Best Bluetooth Hearing Aids in 2024
When it comes to choosing a hearing aid, you’ll find that Bluetooth is now pretty much an industry standard across most modern hearing aids.
The integration of Bluetooth technology in hearing aids gives you the ability to stream phone calls, music, radio or podcasts directly to both of your hearing aids. On top of that, every Bluetooth-enabled hearing aid has its own app, which allows you to manually adjust the settings of your hearing aid straight from your device.
However, it’s important to note that there are also different types of Bluetooth connectivity, which we’ll cover in this blog. Each type of Bluetooth has its own pros and cons based on the different protocols that are used, and each hearing aid has its own level of Bluetooth compatibility.
Let’s take a look at some of the best Bluetooth-compatible hearing aid models on the market for 2024.
Hearing aids with classic Bluetooth
Classic Bluetooth is what we would consider the more traditional platform that we all know and use across our devices. For the best hearing aid with classic Bluetooth, we’re looking at the Phonak Lumity range of hearing aids.
One of the key advantages of classic Bluetooth is that it can connect to any phone with Bluetooth streaming capabilities. This means it doesn’t matter if you’ve got an old or new smartphone or otherwise, or even a landline phone with a built-in Bluetooth function, you’ll already be set up and ready to go with Phonak Lumity.
Hearing aids with LE Audio
The next group of hearing aids use something called LE Audio. This is a low-energy form of Bluetooth and was the original way that hearing aids connected to the iPhone back in 2010.
Best hearing aids with LE Audio integrated:
LE Audio works well, but there are some limitations. For example, there is no bidirectional Bluetooth for Android devices meaning that with iPhones, you can have completely hands-free phone calls. There are also some limitations on which phones will allow for LE Audio Bluetooth streaming.
Hearing aids with Auracast ready LE Audio
As we get more advanced with Bluetooth connectivity, this next group of hearing aids have the newest version of LE Audio which makes them Auracast-ready:
Auracast is the future of connectivity which, once fully rolled out, will allow public venues to stream any sound with a higher quality and lower battery consumption than we’ve seen from any streaming technology in the past, directly to both of your hearing aids.
In the next few years, we’re likely to see Auracast broadcasted audio replacing the century-old hearing loop systems built into public venues which will allow for multiple hearing aid users to simultaneously connect to audio when they’re in public spaces.
What are the downsides of this? It’s only going to be as good as how many public venues have it installed, but at the moment it’s still in the development stage. Regardless, it’s great to see hearing aid manufacturers getting ready for the rollout of this Auracast transmission.
Read more: What is Auracast? The Bluetooth technology revolutionising audio
Hearing aids with no Bluetooth connectivity
We mentioned at the start of this blog that most modern hearing aids have Bluetooth connectivity, but not all of them. The Widex Moment RIC 10 doesn’t have access to either Bluetooth or a telecoil feature.
There are plenty of options when it comes to connectivity so it’s hard to imagine a world without Bluetooth being built into hearing aids, but this is something to be aware of when choosing the right hearing aid for you.
Which Bluetooth hearing aid is best for you?
This may or may not come as a surprise, but the phone you have can directly impact the features you’ll get from your hearing aid, with iPhones being the most versatile.
As you’re doing your research, each hearing aid manufacturer has a compatibility list on their website that details which phones are compatible with their particular hearing aid. So, it’s worth checking that out or speaking to your audiologist to ensure you’ve got access to all of those features before choosing any particular hearing aid.
Of course, the best way to determine the right hearing aid for you is by working directly with an audiologist who can accurately diagnose your hearing loss and make recommendations accordingly.
Harley Street Hearing is London’s largest independent hearing clinic, with four locations across London. Our team of clinical audiologists can advise on the best hearing aid for you and as a completely independent audiology company, we can offer a wide range of hearing aids from all major UK manufacturers. Get in touch with us to book an appointment.
Best Bluetooth Hearing Aids 2024 Reviewed
Matthew Allsop is a Partner at Harley Street Hearing and the content creator for Hearing Tracker, where he shares his honest opinions on all things to do with hearing health and hearing aid technology. Hearing Tracker is the world’s first truly independent resource for hearing aid customers. You can watch his video on the best Bluetooth hearing aids for 2024 below.
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