A little help getting started.

Set up for listening

Put on over-ear headphones with the left and right earcups on the correct sides. Make sure the implant-side earcup sends sound to your processor’s microphone. In your device’s accessibility audio settings, turn Mono Audio off and center the left/right balance.

Calibrate for your headphones

Open Help → Getting started with an implant → Set up listening. Returning users can update calibration in Settings → Listening setup. With your processor on and coil in place, start your phone, tablet, or PC volume low. Play words through both earcups and gradually raise it until speech is clear, strong, and comfortable where you’ll practice. Keep this device volume unchanged for the remaining steps; the app cannot save or restore it. Recalibrate when your headphones or listening setup changes.

Check sound with your processor off

When the guide asks, turn your processor off or gently lift the coil off your head. Words play only through the implant-side earcup. The app listening-level slider starts at its highest level: lower it only until sound in your natural-hearing ear is barely noticeable. If you hear nothing at the highest level, keep it there. Stop if uncomfortable. Reconnect your coil and turn the processor on when the next step asks.

Why is natural sound so quiet?

In Implant focus, natural hearing support plays softly in the background, helping you follow the words without overshadowing your implant. With Vary the support on, the help rises and falls; a minimum of 0 allows it to fall silent.

In the final calibration step, listen with both ears and add enough natural hearing help to follow the words without relying mainly on your natural hearing. You aren’t trying to make both ears equally loud. Everyday support starts lower than this reference, and you can adjust it while listening.

In Settings → Listening Pattern → Sound check, use Hear each ear to hear the support by itself. Return to Both ears to judge the combined sound. The 0–10 support scale is personal, not ordinary headphone volume. Alternating ears is different: each ear can reach the full app listening level. If you hear nothing in either ear, use the sound checks below.

I don’t hear sound

Check that your headphones are selected as the audio output and that your device’s media volume is not muted. During normal listening, your processor should be on and its coil in place. Also check the app listening level: 0% is silent. During calibration, follow the current step’s processor instructions instead.

Stopped, Preparing, and Speaking or Playing show whether audio has actually started; the earcup label shows where it is sent. Calibration reuses prepared words while the app stays open, unless you change narrator. A brief Preparing state may still occur while audio starts. If a control stays stuck or a title plays but the check does not, contact support with the app version and the step where it happened.

Explore it for someone else

Family, friends, and audiologists with natural hearing in both ears can try Simulated implant mode to explore how HearLift combines natural sound with simulated implant sound. This illustrative demo is for evaluating the app for someone else, not for implant practice.

Choose something to listen to

Open Library → Add content → Browse books for pre-recorded books with text, books read by a voice you choose, or Audio-only books on iPhone and iPad. The first group has fixed synthetic narrators; LibriVox recordings have volunteer narrators and no read-along text. Add a LibriVox recording to stream it, or download it for offline listening—no account or personal server needed. My media servers lets you connect a supported personal server using your own account. Music and audio-only books play at original speed using personal setup and are unavailable in Simulated implant mode, even after download. For live narration, choose included HearLift voices on compatible devices or installed Apple voices. Optional Azure voices need separate setup and internet access; charges may apply.

Listen to your own music

Open Library → Add content → Music on this device → Choose music. On iPhone or iPad, Allow Music access, then choose tracks in Apple’s picker. Choose music you own (non-DRM’d) saved on your device and readable by HearLift. Download eligible tracks in Music first. Protected subscription downloads, such as Apple Music or Spotify tracks, cannot be imported through this picker.

My library shows one entry per album, with its tracks inside Listen. Choose All, Books, Music, or Streamed from the filter beside search. Streamed shows titles that still need remote audio; complete downloads appear with your local books or music. Adding more tracks from a saved device album preserves its listening position. Removing that album from HearLift removes its entry and progress; the original device tracks stay unchanged.

Music uses your personal listening setup and is not yet available in Simulated implant mode. It plays at original speed. Stereo tracks are mixed to mono so both earcups receive the same music, then your listening pattern and natural hearing support are applied. The original files are not changed. Import a book or text file accepts EPUB/text files; loose audio-file import and Music access in a browser are not supported.

Previous and Next change tracks; the jump buttons in Listen move within the current track. Music can continue while the screen is locked. On the lock screen and in Control Center, use Previous/Next to change songs or drag the timeline to move within the current song. Seeking while paused keeps it paused. Returning to HearLift shows the updated position.

Can I use audio from other apps?

HearLift applies natural hearing support to audio played inside the app. On iPhone and iPad, use its LibriVox browser or supported media-server connections for online recordings. It cannot adjust another app’s audio or open links from YouTube and other streaming apps.

Downloads and offline listening

Use Wi-Fi for large downloads. Allow downloads over cellular is off by default; streaming has a separate cellular choice. An added stream needs a connection until you download the complete title for offline listening. Keep the app open until the download is ready; suspended-app completion is not guaranteed. If interrupted, retry in the app. Removing a title removes its managed copy and local position, not your original file or the provider’s copy.