An illustrative system includes a hearing device and a charging device configured to provide a power signal to the hearing device while the hearing device is within a charging range of the charging device. The hearing device and the charging device are configured to establish a primary communication channel between the hearing device and the charging device and participate in an authenticated pairing procedure for the primary communication channel in which authentication information is transmitted from one device to the other by way of a secondary communication channel that allows for communication only over distances that are below a threshold distance.