The streaming quality is better than expected, given the small size of the Zeals, with a separate three-bar equalizer that can be used while listening to media, independent of the hearing aid’s equalizer. There’s no noise-canceling capability to speak of, which means you won’t be using it to stream on a plane or at the gym—even with the closed ear tips my audiologist suggested. (I usually wear hearing aids with open ear tips.) Closed tips proved to be the right call, and I didn’t experience much, if any, occlusion—the uncomfortable booming sensation caused by blocked ear canals—during my time using the devices.

Another thumbs up goes to Oticon’s app, which is super intuitive and dead easy to use. (It also includes a “find my hearing aid” feature.) Pairing is easy with an iPhone, and while I wasn’t able to test the feature, Oticon also says these are the world’s first hearing aids that work with Google’s Fast Pair system on Android and ChromeOS devices. Auracast is also supported.

As expected, the Zeal hearing aids don’t have physical controls due to their small size, but they do offer tap controls that your audiologist can turn on or off in their office. It can be used to manage the volume, change the nature mode, or answer incoming phone calls through different combinations, but as my audiologist noted, many people choose to turn it off because they often accidentally trigger when the hearing aids are inserted or removed. I don’t use them much.

Long-Term Comfort, at a Price

Photo: Chris Null

The Oticon Zeal hearing aid was surprisingly comfortable in my testing, even during long use sessions. I expect their small size has a lot to do with that, but I also feel that choosing the right size ear tips is equally critical.

As such, they can be difficult to get in and out of place, not only because of their unique shape and the need to spiral the retention lock on your concha, but because they are so small. I expect that users with dexterity issues will struggle a lot with this, because it has to be turned in place like that—and that there’s no easy way to see it clearly, even if you’re working with a mirror.