Charlie Swinbourne: Is Auracast the future of hearing aid accessibility in public spaces? (BSL)

Two weeks ago, I attended a roundtable in London organised by GN Hearing (who make hearing aids under the Resound, Danalogic and Beltone brands) discussing a new technology called Auracast, which is set to revolutionise the sound quality that hearing aid users can get when watching live performances.

You’re probably wondering – what is Auracast?

It’s a new broadcasting technology busing Bluetooth low energy audio – a type of Bluetooth where the signal is sent out much further than would be possible with a typical Bluetooth device like a phone.

Auracast can be used for live performances such as theatre or concerts, but also on public address systems (like train announcements) or televisions, with audiences receiving the audio via their hearing aids, cochlear implants or via headphones or earbuds.

The clearest way it can be described is of offering what loop systems have traditionally offered, but with improved sound clarity, multiple audio channels if needed, and more ways of adjusting audio settings for each user, and with a simpler installation.

Many deaf people know how unreliable loop systems can be – for a variety of reasons. Many (including me) don’t even try to use loops because we’ve been let down so often by broken or switched-off systems. The hope is that this new technology – which can sit alongside loop systems – will transform the experiences typical hearing aid users get, and one thing that may help with that is that the audio can also be accessed by non-deaf people.

For example, hearing people may prefer to hear a direct stream of the audio from a performance, hearing a singer clearly, for example. While people with autism may prefer to block out background noise by listening via Auracast on their headphones. And more people using Auracast – deaf or hearing – means that venues will be even more incentivised to provide it and ensure it works well.

There are several ways that Auracast broadcasts can be accessed. If you have a hearing aid which has Auracast in it, then it’s as simple as going on the app and selecting the Auracast channel. Headphones may also have it. Another option if you don’t have either of those is being given a receiver by the venue, which then collects the Auracast signal, in much the way that people would use loop kits or headphones at venues currently.

What’s exciting for me personally is not only the clarity of sound, but also the prospect that I could go to a venue and simply select the Auracast signal to get clear audio straight into my hearing aids, without having to get a special device from the box office and go through the hassle of queuing, asking for the device, figuring out how it works, then returning it afterwards. Others may prefer not to use a device that attracts attention from other theatre-goers, although that’s never bothered me personally, for me it’s more about being able to be like any other audience member.

For me, using a clearer audio channel like Auracast wouldn’t replace using captioning, BSL interpretation or speech-to-text, but would go alongside it, giving me a better chance to enjoy music or singing, or to get a sense of the vocal delivery of actors, while also using other access provision like captions (my personal preference).

The meeting on Wednesday was attended by representatives from high-profile theatre and arts venues, people working in audiology and for deaf charities, who were all discussing how Auracast can be adopted more widely, and what the barriers might be to the service becoming more available.

Liam O’Dell, deaf writer and theatre critic, has been very involved with encouraging venues to take up the technology and told the attendees about attending an Auracast broadcast of a string quartet playing at the Sydney Opera House. Liam explained how the sound was clearer than a loop system and emphasised the importance of ‘plurality of access’ – that there are different means of access which suit different people, and this should be embraced.

Auracast can be found in hearing aids from GN Hearing – who organised the roundtable, but also by several other manufacturers, and it is spreading all the time. I would encourage deaf people to ask their audiologist whether their hearing aid will have Auracast (just to mention that some aids are marketed as ‘Auracast ready’ which may mean they require a future upgrade to the software). The hope is that the NHS will soon include Auracast in the minimum standards for hearing aids. And on another note, some televisions are now being sold with Auracast already available in them, including from manufacturers like LG and Samsung.

One hearing aid user at the roundtable became emotional when they described hearing via Auracast, saying that they were used to rubbish sound and “this is so much better.” Devices are springing up online which have Auracast in them – although the quality may vary.

So what are the barriers to Auracast becoming more widespread? This was also discussed at length at the meeting.

Among the issues are that more deaf people need to have hearing aids which have Auracast in them. Second, it’s vital that more deaf people who would benefit from Auracast become more aware of it and tell other deaf people, so that there’s wider awareness of it, and beyond that that deaf people ask and advocate for it. That in turn will lead to more venues providing the service.

There’s a bit of a journey ahead for Auracast and the deaf people who will benefit from it. My hope is that the technology will become more widely available sooner rather than later, and I’m excited about the first time I’ll be able to take in a live performance using it.

As well as being the editor of Limping Chicken, Charlie is a photographer and award-winning writer.