HHTM Names 2026 Hearing Technology Innovator Award Winners, Oticon Zeal Takes Top Honor
Hearing Health & Technology Matters (HHTM) has announced the winners of the seventh annual Hearing Technology Innovator Awards, recognizing technologies, products, and services advancing hearing care around the world. The 2026 winners are being recognized in connection with the Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA) AuDacity 2026 conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The 2026 program drew submissions from a diverse range of companies, from emerging technology developers to established global hearing industry leaders, across categories spanning hearing aids, auditory implants, assistive technologies and software, hearing conservation, clinical equipment, therapeutics, service delivery, and personal listening devices. Oticon was named the 2026 Innovator of the Year for Oticon Zeal, the program's top overall distinction; Zeal also won the Hearing Aids – Design category. Oticon described Zeal as the industry's first hearing aid to create the NXT in-the-Ear category, bringing full functionality into a discreet in-the-ear design.
The assistive technologies and software category, which is closest to the accessibility field, honored several products. Rogervoice won in Captioning Technology – Mobile Apps, while XanderGlasses II from Xander took Captioning Technology – Device. Bettear's POD was named the top Assistive Listening System and its Deep Audio Processing – DAP platform won Personal Amplification Platform, with the LEION Hey2 recognized as the leading Wearable. In the hearing-aids lineup, Phonak EON won Advanced Processing & Intelligence for its Hypersonic chip, which combines Spheric Speech Clarity 3.0, AutoSense OS AI 8.0, and Made-For-All connectivity in one platform.
The winners are selected by an international panel of independent judges who evaluate submissions across four criteria: innovation, effectiveness, efficiency, and utility. HHTM said the program, launched in 2020, has raised more than $40,000 for hearing-related charities and nonprofit organizations, including the Hearing Loss Association of America, the Hearing Health Foundation, Stop The Ring, SoundWrx, and the Joyful Life Cochlear Implant Fund.
The awards arrive as hearing technology increasingly overlaps with the broader assistive-technology and digital-accessibility sectors, where captioning, assistive listening, and AI-driven speech processing are central to making everyday communication more inclusive. HHTM said the recognitions are intended to highlight technologies and services that help advance hearing care while supporting organizations working to improve hearing health and access to care.