Understanding Bluetooth and Hearing Aids (and basic troubleshooting)

Phonak Bluetooth functions and troubleshooting

Phonak are unique in the hearing device sector in that they use Classic Bluetooth for calls and audio streaming. In the main, this means compatibility is high (connecting to many and various devices) but connection stability is lower.

Bluetooth issues occur occasionally when a phone updates itself, when you buy a new phone and more rarely when some update has not ‘caught up’.

If you are having issues with either the myPhonak app, or audio streaming (for calls, music, video audio etc),

Ensure the hearing aid wax guards are not blocked. Use a new dome each time you inspect the wax guard.
Check for mobile phone updates:

Apple: Settings > General > Software Update.

Android: Settings > Software Update, or Settings > About Phone > Software Update.

Switch the phone off and on again.
If you are using the myPhonak app, with the app open, you should see something like this in Settings > Bluetooth. i.e. 3 hearing aid pairings:

Where you are not using the app and have not installed it, you should see the first one only i.e. ‘R-Phonak hearing aid Connected’.

If this is not the case:

On the right hearing aid, hold the lower part/ down button for 4 seconds until you see a red light. Release it, then hold it down again for 3 seconds until you see a green light. This puts the aid in ‘pairing mode’. OR place the right hearing aid in the charger for 2 seconds, then remove it again. For battery driven aids, just open and close the battery compartment.

On your phone, go to the Bluetooth screen: On Android phones, like Samsung, you sometimes need to click on ‘search for new device’ ‘scan’ or the like at the top of the screen. On Apple phones, it will start searching automatically.

After a few seconds, the right hearing aid will appear as a new item to be paired with. Pair it. Problem should be fixed.

If this does not work, please try with the left hearing aid.

If the call audio is heard in one ear only, you need to report this to us.

Using Google Assistant, Siri, Bixby etc

If activated as a feature on your hearing aids and on your phone, you can talk to your phone’s voice assistant. This is done by a swift double tap on the side of either of your hearing aids, or by pressing the top button, then saying for example. ‘Siri, call Brian’, or ‘Siri, what is the weather like today?’

Misunderstanding the necessity of the myPhonak app (Phonak)

With Phonak hearing aids, your phone will stream calls and audio WITHOUT the myPhonak app. It is not even necessary to have the app. The main functions of the app are

To allow you to experiment with the settings and volume
To allow for Remote Programming Sessions from your audiologist
On later aid models, to allow for locating lost hearing aids

User voice clarity

With Phonak call streaming, your voice is relayed through the hearing aids microphones. Be aware that your callers might hear high levels of background noise if you are taking the call in a noisy place, especially via in-the-ear aid versions (your voice has to get ‘back’ into the surface mics facing away from your face).

Understanding Oticon Bluetooth and troubleshooting

Oticon Intent hearing aids are LE Audio compatible. This is the new form of Bluetooth. We do expect some teething issues over the next year.

All others, like Real, More, Opn S, Opn use LE Bluetooth.

Oticon hearing aids connect to iPhones via the ‘accessibility’ section of your Settings app (Settings > Accessibility > Hearing Devices or on older iPhones: Settings > General > Accessibility > Hearing Devices). This means that calls and audio will stream into the hearing aids. And you can take calls generally with the phone at arm’s length speaking into the phone. On Oticon Intent and with later models of iPhone (11 and over), you will be able to take calls ‘hands-free’ by pressing a button / or double tapping the hearing aid side.

On Android phones with ASHA (Audio Streaming to Hearing Aids) protocol (later models – see a list here), you should have downloaded the Oticon Companion app. And this should allow the streaming of calls and audio.

On older and/or budget Android phones, you can use the Oticon Companion app but calls and audio will NOT stream to the hearing aids. Please be wary when buying a lower cost phone if you do want call streaming as it might not be that obvious to you – but this is the list here.

If only one aid or neither are connecting to the app:

Disable the Bluetooth on the phone then re-enable the Bluetooth and check the connection of your aids to your phone (in Settings > Accessibility > Hearing Devices) then the Companion app. Also try restarting the aids or restarting the phone or close the app and reopen it. On some android phones, just delete the Companion app and reinstall it.

You restart the aids by either placing them in the charger for 2 seconds, and then removing, OR by holding the bottom of the hearing aid button down until an orange or red light is seen – and then press and hold again until you see a green flash. For battery driven aids, just open and close the battery compartment.

Using Siri and other Voice apps with your hearing aids:

You can use Siri, Google Assistant etc. with Oticon hearing aids (where the phone is an ASHA Android or iPhone) – to stop/start phone calls, start or stop music, ask questions and receive spoken notifications, like a video doorbell.

Misunderstanding the necessity of the app (Oticon)

With Oticon hearing aids, your phone will stream calls and audio WITHOUT the Companion app on iPhones. It is not even necessary to have the app.

For ASHA Android phones you must install the app and follow the pairing instructions IF you want calls and audio streaming, but you need not open it or reference it after that.

For non-ASHA Android phones, you cannot stream calls and audio, but you can choose to use the app as follows.

The main functions of the app are

To allow you to experiment with the settings and volume
To allow for Remote Programming Sessions from your audiologist
To allow for locating lost hearing aids

Understanding Starkey Bluetooth and troubleshooting

Starkey Edge hearing aids are LE Audio compatible. This is the new form of Bluetooth. We do expect some teething issues over the next year.

All others, like Genesis, Livio etc. use LE Bluetooth.

Starkey hearing aids connect to iPhones via the ‘accessibility’ section of your Settings app (Settings > Accessibility > Hearing Devices or on older iPhones: Settings > General > Accessibility > Hearing Devices). This means that calls and audio will stream into the hearing aids. And you can take calls generally with the phone at arm’s length speaking into the phone. On Edge and Genesis, with later models of iPhone (11 and over), you will be able to take calls ‘hands-free’ by pressing a button / or double tapping the hearing aid side.

On Android phones with ASHA (Audio Streaming to Hearing Aids) protocol (later models – see a list here), you should have downloaded the My Starkey or Thrive app. And this should allow the streaming of calls and audio.

On older and/or budget Android phones, you can use the Starkey app but calls and audio will NOT stream to the hearing aids. Please be wary when buying a lower cost phone if you do want call streaming as it might not be that obvious to you – but this is the list here

If only one aid or neither are connecting to the app:

Using Siri and other Voice apps with your hearing aids:

You can use Siri, Google Assistant etc. with Starkey hearing aids (where the phone is an ASHA Android or iPhone) – to stop/start phone calls, start or stop music, ask questions and receive spoken notifications, like a video doorbell.

Misunderstanding the necessity of the MyStarkey/ Thrive app (Starkey)

Thrive is the Starkey app used for all hearing aids, except Edge AI and Genesis AI. For these hearing aids With Starkey hearing aids, your phone will stream calls and audio WITHOUT a Starkey app on iPhones. It is not even necessary to have the app.

For ASHA Android phones you must install the app and follow the pairing instructions IF you want calls and audio streaming, but you need not open it or reference it after that.

For non-ASHA Android phones, you cannot stream calls and audio, but you can choose to use the app as follows.

The main functions of the app are

To allow you to experiment with the settings and volume
To allow for Remote Programming Sessions from your audiologist
To allow for locating lost hearing aids

Understanding Widex Bluetooth and troubleshooting

Widex hearing aids are LE Bluetooth.

Most* Widex hearing aids connect to iPhones via the ‘accessibility’ section of your Settings app (Settings > Accessibility > Hearing Devices or on older iPhones: Settings > General > Accessibility > Hearing Devices). This means that calls and audio will stream into the hearing aids. And you can take calls generally with the phone at arm’s length speaking into the phone.

On Android phones with ASHA (Audio Streaming to Hearing Aids) protocol (later models – see a list here), you should have downloaded the Widex Moment app. And this should allow the streaming of calls and audio.

On older and/or budget Android phones, you can use the Moment and Tonelink app but calls and audio will NOT stream to the hearing aids. Please be wary when buying a lower cost phone if you do want call streaming as it might not be that obvious to you – but this is the list here

If only one aid or neither are connecting to the app:

Misunderstanding the necessity of the app (Widex Moment)

With Widex hearing aids, your phone will stream calls and audio WITHOUT a Widex Moment app on iPhones and ASHA protocol Android phones. It is not even necessary to have the app.

For ASHA Android phones you must install the Moment app and follow the pairing instructions IF you want calls and audio streaming, but you need not open it or reference it after that.

For non-ASHA Android phones, you cannot stream calls and audio, but you can choose to use the app as follows.

The main functions of the Moment app are

To allow you to experiment with the settings and volume
To allow for locating lost hearing aids

(To allow for Remote Programming Sessions from your audiologist the Remote Care app is needed, and you would have been supplied with remote link device, matched to your hearing aids.)

Tonelink app

This app is designed for the smaller hearing aids (mainly in-the-ear models and the RIC 10s). It operates via sonic signals not Bluetooth. It is a remote-control app only. It is rare for connection issues to arise with this, except when you buy a new phone.

Connectivity Latest News:

Jan 11^th: With Oticon hearing aids, on some very new Android phones, compatibility has not yet caught up, so for a few weeks, you may well have streaming problems with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S24 for example. If you have this issue with your phone, please be patient and contact us at the end of February 2025, when we expect a firmware update and Oticon Companion app update.

Jan 15^th: report of Phonak hearing aids now not ringing in the aids when a call comes in. This is something out of our control and has already appeared on other Bluetooth devices. It may occur on any type of phone. For example, on my Bluetooth headphones, I used to hear the ringing, but it stopped about a year ago.

A potential fix is to turn on ‘Call Announcement’ or similar on your phone, so that as a call comes in, you’ll hear “Dave calling”.

For all hearing aids

In a car where you have your phone connected to the car:

Please be aware that the hearing aids will not stream calls or music. You will simply make, receive and hear calls in the normal manner through your car. In someone else’s car or a car without Bluetooth, the hearing aid streaming will be active and is particularly useful for taking calls.

Remote Programming

Many hearing aids now allow for remote programming. This means you can have your aids altered from your home, business, hotel etc!

Not all audiologists offer this (we do).
Many modern hearing aids have this facility.
To access remote programming, you would download the appropriate app, create an account in that app, speak to your audiologist about this and arrange an appointment.
At the scheduled time, you should be within a good WiFi signal, with the phone connected to that WiFi. Ideally, call or email the audiologist beforehand and explain what you think needs doing.
Give the audiologist your landline number as well.