The world’s most discreet, complete hearing aid now available in SA

It’s an AI-driven hearing aid that is changing lives. The nearly invisible Oticon Zeal™ has arrived in South Africa and is now available through leading independent hearing care professionals countrywide.

Imagine being hearing-impaired and connecting your ears seamlessly to your phone or laptop, catching every airport announcement and controlling your hearing experience from your phone – all without anyone noticing. And while it may not be the only AI-driven, high-tech hearing aid on the market, Oticon Zeal™ is unique, in that it combines advanced AI functionality with a discreet, fully in-the-ear design that makes it virtually unnoticeable when worn.

Despite significant advances in hearing aid technology over the last two decades, stigma and concerns around visibility remain significant barriers for many people living with hearing loss.

Research published in the International Journal of Audiology found that perceived stigma can influence not only whether individuals seek testing and treatment, but also the type of hearing aid they choose and how often they wear it in public. Here, factors such as self-image and associations with ageing play a key role.

Further studies have shown that embarrassment and reluctance can prevent people from adopting or consistently using hearing devices, particularly when they are highly visible. Globally, it is estimated that only 25% of people who could benefit from hearing aids actually use them.

Hearing loss is not only a challenge faced by older adults. In fact, an estimated 17% of teenagers and 19% of people in their 20s will already be experiencing signs of hearing loss. This makes advanced, tech-savvy and discreet hearing aid solutions increasingly important to meet modern lifestyle needs.

When dealing with hearing loss, hearing aid users shouldn’t have to choose between performance and discretion. Oticon Zeal™ delivers both with its new in-the-ear design, combining comfort, connectivity, rechargeability and advanced second-generation AI sound processing in a discreet, easy-to-use format.

It is designed for the real world of sound and automatically adapts to different settings to enhance speech clarity and reduce background noise, operating as an always-on function so that users do not need to manually adjust settings throughout the day.

This is made possible through Oticon’s BrainHearing™ technology, which is designed to support the way the brain naturally processes sound. Instead of focusing only on amplifying speech, it helps deliver a 360-degree soundscape of the environment by making a wide range of relevant sounds accessible and balanced. This allows users to stay aware of their surroundings while still focusing on the voices and sounds.

Reliable connectivity is an increasingly important feature of modern hearing aids. Oticon Zeal™ supports this with direct device connectivity and Auracast™ compatibility, enabling access to audio streams and public announcements in shared environments, as well as seamless integration across devices for calls, music, meetings and media on platforms such as phones, computers, TVs and wearables. This is all controlled through the intuitive Oticon Companion mobile app.

The option of same-day fitting means customers are able to walk out of their hearing care professional appointment with their Oticon Zeal™ hearing solution then and there.

“Oticon Zeal™ represents a new approach that has never before been achieved in hearing care. It is already changing people’s lives around the world, and we are proud to now be able to bring this innovation to South African consumers,“ says Sharon da Fonseca, general manager at Demant South Africa. Demant is one of the world’s leading hearing aid and diagnostic audiology companies, of which Oticon is its largest global hearing healthcare brand.

Oticon Zeal™ delivers up to 20 hours of battery life and comes with a portable SmartCharger for multiple recharges on the go. The charging technology enables quick power-ups, providing four hours of use with just 15 minutes of charging, or eight hours of use with a 30-minute charge, for reliable performance whenever needed.

The sooner hearing loss is addressed, the better the long-term outcomes.