The National Association of Hearing Aid Manufacturers and Importers (ANFIA) in Spain has published the second official balance of the market in Spain for the year 2024, with a fall of 9.5%, a total of 366,949 units compared to the 405,612 sold in 2023. The figure does not include the ‘sell-out’ with stocks and other data.

On the occasion of World Hearing Day held on 3 March, the industry awoke to news of this decline in sales, the market having enjoyed sustained growth since 2020. The figure of 366,949 units sold compares negatively to the 405,612 sold in 2023.

 

“Real figures may differ because of the sell-out.“

 

However, ANFIA was quick to qualified certain aspects of this balance. “Despite this one-off decline, the overall trend of the hearing aid market in Spain has been positive in recent years, growing from 306,705 units in 2019 to reach its peak in 2023.
The real figures may differ due to sell-out,” explained the producers’ group.

They have also pointed out that there is another indicator of sales dynamism that is difficult to measure. “This change in trend may be due to multiple factors, including the maturity of the market, and the data presented are for sell-in, i.e. the distribution of hearing aids to points of sale, not sell-out, which represents units purchased by end users,” says ANFIA. Consequently, the group’s analysis underlines that “the actual number of hearing aids used could differ, as the sell-out is a variable that is more difficult to determine due to the diversity of sales channels and the variability in the stock available at distribution points”.

This is the second balance sheet with official data – not estimates – of sales in Spain, information compiled by this association of companies in the sector.

 

Commitment in social networks

 

Apart from these data, ANFIA used World Hearing Day to reaffirm its “commitment to the dissemination of awareness-raising messages on hearing health through its Social Networks Plan”.

On March 3, the Association shared content on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn, as it did in 2024, “promoting the prevention of hearing loss and the importance of early diagnosis.

 

An image promoting hearing health

 

Coinciding with this ‘key’ date for the sector, well-known Spanish cartoon artist Malagón has been working with ANFIA, spreading awareness messages about the importance of hearing health, access to appropriate hearing solutions, and the crucial role played by professionals in the sector.

Malagón has created “a sympathetic message, fusing the World Health Organisation’s message with the illustrations we are used to,” underlined ANFIA. “The style of Malagón, a graphic humorist of reference in Spain who has worked in national media such as El Mundo and El País, is critical and direct, and his creations tend to produce an effective medium for social reflection”, they added.

Javier Poveda, President of ANFIA, said:  “World Hearing Day was an opportunity to remind society that hearing health is key to quality of life. ANFIA will continue to work to ensure access to quality hearing solutions and to drive the growth of the sector”.

The Association’s mission is “to represent the industry to public and private institutions, to promote the benefits of hearing health and the use of hearing aids, and to spread awareness of the latest technological advances. It also promotes the development of ethical conduct in the audiology and hearing aid sector, ensuring compliance with current regulations, and defending the interests of professionals in specialist companies and their users”. To find out more about this business group, please click on this link.