Summary
A three-page comparison of hearing loops, FM/RF, infrared, audio over Wi-Fi and Auracast used as an assistive listening system, for users and facility staff.
Key findings
- Gives typical latency ranges of about 1-20 ms for loops and infrared, 1-30 ms for FM/RF, 200-300+ ms for audio over Wi-Fi, and about 36-100+ ms for Auracast depending on transmitter, receiver and sample rate. It calls less than 30-40 ms acceptable.
- States that 16 kHz and 24 kHz sample-rate streams work with hearing aids and cochlear implants, while 48 kHz music-quality streams do not.
- Lists Auracast's standing against the ADA standard as "under investigation", marks service counters, retail checkouts and speech-transfer systems as "yet to be solved", and marks classrooms, movie theaters, museums, stadiums and public transport as in development.
- Says receivers with neckloops will be needed for the foreseeable future because extremely few hearing aid users have Auracast.
- Advises that any system needing a QR code, an app or extra devices will leave some people out.
Limits
A summary chart: the latency ranges are not linked to specific measurements. The guide states that consumers prefer hearing loops, so it reflects the publisher's advocacy position.
Read the original
centerforhearingaccess.org/wp-content/uploads/Assistive-Listening-Systems-Quick-Guide.pdf
Cited in
- Should the Auracast stream be delayed to line up with the loudspeakers?Open
- Which hearing devices can receive which systems?Open
- Which systems satisfy the ADA and building codes, and does a listener's own phone count?Disputed
- 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
- What do listeners prefer, and how often do they use venue systems?Partly answered
- How much delay does Wi-Fi streaming add, and when does it matter?Not reliable yet
- What does Wi-Fi streaming need from the venue's network and from listeners' phones?Partly answered
- Where does infrared assistive listening work, and where does it fall short?Partly answered
- Should a venue keep its hearing loop when it adds Auracast, and can one system serve both?Partly answered
- What does each system cost to install and to run over its life?Open
- What works for announcements and ticket counters on buses, trains, stations and airports?Partly answered
- What reaches a cochlear implant user in a venue, and how well?Partly answered
- Do neckloops give telecoil users good sound from FM, infrared, Wi-Fi and Auracast receivers?Not reliable yet
- What works in theatres and cinemas, and what do the rules ask of them?Partly answered
- What works in hospitals, clinics and pharmacies, where a misheard word can matter most?Partly answered
Cite this source
Center for Hearing Access (reviewed by Juliette Sterkens, AuD). Assistive Listening Systems Quick Guide. Center for Hearing Access, The John G. Shedd Institute. 29 October 2025. https://centerforhearingaccess.org/wp-content/uploads/Assistive-Listening-Systems-Quick-Guide.pdf (accessed 9 October 2026).
Every finding here cites its source, and who funded each source is labelled. This site does not recommend products. Found an error or a missing study? Suggest a correction.