America’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has adopted new rules which establish that all mobile handsets – such as smartphones – must be compatible with hearing aids.
The rules include new Bluetooth requirements to ensure universal connectivity.
The FCC said that under the new rules, after a transition period, Americans with hearing loss will no longer be limited in their choice of technologies, features and prices available in the mobile handset marketplace.
The commission also established a Bluetooth coupling requirement that will benefit consumers by ensuring more universal connectivity between mobile handsets and hearing aids, including over-the-counter hearing aids, by encouraging handset manufacturers to move away from proprietary Bluetooth coupling standards.
The new rules, adopted on October 17 2024, also require that all new mobile handsets available in the US must meet volume control benchmarks that ensure clear audio for the listener by allowing them to increase a mobile handset’s audio volume without introducing distortion.
“Such requirements accommodate consumers with hearing loss who do not use hearing aids as well as those who rely on hearing aids or cochlear implants,” the FCC said.
The new rules revise labelling and website posting requirements to ensure consumers have access to information they need to make informed buying decisions.
Point-of-sale labelling requirements will clarify if the handset is certified as hearing aid compatible and whether the handset meets telecoil or Bluetooth coupling requirements. Labelling will also provide the handset’s conversational gain – how high the handset’s audio volume can be raised while still meeting volume control requirements.
Establishing a 100% hearing aid compatibility requirement for all mobile handsets was made possible by collaborative efforts of members of the Hearing Aid Compatibility Task Force. This is an independent organisation of wireless service providers, handset manufacturers, research institutions and advocates for those with hearing loss.
Members of the task force worked together for several years to reach consensus on how the commission could achieve its aim of all mobile phones being hearing aid compatible.