What is a Bluetooth hearing aid and how can it make your life easier?

Bluetooth hearing aids are nothing new, but maybe you’re not entirely sure what these wireless hearing aids are and what they can do for you. Here’s what you need to know about Bluetooth in hearing aids, and why it can make your life easier. 

But first, let’s clarify what Bluetooth is.  

Bluetooth is a communication technology that helps connect two or more electronic devices wirelessly within a short-range, so they can exchange sound or information. It uses high-frequency radio waves to share the information, and it’s completely safe and secure. 

Bluetooth is used in many modern electronic devices, which means lots of your devices can communicate with each other. Electronics manufacturers like Samsung and LG  even produce refrigerators that will communicate with other devices through Bluetooth. 

Bluetooth in hearing aids

Bluetooth technology is a little bit different when it comes to hearing aids. Because for small devices that don’t have a lot of battery capacity, but have to be on most of the time, classic Bluetooth just takes too much energy. 

That’s why these small devices use Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE for short), which is designed to provide reduced power consumption while maintaining the communication range and making sure that the sound isn’t delayed. BLE was introduced in 2004 and is used for many things, including heart rate monitors, smartwatches – and hearing aids.

Also, hearing aids are a special breed of a device because, very often, people use two hearing aids instead of one. This means there are two devices (instead of one) that need to communicate with each other while also connecting to another Bluetooth device. That means you need two Bluetooth channels, and BLE is also the solution to that challenge. 

How does Bluetooth work? 

A Bluetooth hearing aid can communicate with different electronic devices, including your smartphone, which you can use as a control for your hearing aid. 
If you have a hearing aid with a Bluetooth 2.4GHz connection, you’re in luck. A few years ago, Apple introduced “Made for iPhone” technology, where users can stream sound straight from any iOS device like their iPad or iPhone to their 2.4GHz-connected hearing aids. 

But does that mean you can’t stream audio from your TV or your Android-operated Samsung phone, even though you have a 2.4GHz hearing aid? Not quite. You just need an assistive listening device to help you stream. 

This device (called a streamer) is usually worn around the neck, depending on where you want to stream from. If you want to stream from your TV, for instance, the device will most often be physically connected to your TV, receive the TV sound and stream it to your hearing aid. 

The hearing aid industry is currently working on finding a solution for Android systems so that user