The process works exactly as you have suggested. The procedure works. I checked with my hearing aid professionals and my hearing aid is at the correct firmware release, there are no updates pending. The iPhone 16 is at IOS release 26.5.2, no updates pending.
Yet the pairing still drops at random times. Bluetooth is turned off on my iPad and I cannot turn it off on my iMac because the mouse and keyboard need Bluetooth. I have to restart the iPhone before pairing is guaranteed.
There is little point in wearing hearing aids if they don't pair with the phone. Trying to use the phone through its internal speaker while being partially deaf is a non-starter.
There is clearly some mismatch in the middleware release levels. Bluetooth 5.0, 5.3, 6.0??? I have no idea. I am over 80s years old and it has been 30 years since I tried to troubleshoot protocol issues. I'm sure everything has changed more than I could imagine.
I would gladly go back to the Samsung phone with which I never had a problem with Bluetooth pairing or dropping pairing. But that is not possible with my telecom provider.
Thank you for your trouble and effort. It is appreciated. There is supposed to be an Apple guru in my fair city, but he is on summer vacation and wont return until September.
I am considering getting another Samsung phone and ditching the iPhone if my telecom provider will let me keep the same phone number. It has been a huge disappointment. I have used Macintosh desktops since 1984. This is my first time out with their phones and so far, it is a nightmare.
Cheers,