While Sivantos’ roots extend back to the 19th century, Widex came into existence in 1956. Both, Widex and Sivantos, began with dedicated, creative and savvy founders who had a vision to help the hard of hearing stay connected to the world of sound. In 1878, Werner von Siemens made a pivotal discovery when he built a telephone with a horseshoe magnet, which amplified voice signals and improved the device’s voice quality. Christian Tøpholm and Erik Westermann in Denmark began their own business by converting Tøpholm’s home cellar into a combined development laboratory, workshop and production hall in the 1950s.
Since the development of Sivantos’ very first hearing device, the Phonophor, the company has produced many more remarkable innovations. After World War II Sivantos’ production needed to be moved from Berlin to Erlangen, Germany. Innovation picked up speed. The Auriculette was a behind-the-ear (BTE) device with small lightweight components that fit together in a single unit, a true 1959 blockbuster. The Siretta 339 was Sivantos’ first device worn entirely in-the-ear (ITE) from 1966. Very soon, Sivantos took hold of European, North American and Asian markets, ultimately gaining a worldwide presence in the hearing industry – as did Widex.
After its first hearing aid, the Widex 561, Widex developed many more remarkable hearing devices. In 1988, the Quattro Q8 was the first digitally programmable hearing aid with a remote control.
In 1995, the Senso Series was the world’s first digital in-the-ear (ITE) hearing aid; and in 2008, Passion became the world’s smallest receiver-in-canal (RIC) hearing aid, with only 21 mm in diameter.
In 1995, the Senso Series was the world’s first digital in-the-ear (ITE) hearing aid; and in 2008, Passion became the world’s smallest receiver-in-canal (RIC) hearing aid, with only 21 mm in diameter.
In 1997, Sivantos developed the world’s first completely digital hearing aid with two microphones, called Prisma. Later, Acuris, the world’s first hearing aid in which right and left devices were synchronized, was launched in 2004.
Finally, and most recently in 2018, Sivantos introduced the Signia Styletto, the world’s first SLIM-RIC hearwear, combining style with high-tech hearing while Widex came out with Evoke, the world’s first hearing aid with machine learning.
