At North Shore Hearing P.C., we are proud to offer the best and most cutting-edge hearing aid solutions, including made for iPhone (MFI) devices. Our hearing aids are engineered to seamlessly meld your hearing needs with state-of-the-art connectivity solutions. Read on to learn how MFi hearing aids can give you an edge. And don’t hesitate to reach out to the team at North Shore Hearing to learn more about any of our solutions.
What Are MFi Hearing Aids?
Contrary to popular belief, just because a device has a mobile app doesn’t mean it’s an MFi device. MFi devices are those that will directly connect to your iPhone, iPod, iPad, or other Apple device without an intermediary accessory or hardware. MFi hearing aids are engineered to work seamlessly with your Apple operating system.
These hearing aids deliver a power-efficient, high-quality digital audio experience and allow users to manage several hearing aid functions from their iPhone. In short, MFi hearing aids will connect directly to iPods, iPhones, and other Apple devices to stream music, podcasts, audiobooks, and make phone calls with stereo in both ears.
Made for iPhone hearing aids may or may not connect with Android phones; but if it does, it will usually require an intermediary streamer. On the other hand, Bluetooth compatible hearing aids do not directly connect to your iPhone without the use of an intermediary streamer for controls.
Stream, Podcasts, Facetime Calls & More with MFi Hearing Aids
Undoubtedly, one of the most widely recognized features of MFi is the ability to stream high-quality stereo. Anything you stream from your iOS device can be seamlessly streamed through the hearing aids, including YouTube videos, podcasts, music, Facetime calls, games, Netflix movies, and virtually everything else. Most importantly, you can stream calls from your iPhone through your hearing aids.
In general, phone use can be complicated for people wearing hearing aids due to the lack of visual cues, inadequate or inappropriate coupling to the phone, and background noise. Because of these reasons, many wearers of hearing aids are not as comfortable using the phone.
MFi hearing aids boast the ability to receive the phone signal directly from the iPhone without the use of an intermediate accessory. This streamlined delivery provides the user with a host of benefits.
Enjoy the Best Call Quality with MFi Hearing Aids
A recent study on the benefits of telephonic options discovered MFi hearing aid’s bilateral wireless signal optimizes the phone experience for hearing aid wearers. In addition, the study suggested that MFi devices may offer benefits to hearing aid wearers not available through standard Bluetooth. In the study, participants were given an adaptive speech-in-noise test in four different phone environments:
- MFi or streaming the signal directly from the Apple device
- Phone Clip or using a wireless hearing aid accessory to stream via Bluetooth
- Telecoil phones use hearing aid telecoil
- Acoustic phone uses the hearing aid microphone
The results of the study were telling with Acoustic Phone and Telecoil Phone having lower quality than the two digital options —MFi and Phone Clip. One surprising find was that MFi hearing aids performed better than Bluetooth. This was in direct contrast to the expectations that the two digital phone options would yield equal results.
The authors of the study suggest the superior performance of MFi over Bluetooth may be attributed to the additional link required when using a Bluetooth-based hearing aid accessory. In other words, the direct connection of MFi hearing aids (phone to hearing aid) provides a higher call quality compared to Bluetooth-based hearing aids (phone-to-accessory-to-hearing-aids).
And the Benefits of MFi Hearing Aids Continue…
Because MFi hearing aids are made exclusively for Apple devices, you’ll enjoy seamless audio streaming and telephonic capabilities. MFi hearing aids also open the door to a range of additional benefits beyond wireless streaming, including:
- Use your Apple device as a remote control to change programs, change volume, and manage other hearing aid options. You can even adjust treble and bass as you’re streaming music.
- “Geo-tagging” allows you to associate specific settings— including volume, bass/treble adjustments, and listening programs — with geographic locations.
- Live Listen will help you have better conversations in loud places by tuning out the noises and tuning in more of what matters.
- “Find my hearing aid” allows you to detect the location of your hearing aids on your iPhone GPS locator, which makes finding lost hearing aids exponentially easier.
- Stay in the know with your hearing aid battery life
- The Noise app tracks decibel levels of the ambient sounds surrounding you and can help you identify when levels may negatively impact your hearing.
- Use wireless streaming capabilities for tinnitus maskers.
Contact North Shore Hearing for MFi Hearing Aids
MFi hearing aids make it easier for you to stay in the conversation — whether in person, via Facetime, or over the phone. Best of all, MFi hearing aids are specifically engineered for your iPhone and offer a full host of attractive benefits to help you hear your world in full HD. The hearing specialists at North Shore Hearing specialize in connecting people like you to the best hearing aid solutions.
Contact North Shore Hearing today to learn more about your MFi hearing aid options.
