Summary
The joint position of Germany's main associations of hard-of-hearing people and cochlear implant users on Auracast, with recommendations for venues during the transition from induction loops.
Key findings
- Says Auracast-based systems could in the long run replace inductive transmission, and that installing them is in many cases cheaper than installing an induction loop, especially in existing buildings.
- Holds that inductive transmission remains the established standard for people with severe hearing loss who depend on wireless hearing support, and must stay available for the foreseeable future.
- Expects Auracast to reach hearing devices for the mass market of people with milder hearing loss first, and asks that power hearing aids and cochlear implant processors get Auracast reception as soon as possible, at no extra charge, including in devices covered by statutory health insurance.
- Says long usage cycles of hearing devices mean many years will pass before Auracast is widely used, so inductive systems must remain usable during the transition.
- Recommends for the next few years: in new installations, an inductive system combined with a prepared or integrated Auracast solution; for existing induction loops, an added Auracast transmitter that reuses the existing microphones; loan receivers with headphones or a neckloop, easy to operate and with low latency, for people without Auracast; and well-organised lending and maintenance.
- Lists latency, data protection, choosing the right stream (especially when a phone or assistant device is needed) and the usability of loan receivers among the challenges, and asks that receivers work with every maker's transmitters at the same quality, including latency.
- States that installing Auracast systems "ist in vielen Fällen kostengünstiger als die von Induktiven Höranlagen, insbesondere in Bestandsbauten" (is in many cases cheaper than installing induction loops, especially in existing buildings), while induction remains the established standard for people with severe hearing loss and must stay available for the foreseeable future.
- Names the obstacles to wide use: delay, data protection and security, ease of choosing the right stream when a smartphone or assistant device is needed, and ease of use of loan receivers for people without a hearing system or whose system cannot receive Auracast.
- Recommends for the coming years: new installations combining a loop with a prepared or integrated Auracast solution; existing loops supplemented by an Auracast transmitter that reuses the existing microphones; mobile loan receivers with headphones or a neckloop; and user-friendly organisation of lending and maintenance.
- Asks that Auracast be added to all hearing aids and cochlear implant processors, including power aids, at no extra charge, also in the basic devices covered by statutory health insurance, and that receivers work equally well, for example in latency, with transmitters of every make.
Limits
A position paper without data or references. The letterhead says Berlin, July 2026; the file name suggests the text is dated 30 June 2026. In German; summarised here in English.
Read the original
schwerhoerigen-netz.de/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/DHVDSBDCIG_Positionspapier_Auracast.pdf
Cited in
- 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 reaches a cochlear implant user in a venue, and how well?Partly answered
Cite this source
Deutscher Hörverband, Deutsche Cochlea Implantat Gesellschaft and Deutscher Schwerhörigenbund. Gemeinsames Positionspapier zu Auracast (Joint position paper on Auracast). Deutscher Schwerhörigenbund (in German). July 2026. https://schwerhoerigen-netz.de/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/DHVDSBDCIG_Positionspapier_Auracast.pdf (accessed 9 October 2026).
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