A result of a merger of five companies

A strong blend of well-qualified people, vast technological resources and diverse cultures has made the GN ReSound group the industry leader it is today.

The group is the result of the merger of five of the world’s most significant hearing instrument companies – ReSound Corporation, GN Danavox, Beltone, Philips and Viennatone – and was initially formed on July 6, 1999 through the merger of GN Danavox and ReSound Corporation.

2000 GN Store Nord acquires Beltone

In 2000, GN Store Nord acquired Beltone, the world's seventh-largest manufacturer of hearing aids. The company was founded in 1940 in Chicago, where the company's headquarters and principal production facilities remain.

Beltone's principal activities are manufacturing and sale of ITE (In-The-Ear) hearing aids, and the company holds a very strong market position in the United States, Japan and Spain.

1999 GN ReSound takes its place

In May of 1999, GN Danavox' parent company, GN Store Nord, a Danish high-tech communications conglomerate, announced a tender offer to purchase all outstanding shares of ReSound.

Upon completion of the tender offer, GN ReSound took its place among the top four hearing instrument manufacturers in the world.

1999 Beltone acquires a division of Royal Philips

In early 1999, Beltone acquired the hearing technology division of Royal Philips, which primarily manufactures BTE (Behind-The-Ear) hearing instruments.

This move brought digital technology and know-how to Beltone, along with a European sales and marketing organization, production facilities in Europe, and a strategic development agreement concerning digital mini-chips, an area in which Philips has the technological lead.

1996 A strategic alliance emerged

In 1996, GN Danavox and ReSound formed a strategic alliance to develop more versatile and powerful digital technology for hearing instruments.

The result was something dramatically new: software-based digital hearing instruments. The shared technology at the heart of ReSound and GN Danavox digital hearing instruments includes a series of impressive new sound processing capabilities, including the industry's first active feedback elimination system.

1984 ReSound Corporation - founded in 1984

ReSound Corporation was founded in 1984, in Redwood City, California. In 1987, ReSound worked with AT&T Bell Laboratories, the world's largest telecommunication R&D center, to develop a hearing amplification system that set a new industry standard for sound processing.

For the first time, hearing instruments could compensate for the loudness sensitivity that often accompanies hearing loss - a breakthrough in user comfort. Since then, ReSound has established itself as a worldwide leader in hearing innovation.

1943 GN Danavox - founded in 1943

GN Danavox was founded in 1943, in Copenhagen. Always a dynamic innovator, in 1992 GN Danavox introduced the first commercially available hearing instrument to use digital sound processing.

In 1995, GN Danavox introduced Danasound, a digitally programmable instrument that has won unparalleled acclaim for its technology and design. GN Danavox has long supported research and education in hearing sciences. In 1968, it established the Danavox Jubilee Foundation, an independent organization devoted to these efforts.