GN Hearing becomes World’s first to support Direct Android Streaming to Hearing Devices Using Bluetooth Low Energy

Wed, Sep 4, 2019
By publisher
2 MIN READ

Business

COLLABORATION with Google on hearing aid specification now officially brings direct streaming of music, phone calls and other sound to people with hearing loss.

For the first time, people can stream sound from their compatible Android devices to their ReSound hearing aids using Bluetooth Low Energy.

GN Hearing, the global leader in hearing aid connectivity, and Cochlear, the global leader in implantable hearing solutions, together with Google, today announced world-first support for direct streaming from Android devices to hearing devices for the first time using Bluetooth Low Energy, BLE.

The new technology is based on a recent hearing aid specification, Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids, ASHA, on Bluetooth Low Energy Connection-Oriented Channels, which Google has developed in collaboration with GN Hearing and Cochlear.

This new direct streaming technology from compatible* Android devices allows people to use their hearing devices like a headset to enjoy music, take calls and much more, while using a protocol designed to maximize battery life.

With BLE, people can use technology designed for streaming all day while preserving the battery life of their hearing devices, which is a challenge for the traditional Classic Bluetooth streaming currently available.

“We’ve partnered up with some of the leading technology companies in the world to deliver innovation with the user at heart. Now people with hearing loss can enjoy effortless streaming all day long and easily connect with people,” says Jakob Gudbrand, CEO and President of GN Hearing.

Around 466 million people worldwide live with disabling hearing loss**,   and the number is increasing by millions every year, according to the World Health Organization.

With the official release of Android 10, Google Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, Pixel 3a, and Pixel 3a XL* will be the first Android phones to support direct streaming to  ReSound  LiNX Quattro and  Beltone  Amaze hearing aids .

The new streaming technology will be available by way of an update to Android 10, plus a software update on the hearing devices. The streaming specification is open source, which allows other manufacturers of hearing aids and Android devices to offer direct audio streaming in the near future

– Sept. 4, 2019 @ 11:15 GMT |

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