How Auracast™ Broadcast
Audio Will Help Those With
Hearing LossAuracast™ ブロードキャスト オーディオで実現する聴覚障害者支援

Can you explain the difference between Auracast™ broadcast audio hearing aids and existing Bluetooth hearing aids from GN?

Existing Bluetooth^® hearing aids from GN offer an incredible sound experience for people with mild-to-profound hearing loss. They also support audio streaming and hands-free calls from iOS and select Android devices.

ReSound Nexia hearing aids build on that. Equipped with Bluetooth LE Audio, they allow multiple simultaneous connections and hands-free calls with Bluetooth LE Audio compatible devices, as well as higher sound quality with significantly lower battery consumption. 

With Auracast™ broadcast audio, wearers will be able to hear important announcements in public spaces through their hearing aids, stream audio whenever they want, and share audio with family and friends, transforming how users experience audio in private and public spaces.   

What challenges are consumers currently experiencing with hearing aids, and how do you see Auracast™ broadcast audio changing lives for individuals with hearing loss? 

The number one challenge for people with hearing loss is hearing speech in noisy backgrounds, and this drives most hearing aid purchases. However, post purchase, the ability to connect to other devices and stream audio is one of the biggest drivers of satisfaction, so Auracast™ broadcast audio has the potential to be life changing. 

Existing telecoil loop systems are available in larger venues, but they are not as widely available as they should be due to the cost and complexity of installation. Auracast™ broadcast audio can overcome some of these challenges. 

What is the latency that can be achieved using Bluetooth LE Audio, and how is this different from what it was before?

With Bluetooth^® Classic Audio, the latency is high, as it is built for headsets for phones: the listener is far away from the person they are talking to and, therefore, doesn’t notice the delay. When you start mixing streamed and direct sound, as happens with hearing aids, then latency really matters. Bluetooth Classic Audio in this situation can be a challenging experience, whereas Bluetooth LE Audio has much lower latency to meet modern user expectations.

Auracast™ broadcast audio is engineered for flexibility to support smaller rooms as well as large venues like theaters and auditoriums. The challenge here is to deliver high sound quality and minimal latency, and Auracast™ broadcast audio is devised to support both.

Since GN is one of the first to market with Auracast™ hearing aids, what type of education is needed to move forward with adoption for consumers? 

For us, it’s educating hearing care professionals. Most hearing care professionals support their clients by pairing their aids to devices, but it can be complicated, time consuming, and frustrating. We need to help them understand that with Bluetooth^® LE Audio, connectivity will be simpler, quicker, and much easier to communicate to their clients so that they can be our champions.

What do you think people will be most excited about when they experience Bluetooth LE Audio and Auracast™ broadcast audio in your hearing aids?

I think it will be different for different people. Some will find the ability to hear announcements in public places life changing; it will remove anxiety and stress from travel, for example. For others, it will be the direct connectivity to multiple devices, such as PCs and tablets, or being able to tune in to specific screens in sports bars or the gym. And for everyone who has tried to listen to music or watch a film on the go by sharing headphones with a sibling or friend, the ability to share audio will be revolutionary.

The thing that has surprised us most is the sound quality. It’s even better than before, and that’s saying something.

At GN, we’ve worked closely with Bluetooth^® technology for many years, but it is still exciting when you see technology that you have been instrumental in developing come to market. And it’s even more exciting when you realize that you are not alone and you see other compatible products being launched. We are proud to be leading the way with this technology, and we can’t wait until it becomes available to more and more people.