Nowadays, hearing aids no longer correct hearing loss only: together with Smartphones, they form an extraordinary team that allows you to hear music, calls, audio from videos and, in short, everything you want to hear from your phone, directly into your ears. Even more: with the use of a simple (yet powerful!) app, this brilliant combination makes it possible to have a control over your hearing that makes hearing well more comfortable than ever. In addition, it opens the door to teleaudiology, which allows us hearing care professionals to evaluate and adjust hearing aids remotely, so that we can be closer than ever to the needs of our patients. Indeed, Smartphones and hearing aids are increasingly inseparable, and as you can see, for good reason!

Therefore, and so that you don't miss anything, in this short guide we are going to show you how to connect your Bernafon hearing aids with your Smartphone.

Compatible with both iPhone and Android

Both if you want to be able to use your hearing aids as wireless headphones, and to access all the tools provided by the Bernafon EasyControl-A App, you must follow two different processes depending on whether you are an iPhone or Android user. Of course, the process is the same whether you have one hearing aid or two. If you have two, you only have to carry out each step with both of them at the same time.

How to pair your hearing aids with your iPhone

  • Open your iPhone and go to "Settings".
  • Make sure the Bluetooth is turned on. Then select "Accessibility".
  • Under "Accessibility," select "Hearing Aids."
  • Now, restart your hearing aids. To do this, if they are battery operated, open the battery compartment and close it again after a few seconds. If they are rechargeable, press and hold the bottom button on the hearing aid to turn it off, and repeat the process to turn it on again. You can also put them in the charger for a moment, and take them out.
  • Once this is done, your hearing aids will be in pairing mode for three minutes, which means that they will be trying to get your mobile to locate them. To make it easier for your phone to succeed, make sure the hearing aids are within 20 cm of your Smartphone!
  • Your iPhone will detect the hearing aids for pairing, and the hearing aids will appear in the list on your iPhone. Select them!
  • Confirm the pairing, as will be prompted by your iPhone. If you have two hearing aids, you need to confirm the pairing for each of them.

Once this process is finished, you will be able to transmit all the audio from your phone directly to your hearing aids, including calls, as if they were wireless headphones. In addition, you can download the App EasyControl-A to access many more features and take maximum control over your hearing aids, such as raising and lowering the volume, retouching the sound quality, creating special listening programs... Of course, keep in mind that this app is compatible with iPhones running iOS 13 or higher. When you open the app, you'll see that your hearing aids are already paired!

Also, if you have Alpha hearing aids, that is, the latest generation of hearing aids from Bernafon, you will be able to talk on the phone through them without having to bring your iPhone close to your mouth. Thanks to the fact that their microphones can pick up your voice and transmit it to the call, they work 100% as a hands-free! Also note, nevertheless, that handsfree calls are available with iPhone 11 or later, with software updates to iOS 15.2 or later.

How to pair your hearing aids with your Android Smartphone

Follow these steps:

  • Make sure Bluetooth is turned on.
  • Download the EasyControl-A App.
  • Launch the app. You will see that it will automatically start searching for your hearing aids.
  • Now, restart your hearing aids. To do this, if they are battery operated, open the battery compartment and close it again after a few seconds. If it's rechargeable, press and hold the bottom button on the hearing aid to turn it off, and repeat the process to turn it on again. You can also put them in the charger for a moment, and take them out.
  • Once this is done, your hearing aids will be in pairing mode for three minutes, which means that they will be trying to get your mobile to locate them. To make it easier for your phone to succeed, make sure the hearing aids are within 20 cm of your phone!
  • When the app detects your hearing aids, select them and continue. Make sure that your Smartphone is not notifying you, through a pop-up window, about some additional permission that you must give in order to make the pairing possible.
  • The app will try to pair and connect with the hearing aids, and when it succeeds, a success message will appear on the screen.
  • Tap “continue”, and you're ready to start using the app! You can raise and lower the volume, tweak the sound, create special listening programs... And much more!

In addition, if you have Alpha hearing aids, that is, the latest generation of Bernafon hearing aids, and your Smartphone uses an Android 10 or higher operating system, after this process you will be able to listen to everything that happens on your Smartphone directly into your ears: music, calls, audios, videos... Of course, during a call, do not forget to hold the phone close to your mouth so that your interlocutor can hear you! The 100% hands option is currently only available for iPhones.

We hope we have been helpful in pairing your Bernafon hearing aids with your Smartphone. With this guide, you can now enjoy all the possibilities that the Bluetooth and your Smartphone offer you together with your Bernafon hearing aids. Now, get the most out of your hearing!