Checked, not guessed
If a hearing professional handed you a list of listening practice apps, there is a fair chance some of them no longer open. The lists that clinics, universities and support groups share are rarely updated, and several of the programs on them have been retired or quietly folded into something else. So we opened each one and checked what happens.
Free, no account needed.
Listening practice software has mostly been made by hearing device companies, as a free extra alongside the hearing devices. When a program stops being a priority, it is not usually announced. The app simply stops being updated, or the page starts forwarding somewhere else.
The lists that point to them do not change at the same time. A university page, a clinic handout or a support group sheet can sit unchanged for years, still naming a program that has since been retired. Nobody is at fault; nobody owns the job of checking.
The result lands on the person who was told practice matters, follows the link they were given, and finds nothing there.
Checked one by one
4 of 12 are still working
Every row below was opened and checked on .
Angel SoundEmily Shannon Fu Foundation
Not updatedStill free, and it still downloads. But nobody is keeping it up to date. The address on most clinic handouts now leads nowhere, so people assume it is gone. Its new home works, though the site is not secure. The Windows installer is from December 2014 and the iPhone app from January 2019, with no Android version at all.
Instead: Its new home is angelsound.emilyfufoundation.org. Free, and still worth a try if an old design does not bother you.
AB CLIXAdvanced Bionics
GoneNo longer in the US App Store. The name does not appear in the current Advanced Bionics app list.
Instead: WordSuccess, from the same company, covers the same ground.
Hearing HuntHearing Hunt
Not updatedThe website address no longer exists — there is no record for it at all. An iPhone app of the same name is still listed, but it was last updated in April 2020.
Instead: Any of the working options below.
Cochlear HOPECochlear
MovedThe old HOPE address now goes to Cochlear’s support pages, which never mention HOPE by name.
Instead: Cochlear keeps printable exercises on those support pages.
Communication CornerCochlear
MovedThe old address forwards to a general support page that never mentions Communication Corner, so it is hard to tell where the activities went.
Instead: Cochlear’s current adult pages carry printable exercises, though they are worksheets rather than the interactive activities.
The Listening RoomAdvanced Bionics
MovedThe old address forwards to HearingSuccess, which is where this material now lives.
Instead: HearingSuccess, listed below.
Cochlear CoPilotCochlear
Not updatedStill in the App Store, last updated August 2023. iPhone only, and only in the US and Canada. Recent reviews report it failing to open.
Instead: Any of the working options below, all of which run on more platforms.
Bring Back the BeatCochlear
Not updatedIts own App Store page says the app has been retired and will be removed. There is no direct replacement for music practice.
ReDiMED-EL
WorkingStill updated most months, rated 4.5 out of 5. The most actively maintained program we checked.
HearingSuccessAdvanced Bionics and Phonak
WorkingWorking, free, and the destination the older Advanced Bionics material now points to.
AudioCardioAudioCardio
WorkingWorking. Aimed at daily sound stimulation rather than word and sentence practice, so it does a different job.
Lace ProNeurotone
WorkingWorking. Usually bought through a hearing practice rather than directly.
If the program you were told about is on the "gone" or "moved" list, you have not done anything wrong and you have not missed a step. Pick one of the working options and carry on.
It is worth telling whoever gave you the list. Most clinics want to know, and most have no way of finding out on their own.
Some widely recommended programs no longer open at all.
SoundSteps makes one of these programs, so it is fair to ask whether this list is a sales pitch. Two things to judge it on. Every status above was checked directly and is dated, so anything wrong here can be caught. And our own program is deliberately not in the table, because a company grading itself alongside its competitors is not worth reading.
If a program that was working stops working, or we have something wrong, we would rather hear about it than have this page quietly go stale like the ones it describes.
FAQ
Yes, but nobody is keeping it up to date. The address on most clinic handouts leads nowhere now, so those links are dead ends. The program moved to angelsound.emilyfufoundation.org. The Windows installer still downloads there, and the free iPhone app is still in the App Store. Neither has changed in years. The installer is from December 2014 and the app is from January 2019.
CoPilot is iPhone only and available only in the US and Canada, so there is no version for Android or iPad. It was last updated in August 2023, and recent reviews report it failing to open. If you cannot use it, that is the app, not you.
It moved. The old address now forwards to HearingSuccess, which is where Advanced Bionics keeps this material. The activities were not deleted, but the old link does not explain where they went.
MED-EL ReDi gets updates most months, more often than anything else we checked. HearingSuccess, AudioCardio and Lace Pro were also working. Several others still appear in app stores but have not had an update in two years or more.
Free programs from hearing device makers are worth trying first, especially if you have that brand of hearing device. Price is not a good guide to whether something suits you. What matters more is whether it practises the thing you find hard, and whether you will actually open it most days.
Related reading
If you would rather not chase dead links, the listening check here takes a few minutes and needs no account.
Free, no account needed.
