[Android Central Question]

Android phones apparently don't connect to hearing aids for phone calls. I have a Samsung Galaxy 9 (all o/s updates installed) and Oticon Open 2 miniRite(85) hearing aids.

Apparently several hearing aids use a particular low energy Bluetooth version for this purpose. Is there anything one can install/setup ? If not, are there any plans to add this feature to Android ? Thanks.

[Rukbat]

Android already runs the Bluetooth LE profile, so it's up to the aid manufacturers to work on their aids to make them work with Android phones. (Widex did that already, years ago, but the Bluetooth adapter was ridiculously large, so I opted for not going that path. Since I use BTE aids, I just hold the phone up to the aid. Yes, I lose a little of the bass that way, but most of the information in human speech is in the higher frequencies.)

A BTE (or, worse, an ITE or ITC) aid with BT that works with Android? No idea, but if the manufacturer sells any kind of adapter, they're not about to kill their own sales of adapters. Although with an ITE or ITC aid, I can't see a problem - the mic should pick up all the audio from the phone, and however the bass gets to your ear (probably a little port in the aid) should still work. Using the aid as a hands-free? That's not happening until the aid manufacturers make it happen.

Saying this situation sucks is a gross understatement, but it is what it is. Complain to Oticon (or your audiologist). It won't do anything, but it might make you feel better.

[Anthony010]

Thanks very much.