If you’re turning the TV up to volumes that annoy everyone else in the room, or you’ve already got hearing aids but still struggle to follow dialogue clearly, you’re probably looking at a TV streaming device. These are small boxes that send audio directly from your television into your hearing aids wirelessly, cutting out room echo, background noise, and distance. They work well, and most major hearing aid brands make one, though they’re not all the same.
The real question isn’t whether you need one. It’s which one works with your particular hearing aids, what it’ll cost you, and whether the newer Auracast technology (which promises to work across brands) is actually ready for everyday use yet.
Why TV Is Particularly Hard With Hearing Loss
The parts of speech that carry clarity sit in exactly the frequency range that high-frequency hearing loss affects first. Consonants like ‘s’, ‘f’, and ‘th’, the sounds that let you tell “cat” from “cap”, carry much of their energy in the higher frequencies, and they’re much quieter than vowels. Add in compressed audio from streaming services, soundbars that prioritise bass, actors who mumble for dramatic effect, and you’ve got a perfect storm for speech intelligibility problems.
Turning up the volume doesn’t fix this. It makes the vowels louder, but the consonants are still buried. Hearing aids help by amplifying high frequencies selectively, but they’re still processing sound that’s travelled across the room, bounced off walls, and mixed with your partner crunching chips three metres away. A TV streamer bypasses all of that by feeding the audio signal directly into your hearing aids, as clean as it gets.
What a TV Streaming Device Actually Does
Every major hearing aid manufacturer makes a small transmitter box that plugs into your TV’s optical or analogue audio output. It pairs wirelessly with your hearing aids (usually via Bluetooth or a proprietary 2.4 GHz protocol) and sends stereo sound directly to both ears. You control the volume independently from the TV speakers, so other people in the room can have the volume they want while you get the clarity you need.
The audio quality is noticeably better than room listening, even with well-fitted hearing aids. Latency, the delay between picture and sound, is low enough with modern devices that most people don’t notice it. Many models let you blend the streamed audio with your hearing aid microphones so you can still hear someone speaking to you, and you can turn the microphones down when you’re focused on a program.
Brand-by-Brand Comparison: What Works With What
Each manufacturer’s TV streamer generally works only with its own hearing aids, and often only with particular generations of them. Auracast is designed to change this, which we cover below.
| Brand | TV device |
|---|---|
| Phonak | TV Connector |
| Oticon | TV Adapter |
| Signia | StreamLine TV |
| Widex | TV Play (older models used TV-DEX) |
| ReSound | TV Streamer |
| Starkey | TV Streamer |
Which version you need depends on the exact hearing aid model you wear, so check with your audiologist before buying.
Prices vary by brand and model, and TV devices are sometimes bundled with new hearing aids. Whether your health fund contributes depends on your fund and level of extras cover, so check with them.
Once they’re set up, most of these devices are simple to live with: turn on the TV and the sound comes through your hearing aids. The differences are mainly in how they pair, how far you can move from the TV, and how they handle switching back to normal listening.
Setup: What to Expect
The typical installation takes under ten minutes. You’ll need an optical (TOSLINK) cable in most cases: the same digital audio cable you’d use for a soundbar. Plug one end into your TV’s optical audio output, the other into the streaming device, then plug the device’s power supply into a wall socket. Some TVs require you to enable optical output in the audio settings menu; look for an option labelled “external speakers” or “audio output.”
Once it’s powered, you pair it with your hearing aids. Pairing steps differ by brand and model: some devices pair when the hearing aids are close by, others use a button on the streamer or the hearing aid app. Follow the instructions for your model, or we can set it up for you in clinic.
If it doesn’t work immediately, the usual culprits are: the TV’s optical output is disabled in settings, you’ve used an analogue cable instead of optical (or vice versa), the hearing aids need a firmware update, or you’re outside the effective range. Restart everything (TV, streaming device and hearing aids) and try again before troubleshooting further.
Does Auracast Change Everything?
Auracast is a broadcast feature of the newer Bluetooth LE Audio standard. It allows one transmitter to send audio to any number of compatible hearing aids, earbuds or cochlear implant sound processors, regardless of brand. In theory, you’d buy one Auracast transmitter for your TV and it would work with whatever hearing technology you’re using now or might upgrade to in five years.
In practice, support is growing but uneven. Some of the newest models from several manufacturers are Auracast-ready, but many hearing aids in use today aren’t, and older models generally can’t be upgraded because the feature depends on the hearing aid’s radio hardware. Some Auracast-ready aids also need a firmware or app update before the feature works. Standalone Auracast TV transmitters are available, but they don’t always deliver the same plug-and-play experience as the brand-specific devices.
Auracast is likely to become more common over the next few years. Right now, if you’ve got hearing aids that are Auracast-compatible and you want to future-proof, it’s worth trying. But if your aids aren’t Auracast-ready, stick with the manufacturer’s own TV streamer: it’ll work better and cause less frustration.
Alternatives: Hearing Loops and Bluetooth Headphones
If you have telecoil-enabled hearing aids, you can use a hearing loop (also called an induction loop) instead of a streamer. You place a loop wire around the room or under a chair cushion, connect it to an amplifier plugged into your TV’s audio output, and switch your hearing aids to the ‘T’ program. The sound quality is acceptable, and the cost depends on the loop amplifier you choose. The downsides: lower audio fidelity than digital streamers, possible electromagnetic interference (buzzing), and setup that’s more involved than plug-and-play.
Some people ask about using wireless TV headphones designed for people who are hard of hearing. These work independently of hearing aids: you wear them over or instead of your aids. They’re fine if you’re not ready for hearing aids yet or if you only struggle with the TV. But if you already own hearing aids, a streamer makes far more sense. You’re using the devices that have been precisely fitted to your hearing loss, not generic amplification.
What About Streaming From Phones or Music?
Most modern hearing aids stream phone calls and music directly via Bluetooth without needing a separate device. Phonak, Oticon, Signia, ReSound, Starkey, and Widex all offer this on their recent platforms. It’s the TV that usually requires the external transmitter, because most TVs can’t connect directly to hearing aids over Bluetooth.
If your hearing aids already stream from your phone, you could use screen mirroring or a streaming stick to watch TV on your phone and get the audio that way. It works, but it’s awkward for everyday viewing, and a proper TV streamer is far simpler.
Is It Worth the Money?
For people who watch a lot of TV, a streamer is often the accessory that gets used every day, gives an immediate and obvious benefit, and doesn’t end up in a drawer. If you watch television regularly and you have hearing aids, it’s worth it. If you’re trying to decide between spending money on a TV streamer or upgrading to a higher-tier hearing aid model for features you might not use, buy the streamer.
Need help choosing or setting up a TV streamer for your hearing aids? We fit all major hearing aid brands and can help you choose the right TV device and set it up at your fitting appointment or afterwards. Book a follow-up if you’re already a patient, or call us on (02) 9315 8327 if you’re new and want to discuss options.
