# Human helpers: European assistive tech & medical devices

> Ten European brands making hearing aids, prosthetics, wheelchairs, stoma care and cochlear implants. Denmark dominates; Switzerland, Germany and Iceland follow.

European assistive tech & medical-device brands | Euronomy

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![jabra.webp](https://euronomy.eu/media/1yvbydfm/jabra.webp)

Most people don't think about hearing aids, prosthetics, stoma bags, or stairlifts until they need them. When they do, the brands that show up are almost all European, and disproportionately Danish.

Denmark dominates the global hearing aid market: Demant (Oticon, EPOS), GN Group (ReSound, Jabra), and Widex (now WS Audiology after the Sivantos merger) together produce a huge share of the world's hearing aids. Coloplast (also Danish) leads global ostomy and continence care. Switzerland's Sonova (Phonak) competes at the top with the Danish duopoly. Austria's MED-EL is one of the few serious cochlear implant makers worldwide.

German engineering covers mobility (Ottobock for prosthetics, Sunrise Medical for wheelchairs). Sweden's Permobil is the global standard for powered wheelchairs. Iceland's Össur is the prosthetics manufacturer most Paralympians use. The UK's Stannah is what your grandparents' stairlift probably says on the side.

Below: European brands that quietly make the equipment people depend on. Most are 50-150 years old. Several are family-controlled. Almost all are EU-jurisdiction (CE-marked medical devices have stricter regulation than US FDA equivalents in several categories).