Announcements

A new article from Verge frames Auracast as one of the most promising Bluetooth advances in years that has not reached its "moment." Not because the technology is lacking, but because companies are failing to market it in a clear, unified way. The opinion piece by Higgins presents Auracast as a quietly powerful tool that could transform accessibility for people with hearing loss and simplify how…

Fortell is a new hearing-aid startup featured in Wired for its use of advanced artificial intelligence to solve one of the hardest problems in hearing care, understanding speech in noisy environments. Fortell claims their device uses spatial AI and custom hardware to separate voices from background noise in real time, and early testers report being able to follow conversations in loud restaurants…

The FDA has expanded approval of MED-EL cochlear implants for use in infants as young as seven months old with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss who receive limited benefit from hearing aids. This makes MED-EL the youngest-age cochlear implant indication currently cleared in the United States. The decision was based on pediatric data from 123 children aged 7 to 71 months, where about 81 to 88…

A recent study suggests that even mild hearing loss may be an early warning sign for Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers used data from the Framingham Heart Study to compare hearing test results, brain imaging (MRI), and cognitive testing over time. They found that participants with even slight hearing loss showed faster accumulation of white-matter abnormalities and declines in executive brain…

Scientists at Northwestern Medicine found that the inner hair cell plays an active role in building the structure of the hearing organ during development. In mice, the hearing organ is arranged in a precise pattern of sensory and supporting cells, and the study showed that inner hair cells help guide how several supporting cells form and where they settle. These cells promote the development of…

The FCC is seeking public comments on proposals that would accelerate the transition to ATSC 3.0, or “Next Gen TV,” which supports more advanced accessibility features than today’s ATSC 1.0 broadcasts. The agency wants feedback on whether existing accessibility rules need updates for ATSC 3.0, whether broadcasters and device makers should be required to offer features like multiple audio tracks,…

A review published in the MDPI Journal examines tech used in auditory rehabilitation outside of traditional hearing aids and cochlear implants. From 141 studies published between 2018 and 2024, the authors identified 16 frequently used tools such as mobile apps, telehealth platforms, FM systems and vibrotactile devices. The meta-analysis found that telehealth and app-based tools supported remote…

Beltone has begun its third annual “Hear for the Holidays” campaign, through the Beltone Hearing Care Foundation, offering free hearing aids to eligible individuals. The giveaway runs until December 31, 2025, and nominations are open for people to apply either on their own behalf or on behalf of someone they know. Over the past decade, the Foundation has donated more than 8,300 hearing aids; last…

A former Tesla employee named Hans Kohls, who is deaf and uses hearing aids, says the company fired him after he asked to be moved to a different part of the Austin Gigafactory. He worked in the casting area where molten aluminum reaches very high temperatures, and he says the heat kept damaging his hearing aids. Kohls asked to transfer to a cooler department as an accommodation. The lawsuit says…

A review of 17 studies that included almost four thousand people with type 2 diabetes and a similar number without it found a strong link between diabetes and hearing loss. In the diabetes group, about 40 to 72 percent had some level of hearing loss. Overall, people with diabetes were a little more than four times more likely to have hearing loss than people without diabetes. The biggest…