Using one of the BeHear headsets on its own in Personal Hearing mode will pick up sound from the television and amplify it according to your hearing profile (if you have performed the Hearing Assessment in our W&H BeHear app to personalize the device). This may be sufficient for your needs.

However, the benefit of the HearLink (or HearLink PLUS) transmitter is that it captures the TV audio and transmits it directly to the personalized headset, eliminating distractions (such as room reverberation, and ambient noise).

Additionally, since your headset can pair simultaneously with two Bluetooth devices, if you receive a phone call on your paired mobile phone while watching television the TV audio will be muted automatically, and then resume once you disconnect the call.

You can use the BeHear headset to listen to the TV even without the HearLink PLUS transmitter, but HearLink PLUS will provide better sound quality, as the audio will be streamed directly to the headset.

If you have a set top box you may be able to use it to bypass the television’s audio output jack. Many set top boxes (cable boxes) have an analog audio output jack and/or an optical (digital) audio output jack. If you connect the HearLink/HearLink PLUS TV transmitter directly to the set top box the audio may transmit simultaneously to the BeHear headset and the television speakers.

If you have a set top box you can use it instead, as many set top boxes (cable boxes) have an analog audio output jack and/or an optical (digital) audio output jack. In this case, connect the HearLink/HearLink PLUS TV transmitter directly to the audio output jack on the set top box.

To reset an unresponsive HearLink transmitter, connect it to the charger while pressing the MFB (Multi-Function Button).

The Bluetooth version in BeHear headsets is v. 4.2 and in the HearLink PLUS it is v. 5. However, the range depends on the class of the Bluetooth device (Class I or Class II) rather than on its version (v. 4.2 or v. 5). BeHear are Class II devices while HearLink PLUS are Class I. Operation range between these two devices is larger than for two Class II devices (10m or 40ft) though less than for two Class I devices (100m or 400ft). We expect that for the BeHear + HearLink PLUS combination you can get a 20m or 80ft range, in open spaces.

The HearLink PLUS Bluetooth transmitter (using the aptX-LL CODEC) achieves low latency of only 40ms, avoiding lip sync issues.

If your HearLink or HearLink PLUS isn’t operating to your satisfaction, check possible causes below:

1. The quality of the Bluetooth connection (and associated audio distortions) depends on the weakest connection of the two connected headsets. For example, audio distortions may be heard by the wearer of the headset closest to the HearLink/HearLink PLUS transmitter when the second headset is out of the transmitter’s range.
2. The active CODEC (SBC, aptX or aptX-LL) for the HearLink/HearLink PLUS transmitter is determined according to the common denominator for the both headsets. Two BeHear headsets will always operate in aptX-LL mode. However, if one of the connected headsets is not a BeHear headset, and it doesn’t support aptX, both headsets will work in SBC mode only. (Note: HearLink does not support two connections with the aptX CODEC. If paired with two headsets simultaneously it will work in SBC mode only.)
3. It is not recommended to connect two headsets simultaneously to one HearLink/HearLink PLUS and maintain separate smartphone connections for each headset. This is due to problems which may arise when the wearer desires to switch the audio stream between his/her phone and HearLink/HearLink PLUS (e.g., for an incoming call from one of the phones).

First, verify that you are within Bluetooth range (~10 feet, 3.5 meters for HearLink; ~200 feet, 60 meters for HearLink PLUS).

If that is not the issue, and a long time has passed between uses, or if the smartphone has been playing an audio stream, the headset may not automatically reconnect with the HearLink or HearLink PLUS transmitter when you are within range. In this case, a short press on the headset’s Power button should re-establish the connection with the transmitter.

Try the following:

1. Check the HearLink PLUS panel and make sure the OPT or AUX indicator is lit. If neither is lit, make sure the power and output cables are connected securely.
2. Verify that the HearLink PLUS transmitter is in TX mode and that the TX indicator is lit.
3. Either the A or B indicator on the HearLink PLUS panel should be lit. If it’s not, it’s a sign that the headset is not connected. Press the ON/OFF button once (short press) and check again. If one of the A/B indicators lights up, then the transmitter has connected to the headset successfully. You should now hear sound in the headset.
4. If you still don’t hear sound, turn up the volume on the TV itself (or by using the BeHear headset’s left-hand side volume control).

If the TV sound is unclear or distorted, try turning ListenThrough mode OFF, or reducing the transparency of ambient sounds via the ListenThrough microphones using the headset’s right-hand volume button.