Using the T-coil

Subtitles? Or closed captioning? I once watched a Swedish detective show with subtitles. It was quite good to be able to get the jokes rather than the slow to catch up closed captioning where you miss nuance.

It’s incredible the amount of overloaded sound tv and movies put in. Add to that the complication of surround sound. A workaround is to adjust down the surrounds and boost up the center. The center is where the dialog is placed. I once even experimented with turning the surrounds all the way down. It was kinda weird listening with no mood music or ambient sounds. Just dialog.
But if you don’t have a surround system then the cacophony overruns the dialog.

Cost is a big difference between Auracast and a Loop. Auracast transmitters start at around $50 and go up depending on what you add to it. I can see a venue spending a couple hundred dollars much quicker than thousands of dollars. I am planning on sponsoring an Auracast transmitter for the church I attend.

What does a loop system cost?
Loops systems vary in cost, depending on the size, loop design, and construction of the room. Small room installations may cost $5,000 to $10,000. Typical installations costs for larger venues such as small auditoriums, senior centers, churches, etc. are $11,000 – $35,000. Performing Art centers, Theaters, large auditoriums, and arenas at $50,000 to $200,000.

Installation and Cost - American Hearing Loop1

Auracast Transmitter for Churches | Avantree Oasis Aura – Venucast1

I think that estimate is excessive to deter installing a loop.
It’s one circle (loop) of unshielded wire (can be insulated). The mic and the sound system would be the same as for any system including Auracast.
You know how a speaker connection out of an amp has two ends like red and black? You connect one end of the loop to one and the other end of the loop to the other. Bam. One loop. A loop acts a lot like a speaker. But only the telecoil picks up the output.
If you’re renovating then you run the wire around the area you want to be a loop. Or in a basement or attic. Run it back to the amp.
You still need a cable from the amp to go to the Auracast transmitter.

Please don’t get me wrong, I think Auracast is a great improvement. But it still needs widespread adoption in hearing aids. Telecoil’s are almost ubiquitous in hearing aids. Loops not so much. Same as Auracast.

Since American Hearing Loop is a company that installs and services hearing loop systems I doubt that they would be wanting to deter people from installing loop systems.

Welcome - American Hearing Loop

I believe that you underestimate what is required for a hearing loop. The amplifier for a hearing loop is not the same as a normal audio amplifier.

Ok. Never tried. Everything is always worth trying rather than just saying no.
https://spectrum.ieee.org/a-diy-audio-induction-loop-for-the-hard-of-hearing9

Interesting article. Reading it carefully provides much information about telecoils and loops. It also explains the limitations of the DIY system described in the article.

But it works……………………

It’s and old tech, but still, at least for 10 more years, telecoil will not be replaced by auracast, the main issue is burocracy, ald this kind of technologies are for public use, and therefore is hard to see it implemented soon.
Also Auracast it’s barely studied, there are no scientific papers talking about it, and for now, all expectatives around are part of marketing.
But providers don’t give any good explanation, where are the limits? are there gonna be any sound artifacts? will every device be compatible?. They are selling it like it’s magic, i don’t think so.

You are correct that Auracast will not replace Telecoil for some time. However, given that Auracast transmitters are much less expensive than Telecoil systems, I expect the transition to Auracast to be much easier than convincing venues to install Telecoil systems.

For example, most theaters near me use proprietary infrared systems instead of Telecoil loops. Why? Because IR is cheaper to install, especially in an existing building.

What sort of scientific papers do you want to see? Most of what is available are engineering specifications and discussions of how Auracast works. This information is well past the research stage, which is when most scientific papers are usually generated.

Auracast | Bluetooth® Technology Website
Auracast - For Developers | Bluetooth® Technology Website1

Opportunities and Challenges for Bluetooth LE Audio Assistive Listening Systems | IEEE Conference Publication | IEEE Xplore1

Auracast Report February 2025 (RNID) - Center for Hearing Access1 (Royal National Institute for Deaf People)

ABI_Research Auracast Broadcast Audio Retrofit Solutions and Opportunities.pdf

Yes. Keep me in the loop.

Thanks for the response.
This is what worries me about the advance of Auracast, most of info right now only comes from the same people that sells the system, therefore, for a bureucrat looking for inclusión is hardly enough information because it will obviously be biased. Normally to satisfy people willing to invest public funding into anything, you will need research done by universities or nonprofit organizations (unless there is corruption inside), in this case the RNID paper is the stronger here.
Aside from this, my main concern about auracast so far it’s about inclusion issues related to occupational issues, the RNID paper provides some concerns as well, as there will be some barriers related to the Auracast assistant you will use. Talking with occupational professionals, their main concerns so far about auracast is where most of the hard of hearing people is, and if we think about age, most old people try to avoid thing with too many steps, you may consider this is not a problem, but it is when looking for public funding, because if people will not use it, then, we are talking about an inclusion barrier.
What i was thinking for the near future is Telecoil for short interactions, like a bank, or any window service, and auracast for other longer interactions, with assisting people involved.

I agree with Auracast working fine in solitaire, but no artifacts reported so far? it’s kind of strange to me, it will have limitations, and it will have artifacts, probably nothing to worry too much about. Also, i’m looking for word discrimination tests if possible, many people will say that it feels good when talking about surround sound and intensity of the sound, but it is really working how it should be? it is really getting all the neccesary frequencies? too much selling like it is perfect, i don’t buy it yet.

@JORGESILVA said:

to satisfy people willing to invest public funding into anything

Where I live I don’t think government bureaucrats are interested at all. If they were, there would be more than just the one looped public building in my city. There are no mandates at all as far as I know and no government contribution to assistive hearing infrastructure. Sure, I get this doesn’t apply all over the world.

@JORGESILVA said:

barriers related to the Auracast assistant

I kind of agree with that. I do note however that on the latest Samsung UI, it’s one swipe down and one button press to get to the list of broadcasts.

@JORGESILVA said:

no artifacts reported so far

It’s just connectionless LE Audio. Thousands of people connect their phones with their hearing aids or buds using LE Audio. I think we would have heard by now.

@JORGESILVA said:

it is really getting all the neccesary frequencies

I believe it covers the full range of human hearing.

@z10user2 said:

Subtitles? Or closed captioning? I once watched a Swedish detective show with subtitles. It was quite good to be able to get the jokes rather than the slow to catch up closed captioning where you miss nuance.

Here in the US- movie theaters/Cinema have closed captions- but you need a device to be able to see them- either a pair of glasses with a reciever or a device you can stick in the cup holder with a small screen. They won’t give them out to just anybody because of limited supply. Theater near here has maybe 3 or 4 pairs of the glasses. Half the time they’re broken. I think also you have to prove you are hard of hearing/deaf- don’t remember if they asked or not- that was over 10+ years ago.

subtitles are “open caption”- built into the film itself so that everyone can see it (I’m no expert in that area). subtitle usually refers to foreign language films, open captions are almost always for Deaf folks who want to see the film without having to rely on physical devices; biggest problem is lack of availability- they’re only screened like once or twice a month on specific dates :/.