Assistive Listening Knowledge Base

Technology

Auracast

Questions and sources on Auracast broadcast audio: Bluetooth LE Audio streams from venue transmitters to hearing aids, earbuds, phones and loan receivers.

Introduction

Auracast broadcast audio uses Bluetooth LE Audio to send a venue's sound from a transmitter to listeners' own devices or to loan receivers1,2,3. The SIG says any number of receivers in range can join a broadcast4. Listeners hear it on hearing aids, implant processors, earbuds, headphones or phones with Auracast built in3,2. Others use a receiver with headphones, earbuds or a neckloop3. Listeners choose the stream with a phone, smartwatch or other assistant5,6. A broadcast can be open, or protected by a Broadcast Code that listeners type in or scan from a QR code7,6. Few listeners can join yet: the Center for Hearing Access estimates that 95% of users do not yet have hearing instruments with Auracast8. It also separates "Auracast Ready" devices, which have the hardware but cannot connect yet, from "Auracast Enabled" ones9. In a study run by the hearing-aid maker GN Hearing, 18 listeners with hearing loss preferred Auracast's sound to a hearing loop's in 76% of trials, in one room with one hearing-aid model10. The question What do listeners prefer, and how often do they use venue systems? weighs this against other studies.

Transmitters send in the 2.4 GHz band under that band's radio rules, such as 47 CFR 15.247 in the US and EN 300 328 in Europe11,12,13,14. The Bluetooth SIG's specifications require every broadcast receiver to decode the 16 and 24 kHz settings and to play audio no later than 40 ms after the stream's timing reference11. The Public Broadcast Profile calls these settings Standard Quality and the 48 kHz ones High Quality, and sets no requirements for coverage, transmit power or audio level7. Receiving 48 kHz is optional in the specification11. HLAA states that a transmitter sending only High Quality streams will not work with hearing devices, while one maker says its 2026 hearing aid receives both5,15. A venue that uses the Auracast name must offer a Standard Quality stream and register the location with the SIG, which owns the trademark16. IEC 63087:2026, published in September 2026, includes sections on 2.4 GHz audio broadcasting for hearing aids17. IEC 60118-17, a standard for 2.4 GHz broadcast assistive listening to hearing aids, is in preparation, listed by its committee with the date November 202718.

Whether an Auracast installation meets the ADA is disputed4,5,8. Asked "Is Auracast broadcast audio ADA compliant?", the SIG's FAQ answers "Absolutely"4. HLAA states that "there is no such thing as an ADA-compliant assistive listening technology"5. The Center for Hearing Access says it is too soon to say whether installations can meet the ADA8.

Questions

The questions that report evidence on Auracast, including the shared ones on codes, receivers, neckloops, telecoils and what listeners prefer (also listed under Shared).

See these questions in the tracker, with its filters

Sources

156 sources in the library report on Auracast, newest first, with undated web pages last.

  • 30 independent
  • 49 manufacturer
  • 23 standards body
  • 23 nonprofit advocacy
  • 26 trade body
  • 5 government

See these sources in the evidence library, with its filters

Sources of the introduction

  1. Trends in Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids and Hearing Aid Compatibility for Wireless Phones. Kozma-Spytek L. HearingTracker, 22 July 2022. Independent (analysis prepared to inform the ATIS Hearing Aid Compatibility Task Force by Linda Kozma-Spytek, whose author note describes the author as a technology consultant to HLAA and an investigator at Gallaudet University's DHH Tech RERC; data from HearingTracker's product database, provided by its CEO Abram Bailey; published by HearingTracker, a consumer hearing aid site that carries advertising) ↩︎ https://www.hearingtracker.com/news/trends-in-audio-streaming-for-hearing-aids
  2. Share your world of sound with LE Audio on Android. Ray P (Product Manager, Android). Google, The Keyword blog, 3 September 2025. Manufacturer (Google) ↩︎ https://blog.google/products/android/le-audio-auracast-support/
  3. Coupling Options: Ways to Connect to Assistive Listening System Audio. Kaneb A (credited on the chart). Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), 2026. Nonprofit advocacy (Hearing Loss Association of America, a US consumer organisation for people with hearing loss; the chart is credited to Andrea Kaneb and names no funder) ↩︎ https://www.hearingloss.org/wp-content/uploads/documents/advocacy-resources/hlaa-coupling-options-als-chart.pdf
  4. Auracast frequently asked questions. Bluetooth SIG, undated (read 13 October 2026). Trade body (Bluetooth SIG marketing material; the SIG is an industry association funded by its member companies and owns the Auracast trademark) ↩︎ https://www.bluetooth.com/auracast/faq/
  5. Auracast Systems (technology and accessibility page). Hearing Loss Association of America. Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), 28 September 2026. Nonprofit advocacy (Hearing Loss Association of America, a US consumer organisation for people with hearing loss; its site asks for memberships and donations and lists corporate partners and advertising) ↩︎ https://www.hearingloss.org/technology-and-accessibility/auracast/
  6. How to build an Auracast assistant: technical overview, version 1.0. Bluetooth SIG Market Development. Bluetooth SIG, 29 October 2025. Standards body (Bluetooth SIG, an industry association funded by its member companies, which owns the Auracast trademark) ↩︎ https://www.bluetooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2403_How_To_Auracast_Assistant.pdf
  7. Public Broadcast Profile, version 1.0.2. Bluetooth SIG Audio, Telephony, and Automotive Working Group. Bluetooth SIG, 3 November 2025. Standards body (Bluetooth SIG, an industry association funded by its member companies, which owns the Auracast trademark) ↩︎ https://www.bluetooth.com/wp-content/uploads/Files/Specification/HTML/pbp_v1-0-2_1761252922/PBP_v1.0.2/out/en/index-en.html
  8. Auracast streamed assistive listening system (resource page). Center for Hearing Access, undated (read 9 October 2026). Nonprofit advocacy (Center for Hearing Access, an initiative of The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts; it states that it accepts no donations from hearing-related vendors) ↩︎ https://centerforhearingaccess.org/auracast/
  9. "Worldwide Access" hearing instruments list. Center for Hearing Access (The John G. Shedd Institute). Center for Hearing Access, 11 September 2026. Nonprofit advocacy (Center for Hearing Access, an initiative of The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts; it states that it accepts no donations from hearing-related vendors) ↩︎ https://centerforhearingaccess.org/wp-content/uploads/Worldwide-Access-Hearing-Instruments-List.pdf
  10. Sound quality comparison of Auracast and teleloop systems in a real-world environment. Jespersen CT, Hashem R, Aranda de Toro MA, Fernández D. GN Hearing (ReSound) white paper M201742-26.02, 17 February 2026. Manufacturer (GN Hearing) ↩︎ https://centerforhearingaccess.org/uploads/resound-jespersen/
  11. Basic Audio Profile, version 1.0.3. Bluetooth SIG Generic Audio Working Group. Bluetooth SIG, 23 June 2026. Standards body (Bluetooth SIG, an industry association funded by its member companies, which owns the Auracast trademark) ↩︎ https://www.bluetooth.com/wp-content/uploads/Files/Specification/HTML/bap_v1-0-3_1782503972/BAP_v1.0.3/out/en/index-en.html
  12. Bluetooth Low Energy regulatory aspects document, version 1.01. Bluetooth SIG Regulatory Expert Group. Bluetooth SIG, 23 March 2023. Standards body (Bluetooth SIG, an industry association funded by its member companies, which owns the Auracast trademark) ↩︎ https://www.bluetooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/bluetooth-le-regulatory-aspects-document.pdf
  13. 47 CFR 15.247: operation within the bands 902-928 MHz, 2400-2483.5 MHz, and 5725-5850 MHz. US Federal Communications Commission. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR), 1 April 2020. Government (US Federal Communications Commission) ↩︎ https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/section-15.247
  14. ETSI EN 300 328 V2.2.2: wideband transmission systems; data transmission equipment operating in the 2.4 GHz band. ETSI Technical Committee ERM. European Telecommunications Standards Institute, 1 July 2019. Standards body (ETSI, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute) ↩︎ https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_en/300300_300399/300328/02.02.02_60/en_300328v020202p.pdf
  15. Phonak EON: Connectivity excellence. Roh M (Sonova). Phonak Audiology Blog (Phonak Pro), 17 September 2026. Manufacturer (Sonova / Phonak) ↩︎ https://audiologyblog.phonakpro.com/phonak-eon-connectivity-excellence/
  16. Public Location Brand Guide for Auracast Trademarks. Bluetooth SIG, 15 September 2026. Trade body (Bluetooth SIG, an industry association funded by its member companies, which owns the Auracast trademark; location trademark programme terms) ↩︎ https://www.bluetooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/2025_Public-Location-Brand-Guide-for-Auracast-Trademarks.zip
  17. IEC 63087:2026 Assistive listening devices and systems for active assisted living. IEC TC 100. International Electrotechnical Commission, 18 September 2026. Standards body (International Electrotechnical Commission; the full text is sold, and only a preview is public) ↩︎ https://webstore.iec.ch/en/publication/95094
  18. IEC 60118-17 (in preparation): assistive listening system for hearing aid users based on 2.4 GHz audio streaming. IEC TC 29 WG 13. International Electrotechnical Commission, undated (read 13 October 2026). Standards body (International Electrotechnical Commission) ↩︎ https://tc29.iec.ch/tc-activity/standards-under-preparation/

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