Once upon a time, people with hearing loss had a lot of difficulty hearing in public
places that were important to their lives, such as airports, conference centers, theaters,
and places of worship.
Whether you attended a lecture or religious service, for example, you may have felt that
the voice of the speaker at the front of the room blended too much with whispers or
other background sounds. So, what was supposed to be a sermon may have sounded
like muddled noise.
Or had you arrived at an airport, the sounds of people milling about may have melded
with the public address (PA) announcements, making it tricky to interpret important
information such as flight changes or delays.
Even a simple trip to the movies may have been spoiled by muffled audio or
background chatter.
Thankfully, assistive listening systems came into the picture.
Assistive listening systems (ALS) are technologies that make it easier to hear speech
in environments that would otherwise pose difficulties for people with hearing loss.
Common in places like lecture halls, airports, and theaters, ALS transmit sound to
receivers in hearing aids, helping people with hearing loss to hear more clearly amidst
background noise, poor acoustics, or distance from the speaker.
And the most groundbreaking of these ALS technologies is now emerging as the next-
generation connectivity standard—Auracast™ broadcast audio.
Let’s explore how Auracast came to be, how it works, and how you can benefit from it in
public places through Vitality AI hearing aids.
Hearing loop precedes Auracast with “personal loudspeaker” technology
Before there was Auracast, there was hearing loop (sometimes called “inductive loop”)
technology—an effective ALS solution still widely used in public locations today.
What is hearing loop technology? A form of hearing assistive technology, a hearing loop
is a hidden wire system or zone installed in a room, which allows hearing aids to directly
receive sound from a sound source such as a microphone (in a lecture hall, for
example).
How hearing loop technology works
In order for the transmission to work, each hearing aid must be equipped with a telecoil
(also known as T-Coils), or magnetic sensor that receives the electromagnetic signal
from the hearing loop. This allows the wearer to better hear the person who is speaking
into the microphone, or the audio source at a cinema.
So, in properly equipped public venues like airports, theaters, sports arenas,
transportation stations and so on, telecoils essentially allow a hearing aid to act as a
personal “loudspeaker” for the public sound system.
While hearing loops continue to be a helpful hearing assistive technology, there have
been some drawbacks. As the Auracast website states:
“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 (of
installation), and lack of privacy.”
These limitations prompted the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) to team with the
hearing aid industry to “define and introduce the next generation of assistive listening
system technology”—Auracast broadcast audio.
Auracast addresses hearing loop limitations with greater accessibility
Becoming increasingly available in wireless devices and public domains, Auracast
broadcast audio takes ALS technology a significant step further to provide even more
accessibility to people of all hearing levels.
Whereas hearing loops rely on electromagnetic fields to transmit audio to hearing aids,
Auracast utilizes the power of Bluetooth® technology to stream audio directly to
devices such as hearing aids, earbuds, or headphones. And it’s easier than ever to
access.
Check it out:
How Auracast works
Let’s say you’re on the stair-climber at the gym, and you’d really like to hear one of the
TVs hanging from the facing wall. According to Auracast’s website, all it takes is three
simple steps to hear this audio through Auracast:
- Auracast begins a broadcast
The Auracast transmitter begins an Auracast broadcast, which provides your smart
device such as a smartphone, smart watch, smart TV, hearing aid remote, etc., with
information about the broadcast, along with one or more audio streams (in the event of
right/left devices).
With regards to hearing TV audio at the gym: Auracast would let, say, your smartphone
know that the audio for “Gym TV #1” is accessible to hear.
- Smart device transfers broadcast info to hearing aids
The smart device scans for Auracast broadcasts and then provides you with an
interface where you can select an Auracast broadcast to join.
So, similarly to how you would select the wi-fi network of your gym, you would be able
to select the Auracast broadcast of “Gym TV 1” (from a potential list), to listen to. - You choose an Auracast broadcast
After you select the Auracast broadcast, the smart device provides your hearing aids (or
headphones, earbuds, etc.) with the information it needs to join the broadcast.
This can include the name of the broadcast, the channel you might be listening to, the
language you might be interested in, and more.
From there, you could stream that gym TV audio directly to your hearing devices,
without missing a beat (or a step on the stair-climber).
What are some of the benefits of Auracast?
Auracast makes audio easily accessible, and here is what that means for hearing aid
wearers in public locations:
Stay informed on important information
It’s essential to stay up to date on information that can affect you, particularly in places
with public address (PA) systems such as airports, train stations, conference centers,
and so forth. You’ll never have to miss another announcement, thanks to Auracast and
the ability to “tune-in” to PA audio—directly through your hearing aids.
No more silent screens
Gone is the boredom of staring at silent TVs or monitors in places like waiting rooms,
restaurants, or airports. Auracast allows you to stream the audio from these electronics
straight to your hearing aids for a more enjoyable experience.
And it goes without saying you’ll get even more satisfaction out of movies or plays in
theaters. Through Auracast, you can delight in high-quality sound without missing a line.
Learn more on tours
Immersing yourself in cultural, historical, and educational tours in places like museums,
concert halls, or historical venues, is now even easier with Auracast. Select the tour
broadcast and listen to it through your hearing aids—every step of the way.
Support for different languages
For public places that facilitate translation services, such as conference centers,
Auracast even allows hearing aid wears to listen to audio in their preferred language.
Vitality AI hearing aids are Auracast-ready—thanks to LE Audio
Audibel is all about future-forward connectivity, which is why our Vitality AI hearing aids
feature built-in Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) Audio—the latest Bluetooth technology that
allows the hearing aids to access Auracast audio broadcasts.
So, besides benefitting you with the next-generation connectivity standard for public
places everywhere—your Vitality AI hearing aids will be able to pair more easily,
connect more quickly, provide a more robust stream, and gain higher-quality audio all
around.
(LE Audio also allows for universal connectivity between your Vitality hearing aids and
Apple iOS and new Android phones.)
Learn more about Auracast connectivity from your hearing specialist
At Audibel, we’re all about helping you hear the most out of life. And helping you hear
your best in public places through Auracast-ready hearing aids is just one of the many
ways we do this.
To learn more about Auracast connectivity and the many other joys of hearing available
through Vitality AI hearing aids, schedule an appointment with an Audibel hearing
specialist today.
