Summary
A two-page handout listing the conditions the Center for Hearing Access sees as needed before Auracast assistive listening is available and usable, with expectations for the transition.
Key findings
- Treats end-to-end latency as the sum of every link from microphone, sound system and transmitter to receiver or phone and hearing instrument, and gives a rule of thumb, marked as under review, of less than about 30 to 40 ms.
- States that Auracast assistive listening is not "plug and play" and needs skilled installers to connect it to existing microphones and audio-visual systems.
- Lists open needs: connection to PA and paging systems, private one-to-one use at service desks and counters, a dedicated assistive-listening stream that hearing instruments can join with minimal interaction, and direct connection without an intermediary device.
- Expects early systems to be used like FM or infrared, with loaned receivers and headphones or neckloops, because it estimates that 99% of users lack Auracast-capable hearing instruments, which people typically keep for 5 to 7 years or more.
- Notes that IEC 60118-17 is scheduled for December 2027 and that until it is published it cannot be known whether products will meet it.
Limits
Advocacy guidance without new measurements. The 99% figure is the publisher's estimate with no stated source. Last revised 15 December 2024.
Read the original
Cited in
- Should the Auracast stream be delayed to line up with the loudspeakers?Open
- Auracast, hearing loop, infrared, RF or Wi-Fi: which suits which room?Disputed
- How many receivers and neckloops does each code require, and how should a loan pool be run?Partly answered
- How do listeners find and join the right broadcast?Open
- Can Auracast serve ticket windows, service counters and reception desks?Open
- How many listeners carry a telecoil, an Auracast-capable device or a smartphone?Disputed
- How much delay does Wi-Fi streaming add, and when does it matter?Not reliable yet
- What does each system cost to install and to run over its life?Open
- What works in hospitals, clinics and pharmacies, where a misheard word can matter most?Partly answered
- What does Auracast qualification and the Auracast logo cover, and what does it leave out?Partly answered
Cite this source
Center for Hearing Access (reviewed by Juliette Sterkens, AuD). What is needed for Auracast streamed assistive listening systems to be available and usable. Center for Hearing Access, The John G. Shedd Institute. 15 December 2024. https://centerforhearingaccess.org/wp-content/uploads/What-is-needed-for-Auracast-streamed-ALS-to-be-available-and-usable.pdf (accessed 9 October 2026).
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