Apple Watch with Made-for-iPhone Hearing Aids: phone calls

I still believe that this is a software issue not a hardware issue. Apple says on their webpage (Hearing Accessibility - iPhone - Apple) that Made for iPhone hearing-aids "...are as easy to set up and use as any other Bluetooth device". I bolded and underlines the other word. The Apple Watch since Series 1 support bluetooth devices. I am convinced that it is a software issue. The watchOS is just a stripped down version of the iOS. Could it be a simple matter of putting back in the MFi hearing-aid pairing code?

I understand your frustration, however you are directing it in the wrong place. If you feel Apple should revisit this, then provide feedback to Apple here, http://www.apple.com/feedback/watch.html That is where they get their feedback. Apple does not participate here. I'm guessing there would need to be some changes to the coding, since like I mentioned earlier, the hearing aids are not exactly paired via Bluetooth, but via coding in the Accessibility section. While we may feel it shouldn't be that difficult, it may be. They may not have really thought of that particular portion, since the hearing aids connect differently to the phone. As a side note, I purchased a set of AirPods, and I can only use one of them when I have my hearing aid in. That seems a little weird to me, but I can work around it. Just like how the phone handles the microphone portion of the call if I am streaming the call through my hearing aid. It is handled by the phone, so you have to take the phone out for people to hear you. But then, that really isn't a fault of the phone, but of the hearing aid design.

After watching the Keynote yesterday, I contact tech support to find out if they finally added the ability to pair my MFi hearing-aids (ReSound) with the new Apple Watch (series 3) with cellular support. The tech guy said it is the same connectivity so no, I still cannot pair my MFi hearing-aids with the latest watch. This shows that Apple, despite all their claims, do not care about people with hearing disabilities. I sent a feedback complaining about this too. Everyone should complain to Apple. I do not see why I cannot pair my MFi hearing-aids with the new Apple Watch. What tech is missing?

Since I last contributed to this thread, I have gotten a single Resound Lynx 9 hearing aid. It has paired just fine with my iPhone 7, and works well either with phone calls, or other tasks that I have done with it. I also have the Resound Smart app on my phone. The app also supports settings on the Apple Watch, which I also have. I still have one of the original Apple Watches. While the hearing aid uses Bluetooth, it does not pair to the phone in the way that standard Bluetooth accessories do, you connect the device through the Accessibility section in Settings. There are also a number of additional settings in that section to determine how you wish the hearing aid to react in specific situations, and if you wish it to be a choice for phone calls. Since I only have a single hearing aid, I don't tend to use it as much for phone calls. I also do not use my watch that much for answering phone calls, since I had the watch for a while before I got the hearing aid.

I know that under standard conditions with the iPhone and the Apple Watch, if you answer the call on the watch, the call is routed to the watch speaker, and it uses the microphone on the watch for audio functions. I know the Resound app on the watch allows you to make sound adjustments to the hearing aid, change programs, and also mute the device. These are pretty much what you can do with the app on the phone, just in a smaller screen.

I will have to take some time to work more with the hearing aid and the watch to understand more of the function, but because the hearing aid does not appear in the phone's settings under Bluetooth, I believe there is some other function in play here. I also know that the Accessibility function for the watch, as found in the Watch app does not afford any adjustments as far as hearing is concerned except for changing to Mono audio and to set the balance.

That is my point. Before (series 3) I was okay (not happy) with this set up because there was no cellular service directly on the Apple Watch. With Series 3 there is cellular service and you can leave your iPhone behind. Well, those who are not hearing impaired can leave their iPhones behind. We still need it. So why did no one at Apple thought for a second and ask: "Why not add the software to pair the MFi hearing-aids directly to the Apple Watch"? What is the point getting the Series 3 if I cannot pair it with my MFi hearing-aids? I am going to suggest to people to just get the Series 2 Apple Watch.

I can do exactly what you are saying with my Series 1. The point now is Series 3 has cellular service and you can leave the iPhone behind. Well...not us with hearing disabilities. It is a big point to me that Apple dropped the ball on not being able to pair the MFi hearing-aids directly to the new Apple Watch Series 3. ****, I can pair my MFi hearing-aids to both my iPhone and iPad with the iPad not have cellular service much like the Apple Watch Series 1 and 2. Why, why, why not pair with the Apple Watch too?!?!?!?

I bought an Apple Watch and wanted it to work with my Resound hearing aids as you described. If you go to Settings-General-Accessibility-Call autorouting and set auto answer to 3-4 seconds you can see who is calling on your watch and hang up if wanted or let phone answer call. The phone’s speaker is still used, but since I carry my phone in my shirt pocket, this arrangement works for me. However, I am disappointed that I can’t use my hearing aids with the watch’s microphone and make calls from my watch with the sound routed to the hearing aids.

I suggest you contact Resound directly. There was a news item on CNN regarding the Resound, the Apple Watch and the iPhone. Here is a link to that video. See if that helps, otherwise you will need to contact Resound. http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2015/05/11/apple-watch-hearing-aids.cnnmon ey

It seems after reading the other thread you referenced, and I had been reading it as well, it seems with some hearing aids, like the Starkey, you need to answer the call on the phone, since the hearing aids pair with the phone and not the watch. I'm not exactly sure how the Resounds work, so that is why I suggest contacting them direct. I did look at their website after seeing the CNN story, so they make have some FAQ on the website, otherwise it may require you calling or sending them a message.

I would be interested in what you find out, since I've been considering Resound. My audiologist has said I may be needing hearing aids soon. I've been able to work around them for the past couple of years, but I seem to be getting worse.

Hi Mike. The Apple Watch will allow you to access and adjust many of the hearing aid functions including adjustments to your volume, mute, bass and treble settings, programs as well as having the ability to switch to any of your saved favorites. With the Apple Watch, the call audio will still be sent to the hearing aids, but you will need to use the microphone on your phone to speak to people. This is a current limitation of the interaction of the iPhone and the Apple Watch with the ReSound MFi hearing aids. If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact our Consumer technical Support team at: 888-735-4327 and choose option 1.