Auracast™ broadcast audio and assistive listening
At all life stages, communication and good hearing health connect us to each other, our communities, and the world. While current assistive listening system (ALS) technologies, such as inductive loops, have been providing great benefit to people with hearing loss, they suffer from a number of challenges that have limited their deployment, including poor quality, high cost, and lack of privacy. The Bluetooth SIG worked closely with the hearing aid industry to define and introduce the next generation of assistive listening system technology, Auracast™ broadcast audio.
The next generation of assistive listening is here
The hearing aid industry turned to Bluetooth® technology to overcome the challenges of traditional assistive listening systems (ALS) with Auracast™ broadcast audio. See why this new Bluetooth capability will make broader deployment and increased availability of ALS for people with hearing loss possible, while also expanding applicability of these systems to consumers with all levels of hearing health.
Audio accessibility for all
Auracast™ broadcast audio will become an advanced, new assistive listening system that will be significantly easier and lower cost to deploy while offering higher audio quality and greater privacy. Overcoming the challenges of traditional ALS technologies using a familiar, proven technology ubiquitous in most consumer audio devices will provide the added benefits of enabling broader deployment and increased availability of ALS for people with hearing loss, while also expanding applicability of these systems to consumers with all levels of hearing health.
Public locations – including conference centers, movie theaters, transportation centers, places of worship, and more – will deploy Auracast™ broadcast audio to promote better living through better hearing for everyone.
What the hearing industry is saying
There are a lot of people who either don’t have diagnosed hearing loss or hear normally but they still have difficulty understanding speech in reverberant rooms like a cathedral or like a meeting facility. Now they can just pop in a set of earbuds and tune to the Auracast™ channel and get that crystal clear audio even though they don’t own hearing aids.
Andrew Bellavia, Hearing Industry Professional and Hearing Loss Advocate
One of the things that excites me most is the way Auracast™ creates a sense of community between people with normal hearing and people with hearing loss, as everyone can partake in this technology.
Tammara Stender Au.D., Director of External Relations in Global Audiology, GN
While current assistive listening systems, such as inductive loops, have been providing great benefit to people with hearing loss, they suffer from a number of challenges that have limited their deployment, including poor quality, high cost, and lack of privacy. Auracast™ broadcast audio is well positioned to become an advanced, new assistive listening system that will be significantly easier and lower cost to deploy while offering higher audio quality and greater privacy, improving audio accessibility and promoting better living through better hearing.
Nick Hunn, CTO of WiFore
Hearing and understanding speech in various environments can be a daily struggle for people with any degree of hearing loss. Audio quality innovations can benefit everyone, while also improving communication access to those with hearing loss. Having choices in technology to meet the varying needs of people with hearing loss is critical. The advent of technologies like Auracast™ broadcast audio has the potential to give people who wear hearing aids and cochlear implants an important new option for hearing access in their everyday lives.
Barbara Kelley, executive director of the Hearing Loss Association of America
Auracast™ broadcast audio is set to transform the way the world engages with wireless audio, enabling innovative new user experiences while delivering the next generation of assistive listening technology across a wide range of public venues. ABI Research expects the wireless and assistive listening industries to rapidly embrace LE Audio and Auracast™ technology, enabling more and more people to share their audio experiences with others, tune in to public broadcasts, and provide the hearing impaired with an easy to use, standardized, interoperable, and consistent assistive listening experience.
Andrew Zignani, Research Director at ABI Research
The ability to pair your smartphone to your earbuds or headphones using Bluetooth technology has brought new levels of enjoyment and convenience to personal audio and is now a part of the fabric of our lives. The introduction of Auracast™ broadcast audio will enable us to move from personal wireless listening experiences to shared wireless listening experiences, unlocking the full potential of wireless audio and bringing even more value and delight to our customers.
Zeng Xuezhong, Senior Vice President and President of Smartphone Department, Xiaomi Corporation
