1967

William Austin starts Professional Hearing Aid Service, an all-make hearing instrument repair service in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Professional offers fixed repair charges, an industry first.

1971

William Austin purchases Starkey Laboratories from Harold Starkey. Starkey Labs is a small earmold company. Austin merges Professional and Starkey and retains the Starkey name.

1973

Starkey releases the CE-1, a custom in-the-ear hearing aid with an industry first 90-day trial period and 1-year “Worry Free” warranty. Starkey releases variations of the first CE in the following years and in a short time Starkey becomes the world’s leading manufacturer of custom hearing instruments.

1975

With custom hearing aid production growing so dramatically, Starkey outgrows its physical space at its original facility and purchases a new building in nearby Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

1976

Starkey opens its first subsidiary in Manchester, England. In the next five years, Starkey opens facilities in Toronto, Canada; Glencoe, Minnesota; Hamburg, Germany and Paris, France. Today, 38 Starkey facilities can be found in 23 countries throughout North America, Central America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

1977

William Austin feels that the hearing aid industry could benefit from an image enhancing and professional auditory educational package for consumers. This feeling creates the CARE program, a comprehensive series of booklets and videos that promotes the benefits of amplification.

1978

The Starkey Fund is developed as a battery recycling program. Dispensers would send their used batteries to Starkey and receive credit that was donated for use in helping needy people receive hearing assistance. This program evolved into the Starkey Hearing Foundation, a tax-exempt charitable organization. Today Foundation Missions led by William Austin annually provide more than 20,000 hearing instruments to people who cannot afford them.

1979

William Austin believes that to offer outstanding service to the hearing impaired community, hearing care professionals must have state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment. This philosophy leads to the release of the CHAT hearing aid tester, the Tinnitus Research Audiometer and the Digital Drain Meter.

1983

A year earlier Starkey releases the CE-5 series, the industry’s first Canal hearing aids. Following the release, President Ronald Reagan is fitted with Starkey INTRA hearing aids. President Reagan’s fitting encouraged a wider acceptance of hearing aids among the general public, resulting in increased sales throughout the industry.

1986

Starkey releases the CE-7 series and Earborne Headsets. Starkey uses its custom manufacturing expertise to produce the world’s first custom headset. Earborne headsets incorporate a custom molded ear piece and a lightweight microphone.

1989

Starkey purchases Omni Hearing Systems and Nu-Ear Electronics. These two new subsidiaries would retain their own separate identities to better serve the needs of audiological and single-line hearing aid markets.

1993

The Tympanette is introduced. Starkey designs new CIC instrument to fit entirely in the ear canal, providing a number of cosmetic and acoustic benefits for many wearers. Today, the Tympanette is the smallest and most popular CIC in the industry.

1995

Starkey’s headquarters receives ISO 9001 certification, meeting the most comprehensive quality standards for manufacturing, operations and documentation. To ensure compliance, the British Standards Institute annually audits Starkey’s quality system. Starkey Germany, Canada, UK, France and Italy have also received ISO certification.

1996

Sequel Custom Programmable instruments are released. Building upon the success of the Sequel Series, Sequel Programmables greatly reduce distortion and offer advanced compression technology. The new Professional Fitting System is also released to allow for quick, accurate and easy instrument programming.

1999

Starkey enters the digital age with the release of the Cetera and Aries digital hearing systems. Both instruments take a unique approach to amplification and are based on the science of hearing.

2001

The Genesis digital product family is released. Genesis quickly becomes the industry's most comprehensive product line with Axent hearing instruments becoming the benchmark for advanced digital technology.

2002

The Starkey Hearing Alliance network is established. Industry leading hearing professionals team with Starkey to offer a unique blend of technology and patient care. Each affiliated practice shares a commitment to providing the most appropriate hearing solutions while providing “Better Hearing with a Human Touch.”

2003

Building on a continued commitment of patient-focused research and development, Starkey releases Genesis 4. Featuring an exclusive sound environment called Precision Audio Imaging, Axent II, Sequel, Endeavour and the newest member of the family, Arista, offer hearing impaired users superior levels of audibility, high fidelity and hearing comfort.