Can You Make Hands-Free Phone Calls With Your Hearing Aids?

Key Takeaways

• Since March 2022, any handheld phone use while driving is illegal in the UK: £200 fine and 6 penalty points (GOV.UK)
• Modern hearing aids stream calls wirelessly to both ears via Bluetooth, keeping you fully hands-free and legal on the road
• 31% of UK hearing aid owners now use a companion smartphone app, up from 22% in 2022 (EuroTrak UK 2025)
• All current major brands, Phonak, Oticon, ReSound, Widex, Signia and Starkey, include Bluetooth streaming as standard

Why Hands-Free Calling Matters for UK Drivers With Hearing Loss

Phone use at the wheel remains a serious problem on UK roads. According to RAC data, 27% of all UK drivers admit making or receiving voice calls without hands-free while driving, a figure that rises to 55% among drivers under 25 (RAC Report on Motoring, 2024). In 2023, courts in England and Wales recorded 15,300 prosecutions for handheld phone use while driving, up from just 6,200 two years earlier.

For hearing aid wearers, the old workaround of pressing a phone against the ear or removing a hearing aid to take a call isn't just awkward. It's illegal. Bluetooth hearing aids remove the problem entirely: the call streams directly to both devices, your phone stays in your pocket, and your hands stay on the wheel.

How Bluetooth Hearing Aids Work for Phone Calls

When a call comes in, your hearing aids detect the signal from your paired smartphone and stream the caller's voice simultaneously into both ears. You hear the call as you would through a quality headset, with no phone pressed to the side of your head and no muffled audio through a single speaker.

Most current hearing aids connect using one of two wireless standards:

• Made for iPhone (MFi): a direct Bluetooth Low Energy connection to iPhones, with no intermediary device needed
• ASHA (Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids): Google's equivalent standard for Android, now supported across all major brands

A growing number of premium models also support Bluetooth LE Audio, the newest standard, which delivers lower battery drain and improved audio quality. Phonak's Lumity and Sphere Infinio ranges, and Oticon's Intent, are among the first to fully support it.

Your microphone stays on your smartphone, so you speak naturally without holding anything to your mouth. The whole setup is genuinely hands-free. No compromise.

What Are the Real Benefits Beyond Driving?

You Hear the Caller in Both Ears

Most people press a phone to one ear, leaving the other doing nothing. Bluetooth streaming sends audio to both hearing aids at once. The result is better clarity, less listening effort, and a more natural sense of the conversation. For anyone with hearing loss in both ears, this isn't just a convenience. It's a meaningful improvement to everyday communication.

Your Hands Stay Free All Day

Cooking, walking the dog, carrying shopping: none of it needs to stop for a phone call. Call controls sit in your hearing aid's companion app or on a small button on the device itself. Your phone can stay in your bag or pocket throughout.

Clearer Audio Than Speakerphone

Speakerphones pick up room noise and echo. Bluetooth streaming bypasses all of that: the caller's voice goes directly to your hearing aids, processed through the same tuning your audiologist set for your specific hearing profile. Most patients find streamed calls noticeably clearer than any other option they've tried before.

Which Hearing Aids Support Hands-Free Calling?

All current flagship models from the main manufacturers include Bluetooth streaming as standard. These include:

• Phonak: Lumity, Sphere Infinio, Virto R
• Oticon: Intent, Real, More
• ReSound: Nexia, OMNIA
• Widex: Moment Sheer, SmartRIC
• Signia: Pure Charge&Go, Styletto
• Starkey: Genesis AI, Evolv AI

If you're using an older model (typically pre-2018), it may not support direct streaming. An audiologist at Altrincham Hearing Centre can check your current devices and advise whether an upgrade makes sense for your lifestyle.

How Do I Set Up Hands-Free Calling?

Pairing your hearing aids to your phone takes around five minutes. The steps differ slightly depending on your device:

• iPhone: Settings → Accessibility → Hearing Devices. Your hearing aids appear when they're in pairing mode, usually triggered by opening and closing the battery door, or holding the button on rechargeable models.
• Android: Settings → Connected Devices → Bluetooth. Your hearing aid model should appear in the available devices list.

Once paired, incoming calls route automatically. Most companion apps let you choose whether audio streams to one or both hearing aids, and adjust the volume independently from your phone's main volume control.

Not confident with the setup? Our audiologists walk through Bluetooth pairing as part of every fitting appointment at Altrincham Hearing Centre. It's one of the features patients are most surprised by, and it takes minutes once you know the steps.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it legal to use hearing aids for hands-free calls while driving in the UK?

Yes. UK law prohibits handheld mobile phone use while driving, but hands-free calling is entirely legal. Streaming a call through Bluetooth hearing aids counts as hands-free: your phone stays in your pocket and you're not holding or touching it. (GOV.UK: Using a phone when driving, the law)

Do all hearing aids support Bluetooth calling?

All current flagship models from the major brands do. Older devices (typically pre-2018) may not support streaming. If you're unsure about your hearing aids, your audiologist can check at your next appointment.

Will hands-free calling work with both iPhone and Android?

Yes, though the pairing method differs slightly. iPhones use the MFi standard; Android uses ASHA. Most modern hearing aids support both platforms. Check your brand's compatibility page or ask your audiologist if you're not certain.

What if I still struggle to hear calls clearly through my hearing aids?

This is usually a tuning issue, not a technology problem. Your audiologist can adjust the streaming programme to optimise call audio for your specific hearing loss, a straightforward change at a follow-up appointment.

Can I use my hearing aids for calls on a landline too?

Yes, with the right accessory. Most major brands offer a small transmitter that connects to a phone socket, such as Phonak's TV Connector, which also works with cordless phones. Ask your audiologist which accessories are compatible with your model.