Use hearing devices

How it works: Sound travels through air as pressure waves. The microphone on your hearing device picks up the sound from your phone. That microphone might also pick up background noise and room echo. This coupling has minimal to no impact on the phone's battery.

Set up required: This is the default mode on most hearing devices. No setup is required on your phone or hearing device.

How it works: Your phone sends audio as a magnetic signal to the telecoil in the hearing device, bypassing your hearing device’s microphone and reducing background noise and echo. Telecoil coupling uses a small amount of the phone's battery.

Set up required: You need to switch your hearing device to telecoil, usually with a button on the hearing aid or with an app. Some hearing devices have an automatic telecoil that switches on when it detects a magnetic field, such as during a phone call. For best results, hold the phone’s earpiece close to your hearing device.

How it works: Audio is streamed digitally from your phone to your hearing device, bypassing the hearing device’s microphone and reducing background noise and echo. If an environment (movie theater, train station) provides Auracast, you’ll need to use Bluetooth coupling to stream their broadcasts directly to your hearing device. This coupling uses more phone battery than the others.

Set up required: Pair your hearing device with your phone.

1. Turn the hearing aids or other devices on, then follow the manufacturer’s instructions to set them to pairing mode.
2. Tap Settings > Accessibility > Hearing devices.

3. Tap to put the phone in pairing mode.

4. Select your hearing aid from the list of available devices.

   • If you don't see your hearing aid in the list, tap See more devices.

   • For two hearing aids, connect the first, then once connected, tap the second hearing aid in the list of available devices. After both are paired, you’ll see “Active, left and right”.

5. Tap Hearing device shortcut and select one or more shortcuts:

   • Quick Settings: Swipe down twice from the top of the screen and tap Hearing devices.
   • Accessibility button: Add a button to your home screen and tap it to connect/disconnect your hearing aid.
   • Accessibility gesture: Swipe up with two fingers from the bottom of your home screen to control your hearing aid.
   • Volume keys: Press & hold Volume Up and Down at the same time to control your hearing aid.

Now you'll receive phone audio through your hearing aids.

To disconnect, reconnect, or adjust settings for your hearing aids, use the Hearing device shortcut you set up.