Telehealth, including teleaudiology, have been in growing demand for the last few years as technology has advanced and the need for remote care has grown. Whether it be inclement weather, mobility or transportation issues, or an ongoing pandemic, there are many reasons for people to want care from the comfort of their own homes. Many different hearing aid brands offer remote care options, but in this blog we will be diving into Phonak Remote Support. How it works and how it can benefit those with Phonak hearing aids!
What is Phonak Remote Support?
Phonak Remote Support allows you to connect to your hearing healthcare professional from anywhere via the myPhonak app. From fine-tuning your hearing aids in real-time, ensuring you hear your best in various environments, to counseling on acclimatization, communication strategies, and hearing aid maintenance, your hearing healthcare professional can be there for you, wherever you are. This means you get personalized care without the hassle of travel or scheduling conflicts. Remote Support breaks down barriers, making sure your hearing health fits seamlessly into your busy life.
What You’ll Need for Remote Support
- Your Phonak direct connectivity hearing aids, fully charged and in your ears
- A Smartphone equipped with Bluetooth 4.2. If you have an Apple phone you will need your iOS system running 13.0 or later. If you have an Android you will need 7.0 software or newer.
- Stable internet connection
- Access to your app store so that you can download the myPhonak app
Setting Up and Connecting to the myPhonak App
- Make sure your Bluetooth is turned on and install the myPhonak app from your app store
- Pair your hearing aids to the app. If you have rechargeable hearing aids, put them in the charger then take them out. If you have batteries, open and close the battery doors. Either action will put your hearing aids into “pairing mode” for the next 3 minutes. Then follow the directions given to you on the app.
- Once paired, restart your hearing aids again.
- Now you are ready to start a remote session with your Audiologist or hearing healthcare professional. Make sure you have scheduled an appointment ahead of time!
- Once you’ve started your session you will be able to chat with your hearing care professional via a video call and they will be able to adjust your hearing aids as needed.
Other Benefits of the myPhonak App
Besides allowing you to remotely connect with your Audiologist or hearing healthcare professional, the myPhonak app also acts as a hearing aid remote and captures helpful hearing data. Adjust the volume, program, turn on speech directionality, and more with the apps remote control feature. Your hearing aids will also keep track of your health data like daily step counts and average wear time. These new health tracking programs are becoming more common in hearing aid apps. It’s hard to say how accurate the data really is, but it is still fun to check out.
Today, remote care has become easily accessible and beneficial to almost everyone. If you have any questions about setting up Phonak Remote Care please reach out to us or your local Phonak provider!
