The biggest development over the last few years in private hearing aids is more integrated support for use in smart devices, which allows people to adjust their settings from their smartphone, take advantage of additional software updates, or turn certain types of earphones into makeshift hearing aids.
The most famous example of this has been from Apple, and whilst the hearing aid functionality of the AirPods Pro 2 has not received regulatory approval, that looks to change very soon.
An announcement that earphones with hearing test and hearing aid functionality can be sold over the counter is a game changer for people with low levels of hearing loss, even if the most effective solutions will come from audiologists and professionally fitted devices.
These two announcements have galvanised Android developers, the software at the heart of the majority of the world’s smartphones, with Bluetooth LE Audio support being more closely integrated into their smartphones with assisted listening devices in mind.
The most recent Android update, initially rolled out with the Samsung Galaxy S25 but set to expand to any Android 15 device, incorporates Bluetooth LE Audio support to make it easier to use and adjust the settings of supported hearing aids directly through the phone.
Whilst there are some different hearing aids that come with Bluetooth support and can connect to smartphones, they commonly do this through dedicated applications, which are not universal, not always intuitive for users and, most importantly, use a lot of battery life on both the phone and hearing aids.
Bluetooth LE allows for lower-latency connections and native management of presets and controls, which allows for the kind of standardised listening experience required of hearing aids to ensure they can be used by anyone, anywhere at any time.
They also enable support for wireless listening and wireless calling through a system that is claimed to be the next step in telecoil technology.
One of the most important features fitted to almost every hearing aid is the telecoil, which allows the use of the hearing induction loop system.
This means that in some compatible public areas, you can flip the switch on the hearing aid to “T” and have access to significantly cleaner, clearer audio, something that is essential on a railway platform, at the checkout or in public venues.
They are widely available and a legal requirement in many buildings, so the telecoil is not going anywhere anytime soon, but one of the developments of Bluetooth LE Audio is Auracast, an audio streaming system that allows hearing aids to receive direct sound from a variety of audio devices.
This would not only include public announcement systems as has been seen in marketing material, but also smartphones, smart televisions and a wide range of other environments.
The primary concern for this technology has been battery consumption, and this is in no small part why it has required a low energy, low latency version of Bluetooth to be widely distributed first.
This will take a very long time to be implemented widely both in hearing aids and in public places, but it is possible that in the future there could be a switchover from the T-coil to the Auracast switch.
