Hearing Aid Streaming and Phone Compatibility

Whether hearing aids stream to your phone, and by which route. Six protocols and two platforms, with what each one actually requires. Every fact here is about a protocol rather than about a brand, because whether a particular device supports one is a manufacturer specification for that model.

20 pages in this section. Published figures from named standards bodies and regulators.

• Made for iPhone (MFi): What It Is and What It Needs A hearing aid specific streaming protocol Apple introduced long before any cross-platform standard existed. It carries audio directly from an iPhone i
• ASHA, Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids: What It Is and What It Needs The Android counterpart to MFi, introduced so that compatible hearing aids could receive audio directly from an Android phone without an intermediate
• Bluetooth LE Audio: What It Is and What It Needs The current generation Bluetooth audio standard, designed with hearing devices as a first class case rather than an afterthought. It is the basis on w
• Auracast broadcast audio: What It Is and What It Needs A broadcast layer built on Bluetooth LE Audio. A transmitter broadcasts and any number of receivers in range can tune in, which is why it is being dep
• Telecoil, the T setting: What It Is and What It Needs A small copper coil built into many hearing aids that picks up a magnetic signal rather than a radio one. It predates every Bluetooth protocol by deca
• Classic Bluetooth with an intermediate streamer: What It Is and What It Needs The older arrangement, in which a separate device worn around the neck or clipped on receives ordinary Bluetooth from the phone and relays it to the h
• Does Made for iPhone (MFi) Work With iPhone Supported. Supported natively. Compatible hearing aids pair through the iOS accessibility settings rather than through the ordinary
• Does Made for iPhone (MFi) Work With Android Not supported. Not supported. MFi is an Apple protocol and an Android phone cannot use it, whatever the hearing aid is capable of. The
• Does ASHA, Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids Work With iPhone Not supported. Not supported. ASHA is an Android protocol; on an iPhone the equivalent is MFi.
• Does ASHA, Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids Work With Android Supported. Supported on Android 10 and later with compatible hardware. Both the phone and the hearing aid have to support it, and p
• Does Bluetooth LE Audio Work With iPhone Depends on the device generation. Increasingly supported on recent hardware, and the direction Apple is moving, but it depends on the device generation ra
• Does Bluetooth LE Audio Work With Android Depends on the device generation. Increasingly supported on recent hardware. As with iOS, it is a hardware capability rather than a software setting, so a
• Does Auracast broadcast audio Work With iPhone Depends on the device generation. Depends on device generation rather than on the operating system. Check the specific hardware.
• Does Auracast broadcast audio Work With Android Depends on the device generation. Depends on device generation rather than on the Android version. Check the specific hardware.
• Does Telecoil, the T setting Work With iPhone Not applicable, it works without a phone. Not applicable, and that is the point. A telecoil works with an induction loop or a neckloop regardless of what phone yo
• Does Telecoil, the T setting Work With Android Not applicable, it works without a phone. Not applicable, for the same reason. This is the one option that is entirely outside the phone ecosystem.
• Does Classic Bluetooth with an intermediate streamer Work With iPhone Supported. Works, because the phone is only talking to an ordinary Bluetooth accessory rather than to the hearing aids.
• Does Classic Bluetooth with an intermediate streamer Work With Android Supported. Works, for the same reason. This is the fallback that works with almost any phone.
• Do Hearing Aids Work With iPhone Which streaming routes are available on iPhone, what each one requires, and the one option that works regardless of which phone you own.
• Do Hearing Aids Work With Android Which streaming routes are available on Android, what each one requires, and the one option that works regardless of which phone you own.

Not medical advice, not a hearing test, not a diagnosis. Everything in this section is general information compiled from published standards, regulatory classifications, manufacturer specifications and the consensus of verified owner reviews. The charts explain what a measurement shows. They cannot tell you what your hearing is, and nothing on this site can measure it. Only a licensed audiologist or physician can evaluate hearing. If hearing changed suddenly, affects one ear only, or comes with pain, drainage, dizziness or ringing alongside weakness or numbness, contact a doctor promptly rather than reading a chart.