Hearing Aid Clinics in Australia Compared: Amplifon, Audika, Specsavers and Independents

This guide compares Australia’s main hearing clinic chains and the independents, so you can pick the right door to walk through first. Audika alone has more than 400 clinics and Amplifon over 350, and what the signage doesn’t tell you is who owns each one, and why that quietly shapes which hearing aids end up in your ears.

We don’t have a favourite. Each option suits some people well, as things stand in July 2026. If you’re still deciding whether hearing aids are the right step, start with our hearing aids buying guide, or the guide on signs a parent needs a hearing check.

One thing worth knowing before we start. The ACCC put the hearing aid industry on notice in 2017 after clinicians reported sales targets shaping recommendations, and two Demant-owned brands, Oticon and Sonic, were later fined $2.5 million over advertising that misled pensioners. The industry has improved since, but the ownership structures behind those concerns haven’t changed. That’s not a reason to avoid the chains. It is a reason to ask a few sharp questions wherever you go.

How the main clinics compare

Here’s the picture at a glance. Trial and guarantee terms are as published on each clinic’s website in July 2026, and they do change, so always confirm in writing before you agree to anything.

Clinic	Owned by	Trial or returns	HSP paperwork	Best for
Amplifon (formerly National Hearing Care)	Amplifon (Italy), a retailer, not a manufacturer	Free trial offers run regularly, check current terms	Yes, handled in clinic	A big network, over 350 clinics
Audika	Demant (Denmark), maker of Oticon	Free 2-week trial before you buy	Yes, handled in clinic	Trying before buying, Oticon fans, 400+ clinics
Connect Hearing	Sonova (Switzerland), maker of Phonak and Unitron	Not published, ask in writing	Yes, handled in clinic	Phonak fans
Specsavers Audiology	Specsavers (family-owned), sells its own Advance range made by the big manufacturers	90-day satisfaction period	Yes, handled in clinic ($0 on Advance Standard with HSP funding)	Lower prices with clear packages, ~300 stores
Hearing Australia	Australian Government	Ask at your local centre	Yes, handled in centre	HSP clients who want a provider with no manufacturer owner
Costco Hearing Aid Centre	Costco (US warehouse club), centres at its Australian warehouses	Generous overseas, confirm Australian terms in store	Ask in store before booking	Sharp prices for members
Independent clinics	Usually the audiologist who runs them	Varies, most offer trials, ask for terms in writing	Yes, if HSP-accredited (most are, ask when booking)	Brand-agnostic advice, complex hearing loss

A smaller chain, bloom hearing (owned by manufacturer WS Audiology), and several state-based groups also operate here. The same questions apply to them as to everyone else in the table.

Why ownership matters

Most hearing aids in the world are made by a handful of companies. Sonova makes Phonak and Unitron. Demant makes Oticon and Philips hearing aids. WS Audiology makes Signia and Widex. GN makes ReSound and Jabra. Several of these manufacturers also own clinic chains in Australia, which means the shop recommending your hearing aid may be owned by the company that made it.

In practice, a Sonova-owned clinic like Connect Hearing leans Phonak. An Audika clinic, owned by Demant, leans Oticon. Neither is doing anything underhanded, and both are fitting good hearing aids. But you’re choosing from their shelf, not the whole market.

Amplifon sits slightly differently. It doesn’t make hearing aids. Instead it has the big manufacturers build aids under its own labels. The catch for you is that a private-label aid is hard to price-compare, because the model name won’t appear in any other clinic’s catalogue. Specsavers does something similar with its Advance range, which is built by leading manufacturers including Sonova and WS Audiology and sold only at Specsavers. Costco’s shelf (Philips, Rexton, Jabra, Sennheiser) is also made up of the same few manufacturers wearing different badges. Hearing Australia is the odd one out: it’s owned by the Australian Government, not by any manufacturer or retail group.

So the question to ask at any chain isn’t “is this a good hearing aid”. It usually is. The question is “what else would fit my hearing loss and budget, and who sells it”. That’s the question a single-brand shelf can’t answer for you.

Fees, trials and the Hearing Services Program

Australia’s main government help is the Hearing Services Program (HSP). If you hold a Pensioner Concession Card (or you’re the spouse of someone who does), or most DVA cards, you can apply for an HSP voucher that covers hearing assessments, fittings and follow-up care at any accredited provider. Fully subsidised hearing aids cost you nothing, while partially subsidised aids mean the government pays a chunk and you pay the gap. Every chain in the table above is an accredited provider and will help you apply and lodge the paperwork. Our guide to getting hearing aids funded in Australia walks through the whole process.

If you’re not HSP-eligible and buying privately, fees are where clinics differ most. Many bundle the fitting and years of aftercare into the price of the aids, which sounds tidy but makes it hard to see what you’re actually paying for. Ask for the aids, the fitting and the aftercare as separate lines on the quote. Specsavers, for example, publishes package terms: free fitting and aftercare for 12 months, free batteries for 12 months, a four-year warranty and a 90-day satisfaction period (as at July 2026).

Free trials deserve the same care. They’re useful, and your brain needs a week or two to adjust to new sound anyway. But a “free” trial can still carry conditions, including liability if an aid is lost or damaged while you’re trialling it, and top-end aids can run to five figures a pair. Before you leave the clinic wearing them, ask: what do these aids cost, what am I liable for during the trial, and can I have that in writing.

Independent clinics, and when they win

An independent clinic is typically owned by the audiologist standing in front of you. They’re businesses too, and they’re not automatically better. But they’re not subject to the same top-down commercial pressures as clinics owned by manufacturers, and they can quote across every brand rather than leading with one. That’s exactly the concern the ACCC raised in 2017, when some clinicians at corporate chains reported that sales targets influenced what they recommended.

Independents tend to win in three situations. First, when your hearing loss is complicated and you want one clinician who knows your ears and stays put, rather than whoever is rostered on. Second, when you want a like-for-like quote across brands, using catalogue model names you can actually compare. Third, when you want unbundled pricing, so you can see the cost of the aids, the fitting and the aftercare as separate lines.

The chains win on other things. More clinics, longer opening hours, big promotional discounts, and networks that follow you if you move. Neither side has a monopoly on good care. Audiology isn’t a registered profession under AHPRA, so wherever you go, it’s worth checking your clinician is accredited with a professional body such as Audiology Australia, and Independent Audiologists Australia lists manufacturer-free clinics if you want one.

Your clinic-shopping checklist