Miracle-Ear
 | |
| Industry | Hearing aids, Health Care, Retail |
|---|---|
| Predecessor |
|
| Founded | 1948 |
| Founder | Kenneth Dahlberg |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
Number of locations | 1,500+ |
Area served | United States |
Key people | Emiliano Di Vincenzo, Executive Vice President - Amplifon Americas |
| Owner | Amplifon S.p.A. |
| Website | miracle-ear |
Miracle-Ear, Inc. is a hearing aid and hearing care company consisting of a network of franchised and corporately owned retail locations. The company is a subsidiary of Amplifon, the worldwide leader in hearing care and hearing aid retail based in Milan, Italy.[1] Miracle-Ear's U.S. headquarters are located in Minneapolis, Minnesota.[2] As of 2023 it has more than 1,500 locations in the United States,[2] and it is the best-known hearing aid brand in the U.S.
History
[edit]The origin of Miracle-Ear
[edit]Miracle-Ear, Inc. began as a hearing aid manufactured by Dahlberg Electronics, an electronics company founded in 1948. Highly decorated WWII veteran, Kenneth Dahlberg started Dahlberg Electronics after he left a position as assistant to the president of Telex Communications, another manufacturer of hearing aids.[3][4] Prior to manufacturing hearing aids, Dahlberg's company produced pillow radios for hospitals and motels.[5]
In the early 1950s, Dahlberg Electronics began producing hearing aids that utilized the newly invented transistor technology – beginning with "hybrid" hearing aids that used transistors and vacuum tubes, and then releasing an all-transistor model in 1953.[6] In 1955, they introduced the first so-called "in-the-ear" hearing aid, the D-10 Magic Ear – which concealed all electronic components in a shell snapped onto an earmold and weighed 1/2 ounce, including battery, three-transistor amplifier, microphone, and receiver.[7][8] Other innovations included the D-14 "Solar Ear" eyeglasses hearing aid, which used a solar cell for power.
Further product innovations
[edit]In 1962, the Miracle-Ear IV was the first hearing aid that used integrated circuitry,[9] and in 1971, the company introduced the Dahlberg SHARP circuit, an ultra-low power circuit utilizing in-house hybrid production. In 1988, the company debuted the Miracle-Ear Dolphin, the first programmable hearing aid on the market.[10][11] Following university testing in 1997, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved claims on Miracle-Ear's Sharp Plus circuitry that the Miracle-Ear devices improved hearing in the presence of background noise.[12]
Corporate history
[edit]Kenneth Dahlberg briefly sold his company to Motorola in 1959 but bought it back only 5 years later in 1964 when Motorola divested itself of consumer products.[4] Miracle-Ear began franchising in 1984.[13] Dahlberg sold the company to Bausch & Lomb in 1993.[14] In 1999, Amplifon acquired Dahlberg, Inc. from Bausch & Lomb, and that year Dahlberg, Inc. and its subsidiary Miracle-Ear, Inc. merged into Miracle-Ear, Inc.
References
[edit]- ^ Amplifon – History Amplifon.com.
- ^ a b "Maker of Miracle-Ear brand moving to downtown Minneapolis". Star Tribune. 9 April 2018.
- ^ Hamel, Mike. The Entrepreneur's Creed: The Principles & Passions of 20 Successful Entrepreneurs. Armour Publishing, 2001. pp. 192–201.
- ^ a b Staff, Hearing Review (2011-10-06). "Obituary: Kenneth Dahlberg, Founder of Miracle Ear". The Hearing Review. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
- ^ 49-6 Pillow Speaker. RadioMuseum.org.
- ^ Dahlberg D-5 Hearing Aid. HearingAidMuseum.com.
- ^ Timeline of Hearing Devices and Early Deaf Education. Bernard Becker Medical Library, Washington University School of Medicine.
- ^ Concealed Hearing Devices of the 20th Century. Bernard Becker Medical Library, Washington University School of Medicine.
- ^ Tye-Murray, Nancy. Foundations of Aural Rehabilitation: Children, Adults, and Their Family Members. Cengage Learning, 2008. p. 89.
- ^ Roland-Mieszkowski, Marek. "Digital Hearing Aids – the Way of the Future". Proceedings from Acoustic Week in Canada 1991, CAA Conference, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, October 1991.
- ^ Chasin, Marshall. "Interview with Bill Cole, Hearing Aid Pioneer". AudiologyOnline.com. June 11, 2007.
- ^ Hearing Loss: The Journal of Self Help for Hard of Hearing People, Volume 17. Self Help for Hard of Hearing People, Inc., 1997. p. 6.
- ^ Miracle-Ear Archived 2014-02-21 at the Wayback Machine. Franchise Research Institute.
- ^ "Bausch & Lomb Buys Miracle Ear". The Buffalo News. February 3, 1993.