Oticon Zeal: A Great Hearing Aid We Will Not Be Providing

Oticon Zeal is clever.
It is tiny, discreet and hard not to admire.
So let me start with the obvious question.

If it is that good, why aren’t we offering it at Alto?

You can watch the full explanation here:

What Zeal Gets Right

Zeal aims straight at a genuine concern:
“I want good tech, but I don’t want it to look like a hearing aid.”

Fair enough.
That’s a real, human barrier.
And Zeal approaches it well. Rechargeable. Instant fit. Modern connectivity. Small enough to forget about.

On design alone, it is a tidy piece of engineering.

But design is not everything.
Not in hearing care.

The Part Most People Never See

Hearing improves because of the care wrapped around the device.
That’s the part that does the heavy lifting.

The assessment.
The verification.
The programming.
The support in those first few weeks.
The adjustments as your brain settles.
The nudges, the reassurance, the follow-up.

That is where outcomes come from.

The device is the tool.
The care is the result.

The Call That Made Me Look Twice

A gentleman got in touch with us recently asking about Oticon Zeal.
He had been quoted six and a half thousand pounds for a pair of Zeals and wanted to know what we would charge.

We haven’t done any yet, but I assumed we would be lower.
Zeal is an instant fit device, not a custom build.
It would be reasonable to expect the cost to reflect that.

So I checked.
And the number from Oticon meant the price we would have to charge was almost identical if not higher.
So it’s not because the other clinic had inflated anything.
This is simply where the manufacturer have chosen to place it in the market.

At that moment, something shifted for me.

When a Good Device Lands in the Wrong Place

Zeal is capable.
The idea behind it is good.
It might influence other designs in the future.

But it sits at a level very few people will choose, even people ready to invest in premium care.

Most people want something simpler and more grounded.
They want to hear well in daily life.
They want reassurance.
They want support when they need it.
They want pricing that makes sense.

A prestige product does not solve those things.

The Industry Tension No One Talks About

Here’s something that rarely gets mentioned.

The same manufacturers producing low-cost OTC and self-fit devices are also increasing wholesale prices in the private clinical market. So you have downward pressure on one side, and upward pressure on the other.

Independents sit in the middle.
We do our very best to keep our pricing steady because people need care to stay accessible.
But the pressure continues to build.

When that happens, the place that gets squeezed is the care.
Appointment time shrinks.
Follow-up thins out.
The depth of support erodes.

That is not a direction I am prepared to move in.

So Where Does That Leave Zeal?

It is a great hearing aid.
It is clever.
It tries something bold.

But it belongs in a price tier that does not match how most people think about hearing care, or what they need from us as a clinical team.

So for now, it remains a great hearing aid we are not providing.

FAQs

If You Want Clarity On Your Own Hearing

If you are weighing up your options, come and see us.
We will look at your hearing.
We will look at your lifestyle.
And we will give you clear advice rooted in what works, not what is newest.

You deserve guidance that puts your hearing first.
That is what we are here for.