Announcements

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is accepting applications for participation in working groups under CSRIC X, the 10th term of its Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council. One of the working group topics is expanding multimedia availability in Next Generation 911 (NG911) systems and increasing 911 accessibility. The FCC is seeking applicants from a range of…

The Federal Communications Commission is accepting public comments on a proposed change to its accessible emergency information rules for television broadcasters. The proposal, adopted at the FCC's April 30, 2026 Open Meeting, would revise the existing "Audible Crawl" requirement, which obligates broadcasters to provide spoken descriptions of visual, non-textual emergency content (such as radar…

Researchers at Columbia University published a study in Nature Neuroscience demonstrating a real-time system that reads EEG brain wave signals to identify which speaker a person is trying to listen to and automatically amplifies that voice while reducing others. The system addresses what researchers call the cocktail party problem, the difficulty of isolating a single voice in a noisy…

Oticon has introduced Verit, a new family of premium hearing aids designed for users who prefer disposable zinc-air batteries over rechargeable devices. The line includes three styles: the miniRITE T, miniBTE T 85, and BTE T 105. According to Oticon, the devices are built on the company's Sirius platform with second-generation AI sound processing and support for Bluetooth LE Audio, including…

Amplifon, the world's largest hearing aid retailer with more than 10,000 clinics globally, announced a definitive agreement to acquire GN Hearing, the hearing division of Danish conglomerate GN Store Nord, for approximately €2.3 billion. GN Hearing's brands include ReSound and Beltone. The deal is expected to close by the end of 2026, pending regulatory and antitrust approvals and the completion…

Wired published a hands-on review of multiple live-captioning smart glasses, testing devices from several manufacturers including Even, Leion, AirCaps, Captify, and XRAI. The review assessed real-world captioning accuracy, latency, battery life, weight, prescription lens availability, and pricing. The reviewer found the Even G2 to be the standout option, citing its combination of captioning…

Deaf Awareness Week 2026 is running May 4–10 in the United Kingdom under the theme "Right to Understand: Together, We Break Barriers." The week is organized by the UK Council on Deafness and involves advocacy organizations, arts venues, educational institutions, and disability groups. This year's activities include captioning access events at theatres and museums, sign language workshops, and…

Listen Technologies and Ampetronic have entered a partnership with AuraFuturity, a hearing technology consultancy led by industry analyst Andrew Bellavia, to promote awareness and adoption of Auracast broadcast audio and assistive listening systems. The initiative is described as focused on educating venues, hearing care professionals, and end users about how Auracast can improve audio…

Advanced Bionics announced an equity investment and early-stage research collaboration with Spiral Therapeutics, a clinical-stage company developing therapies for inner ear disorders. The collaboration will aim to understand whether Spiral's drug-delivery platform, which is designed for minimally invasive and targeted delivery of therapeutics to the cochlea, can be integrated into cochlear implant…

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Public Notice on April 28, 2026 announcing fund allocations for the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program (NDBEDP), also known as iCanConnect, for the 2026-2027 fund year running July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. The NDBEDP provides up to $10 million annually from the Interstate Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) Fund to…