European MedTech and Healthcare Services: Citi‘s US audiologist survey points to improving US market, and strong traction for Oticon Zeal; reiterate Buy on Demand

Research evidence excerpt

European MedTech and Healthcare Services: Citi‘s US audiologist survey points to improving US market, and strong traction for Oticon Zeal; reiterate Buy on Demand

European MedTech and Healthcare Services

23 July 2026 Citi Research

Our US audiologist survey suggests improving US market

outlook and strong traction for Oticon Zeal

We ran a proprietary US audiologist survey (n=39) during July 2026 (Jul. 3-20). The

aim of the survey was to gauge current end-market trends, changes in consumer

behaviors, share shifts in the US hearing aid market, as well as audiologists’

reaction to Amplifon’s acquisition of GN Hearing. Our survey suggests:

n Respondents expect patient traffic growth to improve from c.2% yoy in 2Q26

to c.3.5% for FY26, which supports our view that the underlying market is

improving off its lows. New customer penetration is slightly higher than a year

ago and expected to remain stable, while c.85% of respondents report visit-to-

purchase conversion rates that are either unchanged or improving vs. recent

years. Importantly, c.70% of audiologists do not believe the US market will see

structurally lower growth going forward despite concerns around the economy

and penetration of managed care / third-party administrators.

n Oticon Zeal is gaining stronger traction than Phonak Virto R in our sample.

Zeal is perceived as the more compelling product by both fitters and non-fitters,

is fitted by more practices and at a higher frequency, and is being used both to

attract new patients (>40% of fitters) and to replace competing products, most

notably traditional custom devices and Signia Silk. Qualitative feedback

indicates that Zeal’s discreet form factor is the key advantage.

n Respondents expect ITE penetration to continue increasing, with ITE share of