diff --git a/lib/tasks/gather.js b/lib/tasks/gather.js
index 9c948442..46f88272 100644
--- a/lib/tasks/gather.js
+++ b/lib/tasks/gather.js
@@ -534,7 +534,8 @@ class TaskGather extends Task {
 
     if (this.earlyHintsMatch && evt.is_final === false) {
       const transcript = evt.alternatives[0].transcript?.toLowerCase();
-      if (this.hints.find((h) => h.toLowerCase() === transcript)) {
+      const hints = this.data.recognizer?.hints || [];
+      if (hints.find((h) => h.toLowerCase() === transcript)) {
         this.logger.debug({evt}, 'Gather:_onTranscription: early hint match');
         this._resolve('speech', evt);
         return;