learn about bluetooth
Support for hearing assistance
Bluetooth® LE Audio and the future of hearing
Learn how Bluetooth® LE Audio will improve the lives of people with hearing loss and introduce a new generation of hearing aids and assistive listening systems.
A global yet silent epidemic
At all life stages, communication and good hearing health connect us to each other, our communities, and the world.
455
million
people worldwide have disabling levels of hearing loss & the number will rise to 900 million by 2050
Source: World Health Organization
1 in 10
members
of the total EU population states a hearing loss
Source: EuroTrak
LE Audio introduced to improve lives of people with hearing loss
LE Audio standardizes Bluetooth® hearing aids and adds support for Auracast™ broadcast audio, the next generation of Assistive Listening Systems (ALS).
More, and better, Bluetooth® hearing aids
Support for Bluetooth technology in hearing aids to date has been based on proprietary implementations. As a result, relatively few hearing aids include Bluetooth technology and compatibility is limited. By standardizing support for Bluetooth technology within hearing aids, LE Audio increases availability of Bluetooth hearing aids and enables true global interoperability. Thanks to LE Audio, people with hearing loss will be able to realize the same benefits of Bluetooth audio enjoyed by users of standard Bluetooth headphones and earbuds, including wireless calling, listening, and watching.
An advanced new type of assistive listening system
While current Assistive Listening Systems (ALSs), such as inductive loops, have been providing tremendous benefit to people with hearing loss, they suffer from a number of challenges, including quality, cost, spill-over, and privacy issues, that have limited deployment. Auracast™ broadcast audio will enable an advanced new type of Assistive Listening System with higher audio quality and greater privacy that avoids spill-over challenges and will be significantly easier and lower cost to deploy.
Learn more about Auracast™ broadcast audio
