7 Best Apps for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Adults in 2026

Real-time captions for the conversation in front of you, plus Sound Notifications for the doorbell and smoke alarm, free on Android.

• Best forAn Android user who wants words on screen during a face-to-face conversation
• Available onAndroid 12 and up; already installed on Pixel and select phones
• PricingFree
• Made byResearch at Google, built with Gallaudet University

Features and requirements verified on Google’s Live Transcribe help, Sound Notifications help, and Google Play.

Check Out Live Transcribe

At the doctor’s office, the phone can sit on the desk with large text facing the person who needs it. Live Transcribe captions speech in over 80 languages and dialects, lets the reader type a reply, and can vibrate when someone says their name.

Sound Notifications is the other half of the app. It listens for the sounds you pick, like smoke alarms, a doorbell, knocking, or running water, then alerts with a vibration or camera flash. Google says that audio stays on the device.

On Pixel phones and select Android 12 or later phones, languages can be downloaded for offline use, which helps on a flight or in a clinic basement with no signal.

What works well: free, fast to open from Quick Settings, and two jobs (conversation and home alerts) in one app.

Captioned calls with a choice of automated captions or live stenographers, at no cost to eligible U.S. users.

• Best forU.S. callers who want a live human captioner for the calls that matter
• Available oniPhone and Android
• PricingNo cost to eligible individuals with hearing loss, funded by the FCC
• Made byInnoCaption, an FCC-certified captioned-call provider

Features and eligibility verified on InnoCaption.

Check Out InnoCaption

InnoCaption offers two caption modes: automated speech recognition, or trained stenographers available 24/7. You can switch between them before or during a call, which helps the moment a pharmacist starts reading dosage instructions.

Its call forwarding setup lets calls to the existing cell number arrive captioned, so the family doesn’t have to share a new number. Past call transcripts can be saved or emailed, and voicemails come in captioned.

What works well: a human captioner on demand, and no new number for relatives to learn.

Automatic captions on regular phone calls from Sorenson, with captioned voicemail and support for Bluetooth hearing aids.

• Best forSomeone who wants captions on everyday calls without a third person on the line
• Available oniOS 15 or later and Android 9 or later, phones and tablets
• PricingNo cost to eligible users with hearing loss, funded by the FCC
• Made byCaptionCall, part of Sorenson

Features and requirements verified on Sorenson’s CaptionCall Mobile page and Google Play.

Check Out CaptionCall Mobile

CaptionCall Mobile captions calls automatically in real time, with no third person on the line. Text size is adjustable, and saved captions make it easy to go back for a name, date, or instruction.

It works with the audio a person already relies on, including Bluetooth hearing aids, AirPods, or other headphones. Families with a CaptionCall home phone can add the app: Sorenson says eligible users can have both at no cost.

What works well: a calm, familiar dialer that keeps the current number and captions voicemail too.

If a loved one prefers a dedicated home device over an app, the Caring Village guide to the best caption phones for seniors compares those desk phones.

Free automated call captions in over 100 languages for people with hearing loss in the United States.

• Best forFamilies who switch between English and another language on everyday calls
• Available oniPhone and Android
• PricingFree to eligible U.S. users through an FCC-administered program
• Made byCaptionMate, an FCC-certified relay provider

Features and eligibility verified on CaptionMate and its eligibility help page.

Check Out CaptionMate

CaptionMate captions calls in over 100 languages, including Spanish, Mandarin, and Vietnamese. That matters when a family alternates between English and another language on routine calls with relatives or a clinic.

Eligibility is simpler than many families expect: no doctor’s or audiologist’s statement is required, though registration collects personal details for FCC compliance. Residents of U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico and Guam can use it too.

What works well: the widest language coverage here, with nothing to pay.

Live captions for family dinners, meetings, and classes, with each speaker labeled by name.

• Best forA conversation where more than one person speaks
• Available oniOS, Android, web, Mac, and Windows
• PricingFree plan with sessions up to 40 minutes; Community plan $14.99 a month, or $9.99 a month billed yearly
• Made byAva, which says 150,000+ people and organizations use it

Plans and features verified on Ava, its pricing page, and Ava help, September 2026.

Check Out Ava

Ava is a conversation companion for the people in the room with you. In an Ava room, each speaker is identified by name, so a group transcript stays readable when three relatives are talking over dessert.

The free plan covers live captions on any platform. Paid plans add higher-accuracy Premium captions, and Ava also sells Scribe captions that trained people review live. Ava’s own tip: keep the microphone within 12 inches of whoever is speaking.

What works well: speaker names, a big-screen option on a laptop, and a free way to try it tonight.

Filters and boosts nearby speech or phone audio through headphones, free on Android.

• Best forSomeone with hearing loss who wants nearby speech louder and clearer through headphones
• Available onAndroid 8.1 and later, with wired or Bluetooth headphones
• PricingFree
• Made byGoogle

Features and requirements verified on Google’s Sound Amplifier help and Google Play.

Check Out Sound Amplifier

Sound Amplifier reduces background noise, boosts quiet sounds, and tunes low or high frequencies, separately for each ear if needed. It works on conversation in the room, the TV, or audio playing on the phone.

On Pixel 3 and later, Conversation mode focuses on one speaker’s voice in a noisy place when you point the camera at that person.

It does not diagnose or treat hearing loss, and it is no substitute for a hearing assessment. If speech keeps getting harder to follow, the Caring Village hearing aids guide covers the next step.

Video relay calls with a sign language interpreter on a phone, tablet, Mac, or PC, at no cost.

• Best forA Deaf ASL signer calling hearing people through an interpreter
• Available oniOS, Android, Mac, and Windows
• PricingNo cost; requires a Sorenson VRS account
• Made bySorenson, which launched its video relay service in 2003

Features and sign-up steps verified on Sorenson’s ntouch page.

Check Out Sorenson ntouch

With video relay service, an interpreter joins by video and voices the conversation for the hearing person on the other end. That is a different mode from captions, so an ASL user shouldn’t be steered to a speech-to-text app just because it ranks higher in a search.

ntouch can ring on any device from one VRS number, move a call between devices mid-conversation, and share text and location. Sorenson says the app supports 911 calls. A larger tablet for seniors can make signing easier to see on video.

For relatives spread across states, the Caring Village long-distance caregiving tips cover how to split calls and check-ins.