First, make sure the hearing aids are not clogged which will prevent streaming audio from being heard. If the hearing aid is amplifying your environmental sounds normally and it's just the streaming audio that is no longer coming through, follow the steps for unpairing and repairing in the appropriate section above.

 

If you have Pure Charge&Go BCT IX hearing aids and pairing completed with no issues, but audio is still only streaming to one hearing aid (e.g. the right hearing aid), make sure both hearing aids are in proper wearing position. The alignment of the hearing aids when worn on the ears is critical for proper stereo streaming. If one hearing aid is misaligned (i.e. not parallel and level relative to the other), streaming audio will not play in one hearing aid. 

Try to force close the app.

For iPhones, this involves using the gesture to reveal previously opened apps and swiping the Signia app away. See this Apple article for specific steps on how to accomplish that: https://support.apple.com/en-us/109359.

For Android phones, go to the phone Settings > Apps > Signia app > and choose to Force stop.

Reopen the app and see if the Bluetooth connection establishes itself again. If it doesn't, let's reboot the phone. After the phone reboots, check to see if connection is reestablished in the app.

 

If the Bluetooth is still disconnected, let's reset the app:

Tap on the three lines in the top left > Settings > App settings > Set up the app > Press OK to the pop-up message (the programming of your hearing aids will not be affected by this). Choose the Bluetooth connection option and follow the on-screen instructions.

If the setup fails and the app indicates that it cannot connect to or find the hearing aids, use the appropriate pairing steps above to unpair and repair the hearing aids to the phone's Bluetooth. Afterwards, come back to the app to attempt the Bluetooth setup again.

 

If the app continues to fail the Bluetooth setup, uninstall and reinstall the app. After reinstallation, open the app, accept the terms, conditions, and permissions and try the Bluetooth setup again.

If while streaming, you use the volume buttons to raise the streaming level to 100% and the streamed audio is still too quiet, first make sure that the tips of the hearing aids are clean and clear of any debris/earwax that could be blocking the sound output. If the output was blocked, amplification of environmental audio would also not be optimal. If environmental audio sounds fine and the phone's streaming level is at 100% but still not adequate, visit your hearing care professional. There are streaming offsets applied to the hearing aids that control how loud the streamed audio is by default. The hearing care professional can increase those defaults so that streaming audio sounds louder without needing the max out the phone's streaming volume. They can also help equalize the quality of streaming by fine tuning which frequencies have extra gain relative to others.

For Signia hearing aids

iPhone:

Go to the phone's Settings > Sounds & Haptics > increase the slider for Ringer and Alerts

 

Android ASHA streaming:

Go to the phone's Volume menu (e.g. Settings > Sounds and vibration > Volume) and make sure that the Media slider is increased to an adequate level. Next, if the phone is on Sound mode, make sure the slider for the Ringtone is increased adequately. If the phone is on Vibrate, the ringtone will not stream in the hearing aids. If the phone is on Mute, the streamed ringtone level is controlled by the Media slider level and the ringtone will not play from the phone's speakers. 

 

Android LE Audio streaming:

The volume of the streamed ringtone is controlled by the in-call volume (i.e. how loud you hear the caller). The next time you stream a phone call, raise the in-call volume using the volume buttons on the side of the phone. This will increase the streamed ringtone volume the next time someone calls. Do note that if the slider for Ringtone int he phone's Volume menu is too low, this will effectively mute the streamed ringtone also. If the ringtone playing from the phone is too loud, we recommend using the phone in Vibrate or Mute mode.

 

For Pure Charge&Go BCT IX hearing aids

iPhone:

If the phone is on Ringer Mode (Silent Mode off), the streamed ringtone volume is controlled by the in-call streaming volume (i.e. how loud you hear the caller). The next time you stream a phone call, raise the in-call streaming volume using the volume buttons on the side of the phone. The higher the in-call streaming volume, the higher the ringtone will play in the hearing aids the next time someone calls. The Ringer and Alerts slider in the Settings > Sounds & Haptics menu will control how loud the ringtone will play simultaneously through the phone's speakers.

If the phone is on Silent Mode, the streamed ringtone volume is controlled by the Ringer and Alerts slider in the Settings > Sounds and Haptics menu. Currently, the streamed ringtone reaches a max level when the slider is about 33% of the maximum. We've also seen this behavior with generic Bluetooth headsets paired to an iPhone. We are investigating this further to see if this is something we can fix or if we need to work with Apple. 

 

Android:

The ringtone streaming level is controlled by the in-call streaming volume (i.e. how loud you hear the caller). The next time you stream a phone call, raise the in-call streaming volume using the volume buttons on the side of the phone. The higher the in-call volume, the higher the ringtone will play in the hearing aids the next time someone calls.

Let's try to change the default routing for incoming calls. Go to your iPhone Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Call Audio Routing > select Bluetooth Headset. Now try to answer an incoming call and see if the call defaults to the hearing aids.

Currently Signia hearing aids do not support Auracast. Although some hearing aids support Low Energy Audio, Auracast compatibility has additional hardware and software requirements. We are constantly monitoring the consumer electronics market for Auracast compatibility and adoption rates, especially when it comes to public infrastructure. Once Auracast has been integrated on a larger scale, we will react accordingly to ensure our future hearing aids will allow users to take advantage of Auracast devices and technology. 

To reroute the audio to play through the phone's speakers, use the native controls.

 

For iPhone, use the AirPlay option in the iOS Control Center. See the following Apple article on how to open the Control Center: https://support.apple.com/en-us/108330
When the Control Center is open, tap on the AirPlay icon in the top right of the media box (box containing the rewind, play/pause, fast forward buttons). The icon may look like a triangle with lines coming out, an ear, or a speaker with a Bluetooth symbol. Tapping on this icon reveals a list of audio output destinations. Select the iPhone to output audio through the phone's speakers.

 

For Android, swipe down from the top (sometimes top right corner) of the phone screen to pull down the Quick Settings menu. Look for a Media output option. If there is one, tap on it and use it to select the destination for audio output. If there is no Media output option, look for a notification card belonging to the app that is streaming audio (e.g. Spotify). There should be a button within the card that indicates where the app is currently outputting audio (e.g. the hearing aids). Tap on it and select the phone to play the audio from the phone speakers.

 

When you are done sharing the audio through the phone speakers, use the same workflow to switch the audio routing back to the hearing aids.

The first thing to try is to go into the Signia app and use the Balance slider while streaming audio. Adjust the slider towards Sharp to increase the treble of the streamed audio. Adjust towards Soft to decrease the amount of treble. For finer adjustments, you can see your hearing care professional and they can use the programming software to equalize more specific frequencies. Do note that the equalization of the streamed audio is relative to your hearing prescription so comparing the quality of audio streaming to a set of generic earbuds is comparing apples to oranges. 

 

If you are streaming through the Low Energy Audio (LE Audio, Signia IX hearing aids on firmware 25.5.972.3 or newer when used with an LE Audio compatible device) protocol or Classic Bluetooth (Pure Charge&Go BCT IX hearing aids), it's possible that any equalization apps or settings built into the operating system of the phone can further affect streaming audio. 

Signia's feature to answer/end calls using the hearing aid buttons or tapping gesture (model dependent) is named CallControl. The following models support CallControl.

 

iOS devices:

• Signia AX hearing aids, firmware 20.15.540.2 or newer
• Signia IX hearing aids

Android:

• Signia IX hearing aids, firmware 25.5.972.3 when using the Low Energy Audio (LE Audio) protocol. Only certain Android phones support the usage of LE Audio. Please check with the phone manufacturer's support team/pages for LE Audio compatibility.
• Pure Charge&Go BCT IX hearing aids

For Signia Nx, X, and AX (firmware older than 20.11.509.2) hearing aids, HandsFree is not available. Therefore, the phone's microphone will be used to pick up your voice just like it would if the call was put on speaker phone. It's best to keep the phone in front of you, relatively close to the mouth so the caller can hear you speak.

 

The following Signia hearing aids and associated devices support HandsFree calling (i.e. the microphone on the hearing aids pick up the wearer's voice for the caller to hear).

iOS devices:

• Signia AX hearing aids, firmware 20.11.509.2 or newer with iPhone 11 (iPhone SE 2nd gen) or newer
• Signia IX hearing aids with iPhone 11 (iPhone SE 2nd gen) or newer

Android:

• Signia IX hearing aids, firmware 25.5.972.3 when using the Low Energy Audio (LE Audio) protocol. Only certain Android phones support the usage of LE Audio. Please check with the phone manufacturer's support team/pages for LE Audio compatibility.
• Pure  Charge&Go BCT IX hearing aids

It's possible that the phone call is being handled through the HandsFree feature of the hearing aids where the hearing aid microphones are picking up your voice. Therefore, it's also possible that the hearing aid microphones are picking up too much background sound. Here are a few options to try:

 

Signia hearing aids (IX / AX)

iPhone:

If HandsFree is being used, it can be turned off through the iPhone. When you are not on a call, access the MFi Hearing Devices shortcut menu by triple clicking the Side button (or Home button if supported) of the iPhone. If you see the hearing aids listed but there aren't more options underneath the hearing aids, tap on the listing to expand the menu. Scroll down and find the option for Mic Input. Turn Mic Input off. Now, instead of the hearing aid microphones picking up your voice, the iPhone microphone will. The iPhone microphone has more advanced features for filtering out background noise for voice detection during phone calls.

 

Another option is to try and use Apple's Voice Isolation feature for iOS devices. For iPhone 14 Pro, Pro Max, and newer iPhones, swipe down from the top right corner during the phone call to pull down the iOS Control Center (some iPhone models use a swipe up gesture from the bottom of the phone to open the Control Center). Look for the orange microphone icon and tap on it. In the next menu, select the Voice Isolation feature if it's not enabled. iOS will now apply an additional voice filter to cut out background sounds when you are speaking so the caller can hear you better.

 

Android:

Low Energy Audio (LE Audio) compatible Android phones using HandsFree with Signia IX hearing aids (see compatibility details in the FAQ above) cannot turn off the HandsFree feature. Therefore, the best option is to change the streaming protocol back to the ASHA (Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids) protocol. By doing so, voice detection for phone calls will be done by the phone's microphone which will have better background sound filtering. Just remember to keep the phone in front of you, relatively close to your mouth as if you were using speaker phone.
To  disable the LE Audio protocol, go to the Bluetooth menu of the phone (e.g. Settings > Connections > Bluetooth) and tap on the gear icon to the right of the hearing aid listing. In the next menu, turn off the LE Audio option.

 

Pure Charge&Go BCT IX hearing aids

iPhone:

We recommend using Apple's Voice Isolation feature which is available for iPhones running iOS 15 or newer. Swipe down from the top right corner during the phone call to pull down the iOS Control Center (some iPhone models use a swipe up gesture from the bottom of the phone to open the Control Center). Look for the orange microphone icon and tap on it. In the next menu, select the Voice Isolation feature if it's not enabled. iOS will now apply an additional voice filter to cut out background sounds when you are speaking so the caller can hear you better.

 

Android:

There is no alternative to using the hearing aid microphones to detect your voice for phone calls (i.e. HandsFree cannot be turned off). Some Android phones do have native voice filtering features for phone calls, but so far, we have not found any that can be enabled when calls are streaming to the Pure Charge&Go BCT IX hearing aids. If the caller cannot hear you, we recommend switching the call to speaker phone or the earpiece of the phone itself using the audio routing options on the call screen. If you want to stop calls from streaming to the hearing aids completely, go the Bluetooth menu of the phone (e.g. Settings > Connections > Bluetooth) and tap on the gear icon to the right of the hearing aid listing. In the next menu, turn off the toggle for Calls. If you see multiple line items for the hearing aids in the Bluetooth menu, only one will have the option for Calls and Audio when tapping on the gear icon. With the Calls toggle off, calls stop streaming to the hearing aids and be handled by the phone's earpiece or speaker phone.

Signia hearing aids

iOS device:

Go to Settings > Accessibility > Hearing Devices > Call Audio Routing > change either Call Audio or Media Audio to Never Hearing Devices. When set to Never, by default, the iPhone will not stream that specific type of audio to the hearing aids although the hearing aids can still be manually selected through the user interface of the phone (e.g. the Call screen or Control Center).

 

Android:

There is no method to have the phone default away from the hearing aids The phone's user interface can be used to switch audio routing away from the hearing aids (e.g. buttons on the Call screen or the pull down menu for media audio routing - see FAQ above regarding sharing audio with others).

 

Pure Charge&Go BCT IX hearing aids

iOS:

For Media Audio, there is no way to change the default routing of audio. If you do not want media audio to default to the hearing aids, turn Bluetooth off on the phone or manually disconnect the hearing aids from the phone's Bluetooth menu (Settings > Bluetooth > tap on the "i" icon to the right of the hearing aid pairing > select the option to Disconnect. You may see multiple line items related to the hearing aids but only one will have a Disconnect option).

For Call Audio, you can choose to have the call default to speaker phone instead. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Call Audio Routing > set this to Speaker.

 

Android:

Go to the Bluetooth menu (e.g. Settings > Connections > Bluetooth) and open the Device details menu of the hearing aids by tapping on the gear icon to the right of the hearing aids. In the Device details menu, there are individual toggles for Calls and Audio (Audio is for all audio other than phone calls). Turn off the audio type you don't want to stream to the hearing aids. If you see multiple line items in the Bluetooth menu related to the hearing aids, only one will have those options listed in Device details.

No, smart assistants like Siri cannot be activated using the hearing aids (e.g. tapping the hearing aids or pressing a button). Activate the smart assistant using voice commands as detected by the phone's speakers or using the phone's onboard controls.

No, starting and pausing streaming audio should be done on the phone screen using the user interface controls provided by the phone/streaming app.