Phone Features That Help Hearing-Aid Users: Live Listen, Transcription and Alerts

Features you may already have

Most people use their phone with hearing aids only for calls and music. But iPhone and Android phones also include accessibility features designed for people with hearing loss. They are found in the phone's settings. This guide explains what Apple and Google say a few of them do.

These features do not replace properly fitted hearing aids, and none of them is a safety system. Check that each one works on your own phone before you rely on it.

iPhone: Live Listen as a remote microphone

Apple explains that Live Listen turns an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch into a remote microphone that sends sound to a hearing device, AirPods or Beats. For example, you can place the phone near the person speaking across a table.

According to Apple, with a Made for iPhone hearing device:

1. Make sure your hearing device is connected to your iPhone.
2. Go to Settings, then Accessibility, then Hearing Devices.
3. Tap the name of your hearing device under MFi Hearing Devices.
4. Tap Start Live Listen.
5. Place the device in front of the person you want to hear.

To stop, tap End Live Listen. If you do not see Live Listen, Apple suggests opening Control Center and checking that your hearing device appears in the device selection area of the playback controls.

Live Listen depends on your hearing aids being Made for iPhone and connected. If they are not, see Bluetooth hearing aids and phone compatibility. A dedicated remote microphone accessory may be another option; see accessories and connectivity.

iPhone: control and visual alerts

• Control your hearing device. Apple says that after pairing, you can control a Made for iPhone hearing device from your iPhone or iPad.
• Flash for notifications. Apple says the LED flash on an iPhone or iPad Pro can blink when your device is locked and you receive a notification. This helps if you take your hearing aids out and might miss a sound.

Android: Live Transcribe

Google says you can use Live Transcribe to capture speech and sound and see them as text on your screen. According to Google:

• Live Transcribe is already installed on Pixel phones and select other Android phones; on other devices you can download it from Google Play.
• You need to be connected to the Internet unless you use one of the offline languages.
• Besides speech, it can show sound labels, such as laughing or a doorbell.
• You can use an external microphone instead of the phone's microphone.

Check the language list on your own phone before relying on transcription. Hebrew is not among the transcription languages listed on Google's help page, so it is most useful for conversations in English and other supported languages.

Android: Sound Notifications

Google describes Sound Notifications as a feature that listens for sounds you choose and alerts you. According to Google:

• Sounds it can listen for include smoke and fire alarms, sirens, a baby crying, a dog barking, knocking, the doorbell, appliances beeping, a landline ringing and running water.
• You can choose to be alerted by vibration or by the camera flash.
• You turn it on in Settings, then Accessibility, then Sound Notifications. Pixel phones and a few others include it; other phones need the Live Transcribe and Notifications app from Google Play.
• Google says Sound Notifications never send audio or background conversations to Google without your permission, and that audio stays on your device.
• Because the feature is always listening, Google notes it might use more battery power and suggests charging the phone daily.

Treat it as a helpful extra, not a replacement for a proper alarm system.

Setting this up for a parent

For an older parent, one or two features set up well are better than many half-remembered ones. Choose the feature that solves the real problem: missing the doorbell, struggling in a café, or following a conversation. Test it together, and write down the steps. See also helping an elderly parent with hearing aids in Israel.

When a phone feature is not enough

If you rely on phone features because speech is still hard to follow with your hearing aids, mention it at a follow-up appointment. Settings, programmes or an accessory may help; see follow-up and adjustments. You can call G-Sound in English. G-Sound offers Philips and Oticon hearing aids.