Offering optics and hearing care under one roof means bringing together more than two product ranges. Both professions rely on personal advice, professional expertise and customer relationships that often grow over many years. Yet similar target groups alone do not turn two service areas into a viable business model.
There is potential: according to the EuroTrak hearing study, around 9.1 million people in Germany consider their hearing to be impaired. More than half of them have not yet been fitted with hearing aids. This does not, however, automatically translate into a business opportunity for every practice. Key factors include professional expertise and staffing, the investment required, and a concept suited to the location and its customers.
For optical practices without their own hearing care services, the decision therefore starts not with equipment, but with fundamental questions: does this additional business area fit the practice? What qualifications and resources are needed? Would an in-house service be appropriate, or would a partnership be a better option? Practical experience can help businesses assess the effort involved and the opportunities realistically.
Developing existing services
Combined optical and hearing care practices start from a different position. For them, hearing care is not a new business area. Their focus is on developing existing services: how do customer communication and consultations work together? Which processes could be better coordinated? And how can they assess the contribution each area makes to the business’s financial success?
For specialist hearing care businesses, it is worth considering which connections with optics could complement their own business model. What forms of collaboration make sense? How do the experiences of dedicated hearing care businesses differ from those of a combined practice? Comparing them offers a further perspective on a business’s own positioning, without necessarily requiring it to expand its services.
Practical business questions rather than distant future scenarios
These different starting points are where opti SPHEARE comes in. At opti 2027, the platform will bring together hearing care companies, opticians, combined practices and industry experts for the second time. Its distinctive approach centres on exchange between the two professions: experiences with different business models can be compared, and shared challenges brought into focus. For opticians and combined practices, this adds a hearing care business perspective to their trade show visit. Hearing care businesses gain access to the viewpoints of a neighbouring industry and potential partners.
Short talks, practical examples from combined practices and discussions with representatives from industry, hearing care and optics are planned for all three days of the trade show. The business questions are already clear: what investment and staffing are needed to get started? How can customer communication for vision and hearing be brought together? And when is a partnership more appropriate than setting up an in-house department?
Practical examples will show, for instance, which organisational changes were needed when setting up a hearing care department and which assumptions proved sound in day-to-day practice. There will be at least one panel discussion comparing how combined practices and specialist businesses attract customers and support them over the long term. Rather than prescribing a formula for success, these topics will help explain the conditions under which different approaches can work.
Michael Luikenga will once again host the programme. As a master craftsman qualified in both hearing care and optics, he knows the requirements of both professions from personal experience. This gives him the professional background to put different business models into context and steer the discussion towards practical implementation.
In the view of Cathleen Kabashi, Director of opti, the connection between optics and hearing care exemplifies the interplay between new business areas, technologies and customer expectations. opti SPHEARE aims to provide guidance and help businesses assess potential opportunities for themselves. What matters is not simply the potential a market promises, but what can be implemented sustainably within an individual business.
Whether assessing an additional business area, developing a combined practice or exploring collaboration between specialist businesses, the value of a visit lies in testing one’s own ideas against the experiences and perspectives of others. Not every concept suits every business. Visitors to opti SPHEARE should leave better able to judge which next step makes sense and what needs to be in place to take it. opti will take place in Munich from 29 to 31 January 2027.
opti 2027 – See. Hear. Next.
