It was in 1944 when young Algernon Charles Holland, a British engineer and soldier from the British Special Forces in Italy to fight alongside the Partisans, suffered an acoustic trauma that caused him a hearing loss. This disorder would become widespread among former soldiers at the time.
After the war, Holland married an Italian woman, Anna Maria Formiggini, and in 1950, he founded Amplifon in Milan to produce sound amplification equipment.
Holland’s aim was to bridge the gap in the diffusion of hearing aids between Italy and northern countries and offer a solution to a widespread social problem. The idea immediately proves to be a success, and the company grows.
Research, development, and global growth
In 1971, the Amplifon Research and Study Centre was founded to stimulate research and promote technological innovations in the industry.
The first fully digital device was developed at the beginning of the 1990s. At the same time, the company began expanding abroad, consolidating its leadership with the acquisition of Miracle-Ear, which marked Amplifon’s entry into the US market.
In 2001, the company was listed on the Official List of the Italian Stock Exchange; in 2018, it joined the FTSE MIB – which includes the top 40 stocks in Italy – and in 2019, the Stoxx Europe 600, the list of the most relevant European stocks.
Hearing impairment yesterday and today
Although for different reasons, hearing loss is still a widespread problem today. In an inexorably aging world, around 25% of people over 65 suffer from hearing problems. However, it is not only older people who complain of this discomfort. According to data collected by the World Health Organization, the constant noise exposure typical of large cities puts 1.1 billion young people under 35 at risk of hearing loss. Finally, there is a huge gap in the penetration rate of hearing aids between developed (40%) and developing countries (7%).
The culture of hearing
Today, Amplifon operates in twenty-six countries and five continents, distributes its products through a network of 9,500 points of sale, and employs around twenty thousand people. Its mission is to promote a hearing culture that overcomes the social stigma still surrounding hearing loss and concretely improves the lives of those suffering from it.
For the company’s 75th anniversary, the book ‘The Emotion of Sound,’ written by Valentina Fornari, Lecturer in Marketing, Product & Service Management, and Pricing & Budgeting, was published. The book tells Amplifon’s story by highlighting all the elements that made it successful.
Congratulations to those who invest in research for technology that improves people’s lives!
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