Select a region
Google is hoping to make Android more accessible to people with disabling hearing loss with the development of native hearing aid support.
The tech giant has announced a partnership with leading hearing aid producers GN Hearing, a Danish firm which has previously worked with Apple on hard of hearing support for the iPhone.
An open specification for hearing aid streaming to Android smartphones has been created by the two companies, meaning any hearing aid maker can build a device that works without any additional equipment to bridge the hearing aid to the phone.
The spec, known as Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids (Asha), details how hearing aid manufacturers can develop low-latency, high-quality audio devices, using Bluetooth to connect and stream to Android smartphones, with little impact on battery life.
“We are honoured to partner with Google for this important development, which will enable direct streaming for even more hearing aid users through their Android devices,” said GN Hearing chief executive Anders Hedegaard.
Disabling hearing loss affects around 466 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organisation. The number is predicted to increase to 900 million people by the year 2050.
GN Hearing expects to add direct streaming to its recently launched ReSound LiNX Quattro and Beltone Amaze hearing aids in a future Android release.
