UPDATE 1-Hearing aid maker GN launches new device with remote fitting
(Adds CEO, analyst)
April 3 GN Store Nord's hearing aid unit GN Hearing says:
* Launches new hearing aid, ReSound LiNX 3D
* The new device offers remote fitting and hearing aid updates
* "After an initial fit in the clinic, the user can request assistance for any fine-tuning of their settings wherever they are," it said in a statement
* "This is something we believe a large part of the customers will use. Today you have to go back to the clinic 3-7 times during the first couple of months to get it adjusted," GN Hearing CEO Anders Hedegaard told Reuters
* The World Health Organisation estimates there are 360 million people - over 5 percent of the world's population - with a disabling loss of hearing, yet current hearing aid production meets less than 10 percent of global need
* "They are selling a product that noone wants and when you do that, it is very important that the start-up and fitting phase is as smooth as possible," said Sydbank analyst Morten Imsgard
* He said the new product could remedy the problem the industry has with people returning their devices in the early phase and might increase the low penetration rates
* The product is being launched in all primary markets during May, and Hedegaard said the firm aims to get it into the important U.S. Veterans Affairs channel in November
* Military veterans are a key customer in the United States, accounting for around 20 percent of all hearing aid units sold there
* GN Hearing's 2017 guidance already included the ReSound LiNX 3D launch, it said Source text: bit.ly/2osqvCm Further company coverage: (Reporting by Stine Jacobsen, editing by Teis Jensen)