I have used iPhones and iPads for many years. I am a disable veteran and rely on Oticon MFi hearing aids to function. Since the early releases of iOS 11 beta, which I tested, these hearing aids have not worked correctly. It is probably related to Bluetooth and how it is implemented.
iPhone 8, iOS 11.1
Hi SpunkyinAZ. The problems that I'm having with my Resound Line 9 MFi hearing aids are similar to yours. With iOS 11 on an iPhone 8, they are very slow to make a connection either on a call or when streaming a talking book. The connection is then extremely erratic, switching from aid to aid and sometimes failing totally and reverting to the phone's speaker. I have worked round the problem by buying a device that Resound call a clip; I think they are generically called streamers. This small device has to be worn and its job is to sit in the communication between the iPhone and the hearing aids. The iPhone is paired with the clip by standard b bluetooth and the clip is paired with the hearing aids using the low energy bluetooth the MFi hearing aids use. This means that the low energy bluetooth connection is between two devices made by Resound and removes Apple support from the picture. The iPhone communicates with the clip as if it were a standard bluetooth headset. The clip cost me around £200. I'm now pretty confident that the problem is with Apple withdrawing support for older versions of the MFi hearing aid standard, so it may be the those of use who have older models (mine are just three years old) may never have Apple fix this. I'm trying to confirm this but I did learn it from an authoritative source. Sadly, it's common practice for the IT industry to stop providing support for older standards. Think of all those different floppy disks that our older computers used. I think we'll discover that hearing aids are no different. They may all look the same, but internally they will be using different standards to communicate with phones as the technology evolves and it's very unlikely that Apple or other manufacturers will support older devices forever. We may just be unfortunate in having purchased or acquired devices that were among the last to use an older standard. The good news is that streamers aren't terribly expensive and they seem to work.
Brian, I very much appreciate your story (and those of others). I have the same frustration with the latest iOS update 11.2.1 and its failure to interact with my Oticon hearing aids. It still doesn't work reliably. Completely unpredictable dropping of Bluetooth connections, when reboots and fiddling finally gets it working. I am a disabled USAF veteran who suffers from hearing loss (too many years fixing F-16s) and when the VA first gave me my hearing aids it was a Godsend. Worked beautifully with iOS 10 on my old iPhone 6 Plus. Today I have an iPhone 8 with iOS 11 and it doesn't work. Audiologists at the VA are clueless why and have no answers. Apple has always prided itself on accessibility, but iOS 11 has failed to maintain this quality of service and I feel helpless. I can't afford to buy new hearing aids and the ones I have should be good for years of service. Apple needs to step up and get its act together. We can all only hope.
BobPort,
I understand the hearing loss. I am a MARINE and between the A-4's, F-4's, A-6 AND working on very loud NHRA race cars and many others over the years I decided to bite the bullet last year and bought a pair of OTICON hearing aids. I have an iPhone 8 plus with IOS 11.2.2 and they work great. So well that I even bought the adapter for TV's so I don't end up fighting with my wife about the volume of the TV. One thing I would like to include here is THIS! Does anyone out there have a solution for tinnitis? I really have it bad in both ears.
I am assuming that you bought your hearings through the VA. I have no idea as to the level of competency is for your Audiologist, and I'm not dinging them in any way, but if I remember correctly she ended up tweaking then. I'm pretty sure she had to upgrade the BIOS on mine along with other changes. I don"t know where you are located (I live outside of Kansas City, KS) but I would look up a private practice and. talk to their Audiologist. Explain your Issues and hopefully they can help you with little to no charge.
Good Luck to you and All Veterans
For any Marines out there: SEMPER FI
I don't know what your problem is, but mine is this: The phone defaults to play only one aid when I listen to podcasts. It's like it thinks I'm using an ear bud. I can fix it by turning off bluetooth, the Kirkland Choice app, and then the phone (iPhone X). When I turn it on I start with Choice, then bluetooth and I get both HAs. The first podcast I listen to will be through both HAs. If I listen to a second podcast the phone returns to a mode which plays only one HA at a time (sometimes alternating left & right erratically). I must go through the turning off & turning on process again to get both HAs. It gets frustrating & I'd like to know whether Apple is addressing it.
Brian, Your information is not exactly correct. I have current model HA's that I just purchased around Halloween and they've never worked with my iPhone 7+ and now they still don't work with my iPhone X.
They are paired, it is just the constant clicking and restarting of the HA's that make them practically non-functional when used for calling or listening to music. Oticon blames Apple, Apple blames Oticon...
The Apple X doesn’t seem to support the old hearing aids well. I think you should call Apple about deleting your earring aids. Apple has a special department to deal with Hearing Aids if you ask for it.
mikebhm, clad it's all working well for you. That's my experience too on 3d models. Sadly, though, owners of models earlier than the squared models (which preceded 3d) now have unusable connectivity with iOS 11 and Apple, if they are working actively on a fix, haven't met with any success yet. I think you'd find that your original Enzo 9 won't stream well with your iPhone X. Agreed, it's all hunky dory if you keep upgrading the hearing aids, but that's a big investment and audiology companies that supply the aids don't seem to offer particularly financially attractive upgrade plans. In fact, the audiology companies, along with the hearing aid manufacturers, seem to have kept a very low profile on this issue.
Same issue here with Beltone (Resound) top of the line Trust model same as Linx 3D and it work as it pleases with iPhone. Spent all this money and got screwed I am ******. I listened to music for several hours yesterday and poof stopped after a phone call rang in my ears after answering had to switch to speaker because it would not stream. Sometimes works sometimes not this is total BS I wasted money on an IPhone it worked with android the same as it does with iPhone Hearmax app. Did not want to spend the money on a streamer for android paid about the same for an iPhone SE as for the add ons. Get it together apple. I see they care so much they have no comments on this thread and my call to Apple support acted like they knew nothing about it until l I pressed him then he admitted there were " some reports". I said check your forums if you want reports. He said no time table for a fix but ios12 is in beta. Maybe it will fix these issues. For those who think their aids are newer and work fine you just got lucky you WILL have issues. Mine are Brand new latest model and all the brochures brag on the iPhone connectivity. Should have wasted my money on a streamer and kept my Galaxy instead ofwasting it on an Apple product I despise . It is the least customizable and non intuitive phone I ever owned. I can't understand the Apple fan boy attitude. As I also said it works with the Beltone Hearmax software w/ tinnitus buster perfectly on either phone it just won't stream as advertised on anything else reliably.
As I just said. It affects the 6 too because the SE is a 6 with smaller screen. 98% fixed with my new 8. Once again it will NEVER work with android except the app which is quite useful actually especially if you have Tinnitus. Too bad my Audiologist was clueless about this it would have saved me some $$$ I would not have bought and SE/6 I had android when I got these 3 weeks ago. They will be getting a ear full on thursday. I was told Resound/Costco/Beltone is the only ones that did not fix the problem with their OWN firmware update. Got that from Apple.
I switched from iPhone SE to an iPhone 8 because of problems with Resound Cala HAs that occurred following IOS update. So far HAs are working flawlessly. I will be updating IOS to 11.4.1 tomorrow and will see if all continues smoothly.
FYI-Switched from Verizon to T-Mobile to get the iPhone 8 and have my phone/contract bought out. This thread gave me impetus to make switch. That and saving over $120/month with 55+ option
Had an SE traded it in on an 8 but got a lot of static on my Beltone Trust (Linx 3d clones) with my calls and goes in and out and does not connect quickly. Did the forget and reinstall no change so my experience with the 8 has been.... eh...95%. Can't stream music without static either. A few more positive posts on 11.4.1 and improvements with newer model aids and I will get the update. Keep posting guys hope Apple finally got things smoothed out.
I have problems with my Starkey Halo 2 pairing with iPhone 6s on iOS 11.x (seems worse with 11.2). This problem spans multiple hearing aid manufacturers.
Nice to hear it's working for you, yes, I'm using the Resound Smart app, but I have not removed the device and add it back, I'll give that a try. I'm using the Resound hearing aids sold by Costco. I'll also make a point of checking to see if there are any firmware updates for my devices. Too bad they are not installed via the Resound Smart app!
To be honest, they were very easy to install by going to Settings>General>Accessibility>MFi Hearing Devices. When you got the devices, your audiologist should have taken you through pairing the devices to your phone. If they didn't, then time to look for a new audiologist. Mine would not let me leave until all of that was set up, tested phone calls, and adjustments with the app.
I am glad I finally took the time to google this. I thought it was an iPhone X issue but it’s iOS. That doesn’t make it better but now I know it’s not just me. I’m looking for a job and I hear best through my phone paired hearing aids. This lost connection is so frustrating. After years of reliability I’m struggling. I hope Apple fixes this and soon! I have Beltone HA. So sorry I upgraded my phone, but my 6S battery wasn’t making it through the day and we have all heard that story...
iOS 11 does not work correctly with MFi hearing aids and Apple MUST fix this ASAP, right?
