With today’s hearing aid technology, many hearing aids can now connect to your smartphone to enhance your overall experience. Here are a few of the features you may be able to use with smartphone-compatible hearing aids:
- Stream phone calls directly to your hearing aids*
- Stream audio, such as music or driving directions, directly to your hearing aids*
- Change left and right volume together or separately
- Switch between the programs or memories set by your provider
- Find lost hearing aids
- Check battery status
- Control hearing aid accessories like a TV streamer or remote mic
The steps to using your smartphone with your hearing aids vary by model of hearing aid and by smartphone. Here are some general principles to help you get started.
If you have an iPhone®
iPhone-compatible hearing aids connect directly to your phone and allow you to stream phone calls, music, and other audio without the use of an intermediary device. If you haven’t already downloaded the app specific to your hearing aids, see below for links to the Apple® App Store®.
Connecting to an iPhone
Follow these steps to connect your hearing aids to your iPhone:
- Make sure you have a fresh battery in your hearing aid but leave the battery doors open, so it’s not powered up. If you have a rechargeable hearing aid, charge it fully before connecting and place it in the charging case.
- On your iPhone, go to “Settings,” then “Bluetooth®,” and make sure it’s turned on.
- Close the battery door to power up your hearing aid so your iPhone can detect it. If you have a rechargeable hearing aid, remove it from the case to turn it on.
- On your phone, go to “Settings,” “General,” then “Accessibility.”
- Under “Accessibility,” tap the “MFI Hearing Devices” option.
- Tap on the name and model number of your hearing aid when it appears. Your hearing aid will have a check mark next to it once it’s connected to your phone.
- Tap “Pair” to complete the connection. If you’re pairing two hearing aids, you’ll receive two pairing requests.
You can also visit Apple’s website to
- Check if your hearing aids are iPhone compatible.
- See more detailed instructions on how to set up your hearing aids.
Here’s an example of how the remote mic feature works with an iPhone-compatible hearing aid.
If you have an Android® phone
Many smartphone-compatible hearing aids work with Android phones. However, not all hearing aid models will work with all Android phones. Check your hearing aid user guide or your manufacturer’s website (links below) for a list of Android phones that’ll work with your hearing aids.
Most newer model phones and hearing aids can stream phone calls, music, and other audio on your hearing aids. However, you may need to purchase a separate phone clip accessory for some hearing aid models and phones. But even without a Bluetooth accessory, you can still use many of the other smartphone features available through an app, such as changing volume and switching programs.
Connecting to an Android phone
Follow these steps to pair your hearing aids to your Android phone.
- Make sure you have a fresh battery in your hearing aid but leave the battery doors open, so it’s not powered up. If you have a rechargeable hearing aid, charge it fully before connecting and place it in the charging case.
- If you’ve already downloaded the app specific to your hearing aids, your app may have a pairing feature that’ll walk you through connecting to your phone. If you haven’t downloaded the app, see below for links to the apps in Google Play®.
- On your phone, go to “Settings,” then “Bluetooth,” and make sure it’s turned on.
- Close the battery door to power up your hearing aid so your Android phone can detect it. If you have a rechargeable hearing aid, remove it from the case to turn it on.
- Launch the app to help you with setup.
- For manual setup, go to the Bluetooth settings and look for the name and model number of your hearing aid. It should appear under “Paired Devices.”
- Tap the hearing aid name to complete the connection to each hearing aid.
Download the hearing aid app
Each hearing aid manufacturer has its own app designed specifically for use with your hearing aids. To take full advantage of the smartphone features, you’ll need to download the app specific to your hearing aid from the Apple App Store (for iPhones) or Google Play for (Android phones).
- TruHearing: App Store | Google Play
- Oticon: App Store | Google Play
- Phonak App Store | Google Play
- ReSound: App Store | Google Play
- Signia: App Store | Google Play
- Starkey: App Store | Google Play
- Widex: App Store | Google Play
Other apps you can try
In addition to apps designed specifically for hearing aids, there are many other apps that can enhance your hearing experience, like these top-rated smartphone apps that can caption live speech. Here are a few other apps you can also try:
- Clear Captions: automatically creates captions for your phone calls
- Tunity: audio from any live TV program without an intermediary device
- Sound Alert: alerts you to sounds like the doorbell, smoke alarms, etc., you might not hear
Read our review of these apps to learn more!
*Depending on your hearing aid and phone model, you may need to purchase a separate Bluetooth phone clip accessory to be able to use these functions. Phone clip accessories may be purchased through your provider.