Assistive Listening – What's Next?
By Stephen O. Frazier
Auracast is set to improve audio accessibility for both
those with hearing loss and the general public.
Hearing loop technology is the darling of people with hearing loss. It has enabled them to hear in theatres, meeting halls, places of worship, and other venues with the simple touch of a button on their hearing aids. The last decade has seen a huge increase in the availability of the technology, and it continues to find new applications. Amtrak plans to loop ticket widows in 85 stations and have billions of dollars committed to new train cars that will have hearing loops. Nearly 30 airports in this country (and hundreds abroad) now feature hearing loops in some form in a variety of locations in their terminal. New York City taxicabs now feature hearing loops, San Francisco subway cars are “looped”, and New York has 1,000 such cars soon to be delivered.
Just as cellular phones have supplanted landlines for most people, there's a new technology that is expected to eventually replace not just hearing loops, but also many FM, Infrared, and WiFi assistive listening systems. It's a new form of Bluetooth® called Auracast™ and was developed by the Special Interest Group (SIG) that created Bluetooth. Unlike classic Bluetooth, which is essentially a one-to-one technology, Auracast can serve an audience of any size. Hearing aid wearers typically replace their devices every 5 to 7 years. Consequently, it's expected that it will take up to 10 years before Auracast could become the primary assistive listening technology both here and abroad but, it's here now, and people with hearing loss should be preparing themselves to use it. It's hoped that many venues with one of the other systems already in operation, will opt to supplement that system with an Auracast system to serve people without telecoil equipped hearing aids but with an Auracast capability. Auracast earbuds or a smartphone could also be used to access the Auracast system.
A rapidly growing mix of products that offer Auracast connectivity is now on the market. Most of these products are intended for the use of the general public, but they can also be used by people with hearing loss. Beyond the Auracast enabled hearing aids (it does include hearing aids) the mix includes many new Samsung and LG TVs, Auracast abled smart phones and notebooks that are especially of interest to the hard of hearing. People whose hearing loss is only mild to moderate are now able to buy earbuds that, just like hearing aids, will connect to a smartphone, TV or assistive listening system to help them overcome hearing difficulties they might otherwise encounter
This new Bluetooth technology is transforming audio sharing by enabling sound transmission to unlimited audio devices simultaneously. While it may take years for most users to have Auracast enabled hearing aids, and for venues to install Auracast assistive listening systems to supplement their existing ALS, Auracast will dramatically change when, where, why, and how information is shared.
When shopping for Auracast-enabled devices, many salespeople in stores are not familiar with the technology. It’s best to research online before purchasing in a store. Many of these products can be ordered directly from the manufacturer and sources such as Amazon or Walmart offer them on their websites. Just go to Amazon and search for “Auracast” to see the growing variety they offer.
Below is a link to a paper that lists many of the products now being advertised as either Auracast enabled or "Auracast ready". The latter means they simply require an over-the-air (OTA) file update from the manufacturer to become Auracast functional.
Samsung S23, S24 and some other models are now Auracast enabled but, in many instances, the users are not aware of that capability in their phone. The link below will provide an instruction sheet for using this feature if it is present in the device.
For a detailed explanation of Auracast that was prepared for use in training hearing care professionals on this new Bluetooth technology, click here.
NOTE: Demonstrating the expected growth in the availability of Auracast assistive listening systems (ALS) is the following:
Google Maps now allows business owners to list both "Assistive Hearing Loop" (i.e., with telecoil technology) and "Auracast" in their Business Profiles. That means you should be able to see if a business offers either technology by clicking on their name/location in Google Maps, then clicking "About," where you can see their "Accessibility" offerings
SOURCE: Google Blog
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