Starkey and MED-EL Announce All-New DualSync Partnership to Advance Bluetooth Connectivity for Cochlear Implant Users

Driven by a shared commitment to advancing hearing health, global hearing technology leaders Starkey and MED-EL are bringing their exclusive collaboration to life. Introducing DualSync, a bimodal streaming partnership enabling Apple technology to seamlessly stream to compatible Starkey hearing aids and MED-EL cochlear implants.

This partnership brings together the strength of Starkey’s industry-leading hearing aids with the innovation behind MED-EL’s cochlear implants, creating a seamless and unified wireless audio experience for people who rely on both technologies.

Beginning July 1, 2025, Starkey Edge AI and Genesis AI hearing aids and MED-EL SONNET 3, SONNET 2, SONNET, and RONDO 3 audio processors will be compatible for bimodal streaming. The solution is designed to support a growing ecosystem of devices and will be compatible with future innovations from both companies. DualSync technology provides seamless audio connectivity and synchronized sound from compatible smartphones and media devices, empowering users with more natural, connected hearing.

“Hearing loss takes many forms and, in some cases, multiple technologies are required for the best outcome of the patient,” said Brandon Sawalich, President and CEO of Starkey. “Today, two global tech leaders are combining world-class innovations to connect more people back to the things they love most. Partnering with MED-EL reflects our shared commitment to delivering excellence without exception.”

“By uniting two leading technologies, we are delivering a global solution that gives bimodal users effortless connectivity, clearer sound, and greater control in their daily lives,” adds Dr. Ingeborg Hochmair, co-founder and CEO of MED-EL. “Our shared goal is simple: to make it easier for people everywhere to hear, communicate, and engage with the world – using the most advanced technology available.”

This collaboration reflects a shared commitment to patient-first innovation, personalized care, and expanding access to the latest in hearing technology available to users worldwide.

For more information, please visit www.starkey.com or www.medel.com.

About Starkey

Starkey is a privately held, global hearing technology company headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Founded by Bill Austin in 1967, Starkey is known for its innovative design, development and distribution of comprehensive digital hearing systems. Led today by President and CEO Brandon Sawalich, Starkey is the only American-owned provider of hearing technologies. The company has more than 5,000 employees, operates 29 facilities and does business in more than 100 markets worldwide. Learn more at starkey.com.

About MED-EL

MED-EL Medical Electronics, a leader in implantable hearing solutions, is driven by a mission to overcome hearing loss as a barrier to communication and quality of life. The Austrian-based, privately owned business was co-founded by industry pioneers Ingeborg and Erwin Hochmair, whose ground-breaking research led to the development of the world’s first micro-electronic multi-channel cochlear implant (CI), which was successfully implanted in 1977 and was the basis for what is known as the modern CI today. This laid the foundation for the successful growth of the company in 1990, when they hired their first employees. To date, MED-EL has more than 2,900 employees from around 90 nations and 30 locations worldwide.

The company offers the widest range of implantable and non-implantable solutions to treat all types of hearing loss, enabling people in 137 countries enjoy the gift of hearing with the help of a MED-EL device. MED-EL’s hearing solutions include cochlear and middle ear implant systems, a combined electric acoustic stimulation hearing implant system, as well as surgical and non-surgical bone conduction devices. www.medel.com

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“By uniting two leading technologies, we are delivering a global solution that gives bimodal users effortless connectivity, clearer sound, and greater control in their daily lives” -- Dr. Ingeborg Hochmair, co-founder and CEO of MED-EL.