In 1971, William F. Austin, owner of the small hearing aid company Professional, bought Starkey Laboratories from his colleague Harold Starkey. He merged the two businesses and kept the Starkey name. Two years later, Starkey brought the first ever custom-made in-the-ear hearing aid to the market, with a 90-day trial and a one-year warranty. Starkey quickly went on to become the world’s leading manufacturer of in-the-ear hearing aids.
Impressive demand. Starkey expanded the business to Eden Prairie, Minnesota and then opened the first office in Manchester, England. Over the next five years, Starkey branches were opened in Toronto (Canada), Hamburg (Germany), Glencoe (Minnesota), and Paris (France).
In 1978, Bill Austin launched the Starkey Fund battery recycling programme. The brand asks hearing care professionals and distributors to return used batteries to the company in exchange for a donation to help hard-of-hearing people in need. This programme then led to creation of the Starkey Foundation, a tax-exempt charity. The following year, Starkey developed the CHAT hearing aid tester, the Tinnitus Research audiometer, and the Digital Drain Meter. These advanced tools allow hearing care professionals to offer a much more accurate diagnosis to their patients.
During the 80s and 90s, Starkey made rapid advances in the sphere of innovation and development. The driving force behind the brand was the launch of the CE-5 series, the first in-the-canal hearing aids on the market. In 1983, the brand gained high prestige when President Ronald Reagan began using Starkey’s INTRA hearing aids. This device is gaining recognition among a wider audience and driving sales across the industry.