Auditory Valley from Lower Saxony is addressing issues relating to the acoustic future of our society, particularly against the backdrop of demographic change.
On 16 June, the globally unique research and development cluster presented the cluster and its innovative future solutions to European representatives from politics, business and science in Brussels in order to enable everyone to hear optimally in all situations and industries.

Europe needs future solutions for better hearing - which could come from Lower Saxony's Auditory Valley. This is because the focus here is on the cross-border problem and its challenges: Around 70 million people in Europe suffer from hearing loss, and the trend is rising sharply. Noise-induced hearing loss is the most frequently registered occupational disease in the European Union and is therefore a huge economic problem. "In order to counteract this development and help people affected by hearing loss, there is a considerable need for education and action. Politicians, the healthcare sector, industry, science and research must work together on sustainable solutions," explains the spokesperson for the Auditory Valley research and development cluster, Prof Dr Dr Kollmeier.

Whether implantable hearing systems, integrated hearing aid technology for television and mobile phones, filtering out background noise in hands-free systems or video and conference technology - the developments and visions of the specialists from Auditory Valley revolve around these and many other innovations. The aim of tomorrow's event at the State Representation of Lower Saxony in Brussels is to bring the entire topic and the technologies of today and tomorrow to the centre of European attention. Leading researchers and developers from Auditory Valley will offer European guests from the worlds of politics, healthcare and business exciting insights and outlooks into the future industry of hearing.

Auditory Valley - rapid technology transfer between science and business

In the globally unique Auditory Valley research and development cluster, scientists, doctors and industry representatives work together on the medical and audiological
optimisation of hearing systems. With the Hannover Medical School, the HörTech Center of Competence for Hearing Aid System Technology, the Department of Medical Physics at the University of Oldenburg and the Oldenburg and Hanover Hearing Centres, the cluster brings together the extensive expertise in the Oldenburg/Hanover region on the subject of hearing (hearing systems, hearing diagnostics) and, in co-operation with the world's leading industrial companies, addresses the economically important problem of communication disorders caused by hearing loss. Innovative ideas and the latest research results are translated into state-of-the-art products for medical rehabilitation and consumer electronics in Auditory Valley in a rapid knowledge transfer between research and industry.

Future market for hearing technology - opportunities for Europe

The market for hearing systems has considerable growth potential. An important growth factor here is the still very low market penetration. In Germany, for example, only three million of the approximately 15 million hearing-impaired people wear a hearing aid. Added to this is the demographic change in society. If you consider that, on the one hand, more and more older people want to participate in academic appointments and social life, but on the other hand, every second person over the age of 65 is hard of hearing, there is a growing need for hearing system solutions. In addition, the players in Auditory Valley are meeting the acoustic requirements of our modern society with innovative technologies: global networking through video and telephone conferences, the increasing use of consumer electronics and rising noise pollution in the daily environment demand solutions for the future in order to enable optimal hearing for as many people as possible in all situations.

With the fusion of hearing system expertise from the medical sector and audio technology from the consumer sector, a new hearing system industry is currently developing, the innovative centre of which is Auditory Valley. The results of the research and development work in Auditory Valley will benefit not only the hearing impaired, but also people with normal hearing. And: "The emergence of a new hearing system industry in the centre of Europe also opens up completely new opportunities for European industrial companies in the field of hearing system development and audiology to tap into new market potential," explains Prof. Dr Thomas Lenarz, Director of the HNO Clinic at Hannover Medical School.