If you have ever seen someone tap a phone screen and then glance at their hearing aids, you may have wondered what was going on. Many modern hearing aids are designed to work with a smartphone app, and that app is the topic of this article. It is a plain-English look at how hearing aid apps work, written as general information about the technology and not as a guide to any particular device.
Our article on staying connected with hearing aids and smartphones already covers phone calls, music and TV audio. This one stays with the app itself: what it is, how it talks to the aids, and why two apps can look quite different.
What a Hearing Aid App Is
A hearing aid app is software on a phone that is made to work with a specific range of hearing aids. The National Acoustic Laboratories (NAL) guide to hearing aid features describes device control as allowing a person to choose a hearing aid program or volume setting, which can be changed using a phone or the controls on the hearing aid. In other words, the app is a remote control that lives on the phone, and the hearing aids are the part that does the sound processing.
That split is worth keeping in mind. The app does not make sound itself. It sends instructions to the aids, and it can show information back, such as battery status.
How the Phone and Hearing Aids Find Each Other
NAL describes mobile phone and device connectivity as connecting hearing aids with Bluetooth devices, which may be used for phone calls, audio streaming and hearing aid control. Pairing steps and compatibility depend on the combination of phone, app and hearing aids, and each manufacturer or provider publishes its own instructions and compatibility lists. Hearing Australia, for example, describes its own app as something that "lets you control your hearing aids directly from your mobile device", and publishes support information saying the app works with specified models of its own hearing aids.
What an App Can Control
NAL describes manual adjustment as allowing a person to change hearing aid settings to a custom program, with changes made using a phone or the controls on the hearing aid. A program is simply a preset way for the hearing aids to handle sound. Which programs and adjustments appear depends on the hearing aids and on how they were set up by the hearing care professional who fitted them, so two people with the same app can see different options.
Some apps also show battery status for rechargeable aids or help find misplaced aids. These extras differ from one app to the next.
Each manufacturer's app lists its own features, and the lists change as apps are updated. The product information for a given app is the place to see what it offers today.
Remote Adjustments
NAL describes remote clinician adjustments as allowing a clinician to fit or fine-tune hearing aids from home, via a smartphone app, computer or tablet. Whether a remote option exists, and how it works, varies between providers and devices, so it is a question to ask the provider who fitted your aids.
Why Apps Look So Different
Each manufacturer builds its own app, which is why screens, menus and feature names vary. Some functions are the same idea under different labels. Others exist in one app and not in another. Updates can add or change features over time, which means a description written today may not match the app a year from now. That is also why this article does not walk through button-by-button steps: they would date quickly and would not match every device.
Where Apps Fit with the Rest of the Technology
An app is one part of a wider group of hearing technology. Some pages on our site look at neighbouring topics: how artificial intelligence is used in modern hearing aids, how TV streamers work, and our overview of hearing aid solutions. Not every hearing aid has an app, and some people simply prefer the controls on the device itself. Both are common ways of using hearing aids.
Quick Summary
- A hearing aid app is a phone-based remote control for a particular range of hearing aids.
- Pairing steps and compatibility depend on the phone, the app and the hearing aids.
- Typical functions include choosing programs or volume, manual adjustments and, in some apps, battery information and locating misplaced aids.
- Which functions appear depends on the device and how it was set up.
- Features differ between manufacturers and change with updates.
If you'd like to chat about your hearing, the friendly team at CQ Audiology in Rockhampton is here to help. Call (07) 4848 6528 or book online. You can also read about hearing aids in Rockhampton.
This article is general information, not personal medical advice. For advice about your own hearing, speak with your GP or a hearing care provider.
Sources: National Acoustic Laboratories (NALguide: Hearing aid features explained); Australian Government Department of Health (Guide to hearing technology); Hearing Australia (app information, as one provider's example).
Concerned about your hearing?
Book a comprehensive assessment with our Rockhampton clinic.
Book an Appointment