Auditory Training Apps for Cochlear Implant Users: A Practical Comparison

CoPilot is a free app made by Cochlear for their own hearing device users. It includes active listening exercises, hearing games, and tips for real-world situations. The content is well-designed and research-informed.

The catch: it only works for people with a Cochlear-brand cochlear implant. If you use Advanced Bionics or MED-EL, this one is not available to you.

LACE is the name your audiologist is most likely to know. Its published studies come from the program's earlier CD and desktop era; the current AI Pro app is a newer rebuild, so that research record belongs to older versions rather than to the app sold today. The AI Pro version adjusts difficulty to your performance.

The barrier is price and access. Partner clinics list LACE at about $499, and its own store listing says your account has to be set up before you can log in, which a hearing care professional usually does. One online retailer now sells it direct at the same price. Either way there is no download-and-start path.

Hearoes is a game-style auditory training app covering sound awareness, phonetics, and listening in noise. It works for both CI and hearing aid users and does not require a specific hearing device brand. Its own surfaces disagree about how many activities it holds, so treat any single count as soft.

It is free to start with in-app purchases for advanced content. The app has about 12,000 total downloads, and user reviews mention occasional bugs with sound playback.

If you have seen AB CLIX recommended, this is it under a new name. Advanced Bionics renamed the program WordSuccess, and the change matters for more than branding: CLIX ran on iPad only, while WordSuccess runs on iPhone, iPad, and Android.

Despite coming from a cochlear implant maker, it is not brand-locked. It works with any cochlear implant or hearing aid, and it is free. A placement test finds your starting point, then you work up a long ladder of recorded words in quiet and in noise. There is also a two-person mode for practicing with a partner. One caution: the store listings have not been updated since mid-2024, so treat it as finished software. It is English-only.

ReDi comes from MED-EL and, like WordSuccess, is open to any hearing device rather than locked to its maker. It is free, runs on iPhone and Android, gives feedback on listening and speech, and covers a wide set of languages.

Advanced Bionics also offers ListenFit for checking hearing in everyday situations, which works best with AB devices. Angel Sound runs on more platforms and has a deep exercise library, but its interface is dated and it feels more like a research tool than a consumer app.

eargym is a UK-based hearing training app with a subscription model. It pairs hearing checks and sound training games with progress tracking. It is ORCHA accredited and classified as a Class 1 medical device in the UK and EU.

The free tier is limited, and some users report frustration with the paywall. The app has about 10,000 downloads on Google Play.

There is also a second eargym app made for cochlear implant users, called eargym CI Rehab, which Cleveland Clinic helped build. You start by telling apart single words that differ by one sound and work up to short sentences and everyday scenes. It costs a lot more than the main app: $49 a month on the US App Store, or $149 if you pay once.

SoundSteps is a listening practice app for cochlear implant and hearing aid users. It starts with a short listening check, then moves into guided sessions that go from one steady voice in quiet toward harder real-life listening.

It is built around short daily sessions that are easy to repeat. It works across hearing device brands, and you can start without registering through a clinician. A free version continues after your first 7 days of full access; Premium is $9.99/month or $89.99/year.

Use a Cochlear device and an iPhone? Try CoPilot first. It is free and well made.

On Android, or wearing an Advanced Bionics or MED-EL implant? CoPilot is not open to you, and the free apps that are open to any brand — WordSuccess and ReDi — are the place to start.

Want something that works on any phone and starts calm before it builds? Try SoundSteps or Hearoes. Both let you begin free, so you can find out what you will keep up with before any money changes hands.