Hearing Aid Apps Compared (2026): Signia, Phonak, ReSound, Oticon, Widex, Unitron and Starkey

Every major hearing aid brand has a free phone app, and the app comes with the hearing aid: you cannot run a Phonak aid from Signia's app, or the other way round. So the app is part of choosing a brand, not a separate purchase. All of them handle the basics: volume, programs and battery level.

They differ in three areas. First, whether your audiologist can fine-tune your aids remotely through the app. Second, how much AI help the app gives you to adjust the sound yourself. Third, extras such as health tracking, fall alerts or tools for Auracast broadcasts. This guide compares the apps for the brands we fit, using each manufacturer's own app information as checked on 7 October 2026.

What can a hearing aid app do?

A hearing aid app is a remote control for your aids with a few extra tools. The features below are common, though not every brand or model has all of them:

• Basic controls: volume for each ear, switching programs (such as a restaurant or TV program), mute, and battery or charge level.
• Sound adjustments: simple sliders for bass and treble, and on many models controls for noise reduction or focus on speech.
• Find my hearing aids: a map of where your aids were last connected to the phone.
• Remote fine-tuning: your audiologist sends new settings to your aids through the app, sometimes during a live video call, if the clinic offers it.
• Extras: tinnitus relief sounds, wearing-time and activity tracking, fall alerts on some Starkey models, and tools for joining Auracast broadcast audio.

None of this replaces the fitting. The app works within the limits your audiologist programs, so it fine-tunes a good fitting rather than fixing a poor one. For step-by-step use of buttons, apps and remotes, see how to control your hearing aids.

Hearing aid apps compared at a glance

Brand by brand: what each app is good at

Signia: an AI assistant inside the app

The Signia App works with Signia's IX, AX and X hearing aids. Its Signia Assistant answers handling questions and adjusts the sound when you describe a problem, and TeleCare lets your audiologist tune the aids remotely and chat with you by text, voice or video. Signia's newest MaX aids use a separate app, Signia One, built around a conversational AI assistant. Our Signia app and phone guide covers setup step by step.

Phonak: remote video support and a hearing diary

myPhonak, the app for Phonak hearing aids, covers volume, programs, noise reduction and an equaliser, and adds a Hearing Diary where you rate situations so your audiologist can see how the aids are doing day to day. Remote Support is a live video session in which the audiologist can change most settings. Sphere Infinio wearers also get Speech Clarity controls and Find My Hearing Aids. Heart-rate tracking needs a model with a built-in sensor, such as the Audéo Fit.

ReSound: fit checks and easy Auracast

ReSound Smart 3D runs the ReSound Nexia, Vivia and newer Sensia aids. Check My Fit uses your phone's camera to confirm the aids sit correctly, and the Auracast Assistant lets you join public broadcasts in one tap even when your phone does not support Auracast itself. ReSound Assist offers remote fine-tuning requests and live video appointments. The app has no health or fitness tracking.

Oticon: simple controls and tinnitus relief

Oticon Companion, the app for current Oticon hearing aids, controls volume for each ear, programs and streaming accessories such as the TV Adapter, and includes Tinnitus SoundSupport sounds and HearingFitness wearing-time goals. RemoteCare appointments run as live video calls. Companion replaced the older Oticon ON and Remote Care apps, so anyone still using those should move to it.

Widex: AI that learns what you prefer

Widex has two current apps. The Widex Allure app has an AI Sound Assistant that compares two settings and saves the one you prefer as a program, plus an AI Quick Assistant that suggests settings based on what other users chose. The Widex Moment app offers the older SoundSense Learn and My Sound tools. Remote care runs through a separate Widex Remote Care app.

Unitron: feedback that reaches your audiologist

Unitron Remote Plus, the app for Unitron hearing aids, lets you rate how you hear in each situation. With Insights switched on, it shares your wearing time and listening environments with your clinic, so remote adjustments are based on how you actually use the aids. Adjustments arrive in the app and you apply them when convenient. Coach sends tips and reminders, and Find my Devices helps locate lost aids.

Starkey: health tracking and fall alerts

My Starkey works with Starkey's Genesis AI, Edge AI and Omega AI aids. It is the only app in this list with fall detection, which can alert contacts you choose, and it tracks steps and activity. Edge Mode+ adjusts the sound on request for clearer speech or more comfort, and TeleHear provides remote help. Older Evolv AI aids still use the Thrive app.

Do you need the app at all?

No. Every modern hearing aid adjusts automatically without a phone, and many people, especially older parents, rarely open the app after the first few weeks. The app is worth it if you like to fine-tune the sound yourself, stream calls, or want remote adjustments so you visit the clinic less often.

If the wearer will not use a smartphone, choose an aid with a simple push button and a rechargeable battery, so daily use needs no phone at all. Most brands also sell a small remote control accessory for volume and programs.

Will the app work with my phone?

Each app lists minimum phone versions, and Android support varies more than iPhone support because handsets differ. Check the brand's compatibility list for your exact phone, and bring the phone to your fitting so the audiologist can pair it and test a call before you decide. If an app stops connecting, our Bluetooth troubleshooting guide lists the fixes that work most often, and our Bluetooth hearing aids guide explains streaming.

Remote fine-tuning in India: what to expect

Remote adjustment needs two things: a hearing aid model that supports it and a clinic that offers it. Not every clinic in India does, and Widex needs a separate app for it. Ask before you buy whether follow-ups can happen remotely, how they are booked and whether there is a charge.

Remote care suits small tweaks. The first fitting and any real-ear measurement still need an audiologist with you, in the clinic or on a home visit.

Privacy: what the apps collect

Health tracking, hearing diaries and remote care usually need an account and store data in the manufacturer's cloud. Unitron, for example, asks for your consent before Insights shares data with your clinic. Read the consent screens, switch off the features you do not want, and remember that basic volume and program controls do not need any of them.

Should the app decide which hearing aid you buy?

Rarely. The fitting, the sound in noisy places and your comfort matter far more than the app. The app is a fair tie-breaker in a few cases:

• A parent who lives alone: Starkey's fall alerts may matter more than any sound feature; see hearing loss and fall risk.
• You live far from your clinic: pick a brand and a clinic that offer live video remote care.
• The wearer avoids smartphones: pick the simplest aid to handle and treat the app as optional.

At your free hearing test, we pair the app with your own phone and show you how it works for the brands that suit your hearing, before you decide.