Auracast™ Broadcast Audio
Is Heard Loud and Clear at
HLAA 2024

Last week, a wide range of hearing health innovations were introduced at this year’s Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) Convention in Phoenix. The largest event of its kind, the HLAA brings together a unique mix of industry and technology experts to demonstrate the latest advances in hearing health care and assistive listening technology.

One of this year’s show stealers at the convention was Auracast™ broadcast audio. Given its popularity last year at HLAA, as well as the big impact this new Bluetooth® capability made at other major events (Mobile World Congress, Computex, CES, and more), it’s no surprise that Auracast™ products and solutions continued to pique interest at HLAA 2024.

New Assistive Listening Technology

Auracast™ broadcast audio is a new Bluetooth capability that supports the broadcasting of an audio stream to an unlimited number of users simultaneously, and many analysts expect it to revolutionize public listening in the coming years. Auracast™ broadcast audio will let you share your audio, unmute public TVs, and hear your best out in the world. 

For example, imagine attending a conference and being able to tune into the audio of any speaker in the conference hall, hearing what they’re saying directly through your earbuds or hearing instruments with clear, high-quality audio that drowns out the distracting ambient noise of thousands of people talking around you. This year’s attendees had an opportunity to do just that.

Auracast™ Workshops at HLAA 2024

Amongst the broad range of audio innovations being shared at HLAA 2024, the event provided several opportunities to allow attendees to explore Auracast™ broadcast audio firsthand, including an interactive workshop: Keeping Up With Progress and Deployment of Auracast™ Broadcast Audio. In this special pilot program, attendees got to see for themselves all the benefits Auracast™ broadcast audio can provide.

Made possible by a partnership between Listen Technologies, Ampetronic, and GN ReSound with support from the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), this educational workshop gave attendees firsthand insight into Auracast™ broadcast audio, a new Bluetooth standard for broadcast audio and access to audio in public spaces. Representatives from those organizations discussed the Auracast™ pilot installation that HLAA attendees had a chance to try for themselves, as well as other ways they could experience Auracast™ broadcast audio, today.

“We are honored to present at a workshop at this year’s HLAA Convention and to join Ampetronic, GN ReSound, the Bluetooth SIG, HLAA, and other advocates for the hearing loss community in showcasing technologies that increase accessibility to clear audio for everyone,” said Tracy Bathurst, chief technology officer at Listen Technologies.

Three conference rooms at the venue were outfitted with Auracast™ transmitters. So, attendees who visited select booths were able to check out an Auracast™ receiver (hearing aid or earbud) and tune into sessions offered in those conference rooms via Auracast™ broadcast audio.

“Everyone was impressed with the capabilities Auracast™ broadcast audio enabled,” said Kayla Myrhow, senior product marketing manager for the Bluetooth SIG. “Each of the three workshop rooms were outfit with an AURI transmitter from Ampetronic and Listen Technologies, allowing attendees to use headphones with a receiver, or GN Resound Nexia hearing aids to listen and participate better in the workshops.”

Products with Auracast™ support are available today, and this technology is being added to new hearing aids, cochlear implants, and consumer hearing devices. It is currently supported in many new smartphones, tablets, and TVs, and has been introduced in commercial transmitters and receivers for public spaces.