online technology has also been a key for Widex: the company's new-fangled website (www.widex.com/sensodiva) won the prestigious 2003 World Wide Web Health Award in January for its commitment to cutting-edge customer information.

More information:  Widex

This article was originally published by Øresund IT Magasine (Spring 2003). You can download the magazine in PDF format on Publications.

*Rebecca Engmann is an American journalist living in Copenhagen.