LE Audio and the Future of Hearing

I’m not sure if this is “new” or not, but the graph of anticipated speed of adoption seems pretty slow, even out to 2027. Considering that people will continue to use older devices, Phonak’s approach seems to make the most financial sense. I wonder if they’ll even bother with LE Audio in their next generation of hearing aids? 2023 Market Update | Bluetooth® Technology Website16

3 billion LE Audio devices by 2027

5.7x increase in annual shipments of Bluetooth® enabled hearing devices over the next five years (not sure how they work that out considering almost all hearing aids sold now are bluetooth enabled).

2.5 million Auracast™ broadcast audio locations will be deployed globally by 2030

Oticon support states More/Real do not support LE Audio despite marketing about that. The staff escalated the issue in case there is an update planned and they do not know about it.

Edit: Oticon confirmed “Oticon Real has Bluetooth version 5.1. … The final requirements for Bluetooth Audio LE changed in 2022, which required different hardware components than what is in Oticon More. … But unfortunately, the Mores will not be able to have that technology due to a component requirement it doesn’t have.”

My audiologist received this reply from Oticon regarding LE Audio.

Right now the Reals have been released using low-energy Bluetooth and we cannot comment on any changes in the streaming in the future with Real or subsequent product releases.

In 2022 the BT SIG announced the completion of the LE Audio specification suite, as a result Auracast broadcast audio was released. This allows an infinite number of listeners to receive a broadcast audio signal directly to their devices for a shared listening experience. Using this technology audio can be streamed to HA enabled with this feature. Currently products using LE Audio and Auracast are not readily available but are expected to come soon.
Once a new version of BT is released it will take hearing aid manufacturers time to evaluate its suitability for our products and adapt the technology accordingly. Hearing aids do much greater signal processing than any type of Bluetooth earphone/speaker/etc. Streaming from a hearing aid is much more complex than streaming with BT headphones. With a set of headphones you simply pair to the phone, but with hearing aids are using multiple protocols. Its using ABLE (Apple BLE) for calls, BLE for connection to App, & NFMI for binaural coordination. Conventional BT headphones don’t have to deal with any of that so hearing aid use is much more complex.

Err… yes. Don’t know where Apple came from.

The Oticon response seems like a “whatever” reply. Riding the BLE.

I am looking forward to Bluetooth LE Audio.

@user357 said:

My audiologist received this reply from Oticon regarding LE Audio.

Right now the Reals have been released using low-energy Bluetooth and we cannot comment on any changes in the streaming in the future with Real or subsequent product releases.

In 2022 the BT SIG announced the completion of the LE Audio specification suite, as a result Auracast broadcast audio was released. This allows an infinite number of listeners to receive a broadcast audio signal directly to their devices for a shared listening experience. Using this technology audio can be streamed to HA enabled with this feature. Currently products using LE Audio and Auracast are not readily available but are expected to come soon.
Once a new version of BT is released it will take hearing aid manufacturers time to evaluate its suitability for our products and adapt the technology accordingly. Hearing aids do much greater signal processing than any type of Bluetooth earphone/speaker/etc. Streaming from a hearing aid is much more complex than streaming with BT headphones. With a set of headphones you simply pair to the phone, but with hearing aids are using multiple protocols. Its using ABLE (Apple BLE) for calls, BLE for connection to App, & NFMI for binaural coordination. Conventional BT headphones don’t have to deal with any of that so hearing aid use is much more complex.

That sounds like a shoddy “go away and stop asking me questions” answer.

ABLE and NFMI go the way of the dodo bird with BLE Audio. On top of that, Oticon posted a job announcement for a BLE Audio engineer all the way back in 2021, so they have clearly been working on it for a while.

Left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing?

As far as I know, Oticon are using Zephyr OS. If you look at the Github for Zephyr OS, you can get a sense of their progress on LE Audio. From what I can see, they’re busy working on it, but it is not ready yet.

I imagine Oticon may support LE audio once it has been released in Zephyr OS.

My impression from the version numbers and the roadmap was that they weren’t even close. @ssa thinks Oticon don’t have to wait for Zephyr if they want to do their own development.

Found this Zongle USB-A dongle from Zound Industries in Bluetooth Launch Studio. I believe it’s the first USB dongle with Auracast I’ve found so far.

https://launchstudio.bluetooth.com/ListingDetails/16964518

Not available yet, but at least we know it’s certified for LE Audio and Auracast.

Late to the party on ChatGPT.

Q:
have any hearing aid manufacturers committed to LE Audio?

A:
Yes, some hearing aid manufacturers have committed to adopting LE Audio technology in their devices. LE Audio is a new standard for Bluetooth audio that was introduced in 2020 and is designed to provide better audio quality, lower power consumption, and greater versatility than previous Bluetooth standards.

One of the key benefits of LE Audio for hearing aid users is its support for a new feature called “Audio Sharing,” which allows multiple users to stream audio content to their hearing aids simultaneously. This can be especially useful in group settings, such as a movie theater or concert venue, where multiple individuals with hearing loss may want to listen to the same audio stream.

Several hearing aid manufacturers have announced plans to incorporate LE Audio into their devices, including:

1. Phonak: Phonak, a leading manufacturer of hearing aids, has announced that it will be incorporating LE Audio into its future devices, starting in 2022.
2. Oticon: Oticon, another major hearing aid manufacturer, has also committed to supporting LE Audio in its future devices.
3. ReSound: ReSound, a Danish hearing aid manufacturer, has announced plans to incorporate LE Audio into its upcoming hearing aids.
4. Widex: Widex, a Danish manufacturer of hearing aids, has also committed to supporting LE Audio in its future devices.

Overall, the adoption of LE Audio by hearing aid manufacturers is a positive development for individuals with hearing loss, as it will allow them to take advantage of new features and capabilities that were not possible with previous Bluetooth standards.

Edit: I wouldn’t be surprised if some of this is factually incorrect. ChatGPT told me that Whisper AI hearing aids are CIC, which they’re not.

Resound Omnia has LE Audio now I believe as does Cochlear Nucleus 8. Equipment is there, just need an update.

You all have been great sharing information.

I found this discussion from late last year on LinkedIn.

Nick Hunn introduces the new JBL bud that features a display with controls on its charging case, then makes the point that you could potentially use such a device as a “broadcast assistant” to select and control Auracast streams for your buds or aids. This could subvert the role of the smart watch and potentially even the mobile phone. Other contributors to the discussion include our own @AbramBaileyAuD and Joao Martins, a journalist who writes very good articles for AudioExpress.

Personally, I wonder whether we need to give phone manufacturers a reason to be nervous about LE Audio and Auracast, but that’s me.

You might need a LinkedIn account to see it.

Auracast and the Evolution of the Earbud Case10

Sometimes, it needs what seems to be a small, tangential innovation to make a product successful. At the time, it may not seem much, but it can result in the product acquiring a life of its own.

@d_Wooluf said:

This could subvert the role of the smart watch and potentially even the mobile phone.

I guess fashion and style can subvert just about anything. But something that you wear on your body that’s large enough to have a decent battery, that can monitor your heart rate, breathing, motion in bed while sleeping, exercise, and steps taken during the day, etc., isn’t going to be replaced anytime soon. I’d say most HA wearers don’t want to have to lug a charging case around with them, and many Apple AirPod users just keep the dang things stuck in their ears most of the day-more feasible to go without a charging case, too, when LE Audio becomes real and earbuds don’t run on classic BT.

I had a serious attack of atrial fibrillation on 4/22. While staring out a front door window just musing on the afternoon, I began to feel funny. My Apple Watch dinged, I looked down, and it warned me my heart rate had risen above 125 bpm. I ran an ECG (heartbeat pattern monitor), which showed atrial fibrillation with an average of 175 bpm and short bursts as high as 258 bpm. I doubt an earbud case is going to be able to do any of this. With the Apple Watch Ultra, I can just press the side button, set a waypoint on the watch to where my car is parked, and after shopping, use the watch’s GPS (which is more precise than the iPhone’s) to find my car in any large parking lot. My watch is cellular, too. I can place and take phone calls without having to be connected to my iPhone. I doubt there is a market for all this stuff in an earbud case. The same people who “sold” us BT LE Audio are now selling us miraculous earbud cases that are going to replace smartwatches and smartphones?