Best Bluetooth Hearing Aids of 2023 for Android and iOS

Bluetooth hearing aids have opened up a new world of audio for people with hearing loss. Previously, hearing aids only helped you hear everyday conversations—now they double as advanced wearables and communication devices capable of streaming audio, placing phone calls, and even using digital assistants like Siri or controlling your smart home.

With Bluetooth-enabled hearing aids, it’s now possible to make phone calls without putting your phone to your ear—and if you wear two hearing aids, you can hear the conversation in both ears. You can also stream multimedia audio from your phone, including video chats and popular apps like Spotify and Netflix.

And there are countless other possible applications—from doorbell alerts and remote microphone accessories to a newly developed type of Bluetooth technology that will soon broadcast audio into your devices in places like lecture halls and airports.

Table of Contents

• Frequently asked questions
• Made-for-iPhone hearing aids
• Android compatible hearing aids
• Universal Bluetooth streaming
• Bluetooth-streaming accessories
• The best Bluetooth hearing aids
• Bluetooth hearing aid costs
• OTC Hearing Aids with Bluetooth streaming

Bluetooth hearing aid FAQ

"Made-For-iPhone" (MFi) hearing aids

"Made-for-iPhone" (MFi) hearing aids were first introduced in 2015 by GN ReSound and launched an entirely new era of connectivity. MFi hearing aids allow you to stream audio directly from your iPhone and iPad—no wireless streamer required. All major manufacturers now sell at least some MFi-compatible hearing aids.

Historically, one drawback of the MFi protocol is that it did not allow for two-way communication. That is, the connected device could stream to your hearing aids but the hearing aids could not send data back to the device. It was a one-way street. For hearing aid wearers, this meant no hands-free calling as the hearing aid microphones couldn’t pick up the sound of your voice and transmit back to the phone.

However, with the recent release of Bluetooth version 5.2, two-way communication is now available within the MFi protocol. Keep in mind though, that not all hearing aid manufacturers have incorporated Bluetooth 5.2, so hands-free calling isn’t an option for every MFi hearing aid.

Android compatible hearing aids

In 2018, Google finally announced a new Android streaming spec for hearing aids—Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids (ASHA). The announcement from Google signaled their intention to pair hearing aids with the much larger universe of Android phones.

Flash forward to 2023, and we now have all major hearing aid manufacturers— Phonak, Starkey, Oticon, Signia, ReSound and Widex—with Android compatible hearing aids on the market.

One caveat to ASHA-based Android compatibility: it won’t be a true hands-free experience. You’ll still need to talk into the phone for the caller to hear your voice. To achieve hands-free calling with Android you’ll either need to purchase a Bluetooth streamer or pursue hearing aids that use the Bluetooth Classic Hands-Free Protocol (HFP), like Phonak Lumity or Unitron Blu.

While Made-for-iPhone is supported by all iOS devices (from recent years), Android ASHA is only supported on select Android phones. In general, any phone with Bluetooth 5.0+ and Android 10 (or higher) is capable of providing wireless streaming via ASHA. However, ASHA must be enabled by each phone manufacturer and service carrier, so it pays to check with your carrier about whether your specific Android model can support ASHA connectivity (Samsung, Google Pixel, and OnePlus offer the best support). Most ASHA compatible aids also support MFi.

Universal Bluetooth streaming

Only Sonova, the world’s largest hearing aid manufacturer, offers true, hands-free universal Bluetooth connectivity. In addition to iPhone and Android connectivity, Phonak and Unitron (owned by Sonova), offer models that provide wireless audio streaming from any Bluetooth-audio device. This is accomplished via Bluetooth Classic’s A2DP and HFP protocols for audio streaming and hands-free calling, respectively.

Sonova calls their technology “Made For All” or MFA, a tongue in cheek nod to Apple’s “Made For iPhone”. Phonak Lumity, Paradise and Unitron Vivante and Blu are the latest Sonova products to offer MFA technology, and models from both product families support two simultaneous Bluetooth connections. Costco's now-discontinued Kirkland Signature 10.0 hearing aid, also manufactured by Sonova, offered universal Bluetooth as well.

Shopping for Bluetooth hearing aids

Shopping for a Bluetooth hearing aid can be confusing. Bluetooth- and smartphone-compatible hearing instruments come in dozens of different flavors. So knowing the basics about MFi, ASHA, and Sonova’s MFA can help.

Because connectivity is a sought-after feature in hearing aids, this technology is improving very quickly. The bottom line is you should talk with your hearing provider about the wireless connectivity features that are important to you prior to purchasing any devices.

And a word of caution: Some hearing aid manufacturers promote “Bluetooth compatibility,” but they require an intermediate streamer to receive and retransmit Bluetooth audio to their hearing aids from all Bluetooth devices. We talk about these streamers below.

The latest hearing aid streamers make Bluetooth easy

If your hearing aids don’t connect natively to your smartphone (or other Bluetooth audio device), you’ll likely need a “streamer” from the same manufacturer that produced your hearing aids. Streamers are typically purchased as an add-on to hearing aids, but the good news is that today's Bluetooth streamers provide a relatively painless workaround to achieving universal Bluetooth connectivity with your hearing aids.

A streamer either hangs from your neck or clips to your clothing, and receives audio from Bluetooth-enabled phones, MP3 music players, computers, tablets and other electronic devices. Once the streamer has picked up the sound from your favorite Bluetooth-enabled audio device, it re-transmits the audio to the hearing aids, typically via a proprietary 2.4GHz radio signal.

Hearing aid makers have started delivering Bluetooth streaming accessories that are smaller, more feature-rich, and easier to use. They provide wireless communication with all Bluetooth-enabled devices. And their associated apps work well with both iPhones and Android smartphones.

The best Bluetooth hearing aid models

Following are Bluetooth solutions from the top hearing aid brands. We don’t just look at the Phonak, Unitron, and Costco models with universal Bluetooth connectivity. We also list MFi- and ASHA-enabled hearing aids. And we provide a guide to the streaming accessories that the top brands use to make their hearing aids Bluetooth-compatible. The table below only includes the latest models that offer either MFi or ASHA.

*Note: what follows is not a "ranking" of the best Bluetooth hearing aids. Rather, we provide information about the Bluetooth solutions available from each of the top hearing aid brands. Collectively, the brands we mention account for more than 80% of the premium hearing aids sold worldwide.

Phonak Bluetooth hearing aids

Phonak's Audéo Marvel established the gold standard in Bluetooth hearing aid connectivity. Introduced in November 2019, Marvel was the first to stream music and other audio—in stereo—directly to and from any Bluetooth-enabled device. In 2020, Phonak introduced Paradise, which added the ability to pair up to 8 Bluetooth devices simultaneously, two of which can be active at any one time.

In August 2022, Phonak launched its third generation of Bluetooth-compatible hearing aids with the new Audéo Lumity, which delivers the same universal Bluetooth connectivity with improvements in speech clarity in background noise. It is one of the most versatile of Bluetooth streaming aids, offering two active Bluetooth connections and pairing capabilities for up to 8 different devices of your choosing. In April 2023, Phonak added the Slim Lumity Bluetooth aid to the line, featuring a sleek and unique design to meet modern hearing aid wearers' style and comfort needs.

Lumity, like its predecessors Marvel and Paradise, also features Tap Control (in 90 and 70 technology tiers) allowing you to accept/end a phone call, pause/resume streaming, and access voice assistants such as Apple’s Siri^®.

HearingTracker Audiologist Matthew Allsop provides you with an overview of Phonak Lumity. Closed captions are available on this video. If you are using a mobile phone, please enable captions clicking on the gear icon.

Phonak has an array of wireless accessories, including streamers, remote microphones, and a TV audio transmitter (which works for Marvel too). We also recommend reading up on Roger, Phonak’s suite of wireless remote microphones for those who need extra help hearing in background noise.

Unitron Bluetooth hearing aids

Unitron, a sister company of Phonak in the Sonova group, offers universal Bluetooth connectivity in a number of product families, including the newly released Vivante, Blu, Discover Next, and Tempus. The company’s Moxi Blu runs on the Sonova PRISM (Processing Real-Time Intelligent Sound Management) chip and uses Unitron’s Integra OS signal processing system. Like Phonak Lumity and Paradise, it offers two active Bluetooth connections with pairing up to 8 different devices and includes the same tap controls. In April 2023, Unitron launched its Moxi Vivante V-R and VR-T rechargeable RIC models that also have these Bluetooth capabilities for Apple and Android.

Costco Bluetooth hearing aids

Costco, the big box retailer, has hearing centers that offer hearing tests, professional services, and affordable prices, with current prices starting at $1,599 a pair.

Costco doesn't manufacture its own hearing aids but resells products and technology from top manufacturers. Costco sells Jabra, Philips, and Rexton brand hearing aids, with models from each brand offering Bluetooth connectivity for smartphone control apps and audio streaming for Android phones and iPhones. Costco also offers a range of Bluetooth-connected accessories for each of the brands, including remote control devices, TV audio streamers, and remote microphones.

In April 2023, Costco started selling its first over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid, Lexie B2 Powered by Bose, although this hearing aid does not feature Bluetooth streaming for audio.

ReSound Bluetooth hearing aids

GN ReSound was the first brand to introduce Made-for-iPhone hearing aids and more recently ReSound has been a pioneer on direct Android streaming. They now offer a number of Apple and Android compatible hearing aids including OMNIA, One, Key, LiNX Quattro, and ENZO Q. Streaming from Android is accomplished using the new Audio Streaming for Hearing Aid (ASHA) protocol.

For other Bluetooth devices, ReSound also offers a variety of accessories that connect its hearing aids with high-quality audio. The ReSound Phone Clip+ streams calls or audio from your Bluetooth-enabled phone. ReSound Mics can be placed on a podium, on a speaker's lapel, or on a conference table to pick up voices and stream them to your hearing aids. And the ReSound Bluetooth TV streamer attached to the back of your TV delivers audio directly to your hearing aids without having to go through your streamer. Additionally, the ReSound Remote Control 2 makes it easy to adjust the volume, change programs, or switch between streaming accessories.

Learn more about ReSound OMNIA hearing aids in this video by audiologist Matthew Allsop. Closed captions are available on this video. If you are using a mobile phone, please enable captions clicking on the gear icon.

Oticon Bluetooth hearing aids

Oticon Real is the latest flagship hearing aid family introduced in February 2023 by Danish hearing aid giant Oticon that uses the new Polaris R chip platform. Real offers many of the same features as its predecessor Oticon More and its Polaris platform, such as Bluetooth audio streaming, access to Oticon's deep neural network (DNN) technology, and water resistance. But Real adds a new wind and handling stabilizer, as well as a Sudden Sound Stabilizer to detect both soft, loud, and sudden sounds and control them so they're audible but not uncomfortably loud or intrusive. Like More, Oticon Real is compatible with both Apple and Android ASHA for wireless streaming, and offers hands-free calling for iPhones. The company has also made both Real and More future-proof for LE Audio, which means that if or when Auracast becomes widely available soon, these hearing aids should be able to tune into it!

For those who need to connect to other Bluetooth devices, or need hands-free calling for Android devices, Oticon's ConnectClip streamer delivers a solution. Oticon offers a TV Adapter that connects to most TVs and other audio devices using standard cables. With the TV Adapter, stereo sound can stream directly into your hearing aids from a range of up to 45 feet. The Oticon ON app is designed to make it easy to manage Bluetooth connections.

HearingTracker Audiologist introduces you to Oticon Real hearing aids. Closed captions are available on this video. If you are using a mobile phone, please enable captions clicking on the gear icon.

Oticon Opn S hearing aids are Oticon’s previous generation of MFi hearing aids which were introduced in 2019. With a variety of streamers, OpnS hearing aids—and most others from Oticon—provide Bluetooth connectivity with good sound quality.

Starkey Bluetooth hearing aids

Starkey Hearing Technologies was the second brand to introduce a Made-for-iPhone (MFi) hearing. The U.S. manufacturer quickly expanded its line of Bluetooth-compatible hearing aids which include both iOS and Android compatibility. Introduced in February 2023, its Genesis AI offers iOS- and Android-compatible audio streaming, hands-free calling for iOS, and wireless control with the My Starkey app (except for the IIC and CIC models), as well as hands-free 2-way audio for compatible iOS devices when using FaceTime, Zoom, Teams, etc. Using a new antenna, the hearing aids have improved their wireless range by up to 40%. The new My Starkey app puts you in control of the hearing aid as well as the "healthable" features found in both Genesis AI and its predecessor, Starkey Evolv AI.

Evolve AI, introduced in August 2021, essentially offers all the Bluetooth capabilities and "healthable" features as Genesis AI, but uses the older Thrive app and lacks the newer and more powerful chip and sound processing capabilities.

As a leader in custom in-ear devices, Starkey offers the truly unique and tiny Starkey Evolv AI Completely-in-Canal (CIC) hearing aid which is the only full-featured CIC with audio streaming (for details see this YouTube video from Matthew Allsop). Other Starkey Bluetooth-compatible hearing aids include Livio Edge AI.

Starkey's streaming accessories provide Bluetooth connections for its legacy products or when needed for non-compatible devices. The Starkey SurfLink streaming accessories provide hands-free phone calls from iPhones and Android smartphones, and audio streaming from multiple Bluetooth sources. They also feature remote microphones. And the Starkey TV accessory supports analog and digital input sources to stream audio from your TV or other audio source directly to Evolv and Livio hearing aids.

Audiologist Matthew Allsop explains why Starkey Genesis AI really does represent something new in hearing aid technology. Closed captions are available on this video. If you are using a mobile phone, please enable captions clicking on the gear icon.

Widex Bluetooth hearing aids

Widex MOMENT Made-for-iPhone hearing aids offer wireless connectivity with both iOS and Anroid devices. Widex says its signal processing chip set features independent channel separation with minimal-delay filters to offer clean sound even while streaming. The Widex MOMENT app lets you set up and manage your Bluetooth connections.

Widex offers connectivity for non-smartphone Bluetooth devices via its range of streaming accessories. The COM-DEX streamer hangs from the neck and streams high-quality sound from any Bluetooth device to your hearing aid. It offers up to 8 hours of streaming time and comes with an optional remote mic. Other accessories for the phone, TV, and other Bluetooth devices include SoundAssist, FM+DEX, TV PLAY, and TV-DEX. The COM-DEX iPhone and Android smartphone app helps manage the Bluetooth connections.

The company's latest product, the Moment Sheer (sRIC R D) was introduced in September 2022 with a new housing design that is intended to by discreet and modern.

Oticon Sheer is reviewed in this video by HearingTracker Audiologist Matthew Allsop. Closed captions are available on this video. If you are using a mobile phone, please enable captions clicking on the gear icon.

Signia Bluetooth hearing aids

First introduced in 2018, Signia’s Styletto was the world’s first SLIM-RIC hearing aid featuring a slim and stylish design that makes it look more like a high-tech communication device than a hearing aid. The new version of this, Styletto AX, is a full-featured device in Signia's Augmented Xperience (AX) platform and allows you to connect to Android or iOS (Apple) devices for streaming phone calls, music, and TV audio to your hearing aids. It also includes the "healthable" My WellBeing (i.e., step counting and activity tracker) and CallControl for general wellness and better functionality in various aspects of life.

Signia Pure Charge&Go AX  hearing aids also offer both iOS and Android direct wireless connectivity with compatible devices. The in-ear Insio Charge&Go AX ITEs offer direct audio streaming from iOS devices with the MFi hearing aid standard, as well as certain Android devices using the newer ASHA standard.

Signia Insio AX and Pure AX hearing aids offer direct Android streaming via the ASHA protocol, and hands-free calling on iPhones.

The older Xperience (X) platform also offers direct connectivity but only with compatible iOS devices. These and other Signia hearing aids stream wireless audio from Android phones and other Bluetooth devices, including TVs, via Signia's StreamLine Mic and StreamLine TV accessories. A StreamLine Mic is also required if you want to connect your hearing aids directly to an Android phone that does not support ASHA (or other generic Bluetooth devices). A Signia myControl remote control app manages Bluetooth applications with both iPhones and Android smartphones.

Bluetooth hearing aid costs

Premium Bluetooth hearing aids aren't inexpensive. A pair can cost anywhere from $1,399 (at Costco) to $6,000 (or more) for top-end hearing aids.

Streaming accessories cost extra, and prices vary from clinic to clinic; fortunately, to achieve wireless Bluetooth connectivity, these accessories are needed less and less. However, when needed, a clip-on streamer can easily add $500 to the cost of hearing aids. And TV streamers and remote mics can cost even more, depending on their capabilities. Some local providers do provide discounts through our hearing aid discounts program.

Alternative Bluetooth-enabled hearables and PSAPs

Several direct-to-consumer hearing aids available online offer Bluetooth compatibility. In addition, with the recent FDA ruling regarding over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids, we’ll likely see a lot more devices become available through retailers and online sellers.

And of course there is a whole world of Bluetooth-enabled earpieces, hearables, and PSAPs (personal sound amplification products) to explore. Many of them integrate high-end hearing aid technology. Often they are less expensive than Bluetooth hearing aids. Sennheiser's Conversation Clear Plus and Apple's AirPods Pro 2 are two great examples.

HearingTracker Audiologist Matthew Allsop provides information on how to set up Apple AirPods Pro earbuds as hearing aids.

OTC hearing aids with Bluetooth streaming

There is quite a lot of confusion about over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids, and HearingTracker has recently published an updated list of FDA-registered OTC hearing aids. In a subsequent article, we've picked what we think are the Top-10 best OTC hearing aids, four of which feature Bluetooth streaming:

Jabra Enhance Plus

Jabra Enhance Plus is a medical-grade self-fitting OTC hearing aid from GN Hearing, a major global hearing aid manufacturer that makes ReSound and Beltone hearing aids. At $799 per pair, the Jabra hearing aids look like modern wireless earbuds but have features more often associated with traditional hearing aids, including streaming audio and hands-free calling via Bluetooth (iPhones only).

A quick overview of Jabra Enhance Plus hearing aids by HearingTracker Audiologist Matthew Allsop. Closed captions are available on this video. If you are using a mobile phone, please enable captions clicking on the gear icon.

HP Hearing PRO

The HP Hearing PRO is a self-fitting OTC hearing aid branded by Hewlett-Packard and developed and manufactured by Australian audio device maker Nuheara. At $699 per pair, the HP Hearing PRO bears a strong resemblance to one of HearingTracker’s favorite hearables, the Nuheara IQbuds2 MAX—a smart, rechargeable, Apple and Android compatible earbud that comes with a great self-fitting app.

HearingTracker Audiologist Matthew Allsop provides an overview of the HP HearingPRO OTC hearing aid. Closed captions are available on this video. If you are using a mobile phone, please enable captions clicking on the gear icon.

Lucid Engage Rechargeable

Lucid is the manufacturer of Liberty hearing aids for Sam’s Club and the owner of Etymotic Research, which makes high-quality earplugs and headphones. Lucid Engage Rechargeable—which is essentially the same as the premium Liberty aid—is a self-fit Receiver-In-canal (RIC) hearing aid that offers Bluetooth streaming and app-based controls. The OTC hearing aids go for $1000 per pair.

Sound World Solutions HD75R

Sound World Solutions is based in Chicago and started out by offering quality personal sound amplification products (PSAPs) that were used in several studies, ultimately proving self-fitting devices can be helpful to people with hearing loss. The HD75R OTC Behind-the-Ear (BTE) self-fitting hearing aid is rechargeable and can stream music and phone calls directly to ASHA Android compatible devices but are not “hands-free (i.e., you can hear conversation via hearing aids but need to speak into the phone for the caller to hear you). They are offered at $500 per pair.

Bluetooth LE Audio: The future of Bluetooth hearing aids

A new Bluetooth specification, Bluetooth 5.2, will provide higher quality audio with less latency (delay) in wireless streaming and multichannel connectivity with multiple Bluetooth accessories. All of this will be accomplished with Bluetooth LE Audio, the “next generation of Bluetooth audio”, available with Bluetooth 5.2.

Auracast to Make Bluetooth More Versatile and Accessible

In June 2022, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) announced the release of its new Auracast™ broadcast audio system which uses LE Audio. Auracast is designed to link Bluetooth hearing devices (including hearing aids, implants, earbuds, etc) to a public address system or other Auracast-enabled transmitter through your Bluetooth-compatible smartphone, tablet, or computer. So, if you’re attending a lecture or a play, an Auracast transmitter might notify your smartphone that streaming audio is available. Then you’d use the Auracast Assistant on your phone to simply find and select that sound stream and have it paired with your Bluetooth hearing device.

Although Auracast is a brand new technology that may take some time for widespread implementation and use, it promises to expand Bluetooth’s usefulness to a much wider range of settings and situations, like airports, ticket booths, tours, personal song/audio sharing, and more.

Audiologist Cliff "Dr Cliff" Olson fills you in about Bluetooth LE Audio and Auracast. Closed captions are available on this video. If you are using a mobile phone, please enable captions clicking on the gear icon.

The bottom line

As much as we love Bluetooth technology at Hearing Tracker, it is only one of many variables to consider when purchasing hearing devices. Remember, hearing aids need to function as hearing aids first and foremost, and a local hearing health professional can provide guidance on what hearing aid options may be appropriate for you (given your unique hearing needs).