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.
“ As human beings, our sense of hearing connects us. The Bluetooth SIG believes in a connected world, free from wires, and the first wire that Bluetooth® technology cut was the audio cable, forever changing the way we experience sound. The Bluetooth SIG is honored and excited to support World Hearing Day.
Mark Powell
CEO, Bluetooth SIG
Hearing loss, a global yet silent epidemic
World Hearing Day is held each year to raise awareness on how to prevent deafness and hearing loss and promote ear and hearing care across the world. On World Hearing Day 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) highlighted that timely and effective interventions can ensure that people with hearing loss are able to achieve their full potential. At all life stages, communication and good hearing health connect us to each other, our communities, and the world.
LE Audio introduced to improve lives of people with hearing loss
The Bluetooth SIG worked closely with the hearing aid industry to define and introduce LE Audio, the next-generation of Bluetooth® wireless audio. LE Audio adds support for the development of standard Bluetooth hearing aids as well as support for Audio Sharing, which is expected to enable 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 will lead to the availability of more Bluetooth hearing aids and will enable 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. Bluetooth® Audio Sharing 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.
What the industry is saying about LE Audio
Videos
Blog Posts
The Next Era of Truly Wireless Audio: Qualcomm QCC305x SoCs
Approximately five years ago, truly wireless earbuds supported by Qualcomm Technologies emerged on the…
One Step Closer to Bluetooth LE Audio
The Bluetooth SIG unveils the codec that will help power LE Audio’s enhanced sound.…
Best Recorded Bluetooth Presentations From 2020
The Bluetooth® community makes major strides each year that drive wireless innovation, overcome challenges,…
Bluetooth LE Audio: Where Innovation, Market Needs and Inclusiveness Converge
The latest Bluetooth specification, LE Audio, announced earlier this year, has revolutionised Bluetooth Audio.…
A Technical Overview of LC3
An Introduction to LE Audio Over the past two decades, since its inception, Bluetooth®…
Hearing the Future
Every so often a new wireless technology emerges that changes everything. We’ve seen this…
EUHA Congress 2020: Bluetooth LE Audio - A Milestone for Hearing Aid Users
With LE Audio, the Bluetooth® developer community has created a completely new audio architecture…
LC3 is Raising the Bar on Wireless Audio Quality
Earlier this year, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) announced that the Bluetooth® community…
A Behind-the-Scenes Look at LE Audio
The views and opinions expressed by Peter Liu are his own, acting as an…
Additional Related Resources
5 Key Hearables Trends For 2021
Hearables present an unprecedented opportunity for innovation at the convergence of personalized audio and wellness…
Yes, 5G Is Great, But WiFi And Bluetooth Really Matter Too
What many people don’t realize, however, is that just as there have been important…
Qualcomm's latest earbud chip is built for Bluetooth LE Audio
At CES in January, Bluetooth SIG announced a spin-off standard for for wireless sound called…
TIME: The Best Inventions of 2020, Better Buds
Wireless earbuds are increasingly capable of blocking the noise of the outside world while…
Listen to Bluetooth’s low power, high quality LC3 codec coming soon to headphones,
Meaning better battery life, or smaller earbuds
Hearing aids - destroy the stigma, increase the functions
Hearing aids can be stigmatised because they’re associated with growing old – meanwhile the…
Turn It Up
On trend at this year’s CES were developments in the traditionally slow-moving medical electronics…
The Future of Bluetooth Technology
Get the latest trends and forecasts in key Bluetooth solution areas and see how…
Inside the development of Bluetooth’s new Low Energy Audio standard
Improved audio for people with hearing loss and a Broadcast Audio feature that allows…
A First Look at the Next Generation of Bluetooth Audio
Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) VP of Marketing Ken Kolderup hosts this on-demand member…