Set up Wireless Listening for Hearing Loss or Headphones

Updated August 08, 2025 02:58

Who is this for?

✓ Customers who have purchased their own Eko device

If you're an enterprise institution, go to the SENSORA™ Help Center.

What is wireless listening?

How to enable wireless listening

Hearing aid users: Alternative Bluetooth connection

Using Made for iPhone (MFi) hearing aids

How to use wireless listening without the stethoscope earpiece (optional)

What is wireless listening?

Wireless listening allows you to hear real-time stethoscope audio through Bluetooth-enabled headphones, earbuds, speakers, or hearing aids.
This feature is available with all Eko devices and is designed to:

Increase flexibility in how you listen
Help maintain a safer distance from patients
Allow real-time audio sharing with others in the room

⚠️ Tip: For the best experience, we recommend:

High-quality Bluetooth audio devices

Connecting only one or two Bluetooth devices to your phone at a time

How to enable wireless listening

Open the Eko app on your mobile device.
Power on your Eko stethoscope and connect it to the Eko app.
Pair your Bluetooth audio device (headphones, earbuds, speakers, or hearing aids) with your phone or tablet. See this article on device compatibility to ensure your audio device will work for wireless listening.
Place the stethoscope on your patient. Audio will automatically stream to your Bluetooth-connected device.
Adjust volume using your phone or on the Eko device.

Want to share live audio with a patient?

We recommend using a high-quality portable speaker to share live stethoscope audio in a room.

👉 Here are our recommended speaker brands

Can I use my phone speaker?

We do not recommend using your phone speaker due to poor audio quality. Phone speakers can't accurately reproduce the low-frequency heart and lung sounds needed for clinical evaluation. However, if needed:

Connect your Eko device to the app
Go to the Listen screen
Tap the audio icon in the bottom-left corner
Adjust audio filters and volume on your phone and/or stethoscope

Hearing aid users: Alternative Bluetooth connection

In addition to streaming audio through the Eko App, users with hearing aids may prefer a direct connection.
The Eko CORE 500™ has a removable earpiece that connects via a TRS jack. This allows you to:

Connect a Bluetooth transmitter directly to the CORE 500
Bypass the Eko App for a simplified audio workflow

⚠️ Please note: This setup may improve your listening experience but prevents you from using the other features of the Eko app (e.g., recording and 3-lead visualization).

👉 For more guidance and recommendations, check out our Stethoscope Guide for Healthcare Workers with Hearing Loss.

Using Made for iPhone (MFi) hearing aids

If you’re using Made for iPhone (MFi) hearing aids, iOS now requires you to enable a setting in Apple Accessibility so all audio streams via Bluetooth to your hearing aids.

To enable this:

Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
Go to Accessibility → Hearing Devices.
Select your connected hearing aids.
Turn on Play System Sounds (or Play All Audio, depending on your iOS version).

This ensures stethoscope audio from the Eko App streams correctly to your hearing aids during wireless listening.

What are “Made for iPhone” hearing aids?
MFi hearing aids connect directly to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch without extra accessories. They stream calls, music, and app sounds straight to your hearing aids over Bluetooth.

Popular MFi brands include:

ReSound
Starkey
Oticon
Widex
Signia

If you use MFi hearing aids with the Eko App, make sure to turn on Play All Audio in your iPhone’s Accessibility → Hearing Devices settings. This allows the live stethoscope sounds to stream to your hearing aids.