How to Connect Cochlear Implant Processors to an iPhone or iPad

In a few weeks, we will head to Italy for vacation. We spent some time on the Amalfi Coast last summer, and we have since decided that Italy is a perfect destination. Beautiful culture, delicious food and lovely people. The only downside is that we have to get there. Ten hours on a plane is not easy for anyone, but for a child with cochlear implants, the background noise makes it nearly impossible to hear anything. Thankfully, we learned that Cochlear’s Mini Mic is a wonderful solution.

We wear the Mini Mic while traveling, which allows Sonya to hear our voice over the loud background noises of the airport and airplane. We also connect it to her iPad so that she can hear her videos – similar to wearing headphones. In this post, I’ll walk you through how to connect the Mini Mic to an iPad or iPhone so that your child can listen to a video similar to wearing headphones.

What you need:

Mini Mic

Remote

Double-sided Headphone Jack Cord (not sure what the official name is but this is what it looks like):

And your child’s processors and iPad. So here is everything:

Step 1: Pair your Mini Mic to the Processors and to the Remote. Cochlear has step by step instructions on how to do that here.

Step 2: Turn on the Mini Mic. The switch is on its side. A green light will flash on its top to show it is working.

Step 3: Connect the Mini Mic to the iPad using the double sided headphone jack cord. Just plug it into the bottom of the Mini Mic and to the headphone jack of the iPad or iPhone.

Step 4: Change the Settings on the Remote to “Stream” From the home screen, push the right arrow until you come to the “Stream” screen. You should see Mini Mic as an option if you paired it correctly. Just push the down arrow and select Mini Mic.

It typically takes a moment for the processors to connect. You will see they are connected because when the iPad or iPhone video is playing, blue lights (rather than green) will flicker on the front ends of the processors.

That’s it. So (relatively) easy. And it will get easier with practice. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions!

Author: Missy Kvitko

Born in Fargo, North Dakota, I grew up in Minnesota. After graduating from Macalester College in 2004, I moved to New York City. For 10 years I worked in the field of public relations, representing professional services firms and financial services (in particular alternative asset managers) In 2014, my life changed dramatically with the birth of my first child, Sonya Rose. Born with severe to profound hearing loss. Sonya's care has become my full time job. It is also the best job I have ever had. My husband, Sonya and I live in Manhattan. Please feel free to email me anytime at missy.kvitko@gmail.com, or find me on instagram (@mmkvitko) and twitter (@HearSonyaRose). Thank you so much for reading. View all posts by Missy Kvitko