Lobby groups such as Britain's Royal National Institute for Deaf People and the Hearing Loss Association of America campaign doggedly for the hard of hearing and to raise awareness about hearing loss. Germany's Forum Besser Hören combines patients' lobbies and doctors' or dispensers' groups.

But the hearing aid industry itself has remained aloof, which is surprising given the size of the market and expectations for the future. Its expansion is likely to be substantial because of higher life expectancy and increasing exposure to loud music, in clubs and through earphones, among the young.