Plymouth-based Miracle-Ear, which says it sells America's most popular hearing aid, is turning up the volume for its Italian parent, Amplifon.
Moreover, the Twin Cities hearing aid trade, which boasts several firms, appears to be growing thanks to aging baby boomers who need hearing help, powerful digital products and the willingness of some health insurers to cover at least some of the cost.
"The technology has evolved and become smaller, more powerful and affordable," said Pablo Hoyos, Miracle-Ear's regional manager. "Our franchisees determine the retail price, but the average price of many products is between $2,500 and $5,000. We can always find a solution. And we have technology that allows you to stream sound from your TV or cellphone through a small programmer.''
Hoyos said last week that Miracle-Ear plans to add six stores in the Twin Cities area, bringing the total to 16 stores.
Through Miracle-Ear, formerly known as Amplifon USA, there are about 400 local employees at the Plymouth headquarters and manufacturing complex, and another 2,250 who work at 1,200 corporate and franchise stores around the country.
In the first quarter, Milan-based Amplifon reported operating earnings of about $23 million on revenue of about $246 million, a decline of about 3 percent from 2012 first-quarter revenue, thanks to the economic slowdown in Europe, Amplifon's biggest market, and flat sales in the Asia-Pacific region.
But the company's Plymouth-based North American operations saw first-quarter revenue increase 11 percent to about $45 million. Amplifon termed its North American results "brilliant growth."
Amplifon's North American revenue grew 14 percent last year while overall revenue grew only 2 percent to about $1.1 billion.