Starkey Sound Bites: Hearing Aids, Tinnitus, and Hearing Healthcare
Being a successful hearing care professional requires balancing a passion for helping people hear with the day-to-day needs of running a small business.In every episode of Starkey Sound Bites, Dr. Dave Fabry — Starkey’s Chief Health Officer and an audiologist with 40-years of experience in the hearing industry — talks to industry insiders, business experts and hearing aid wearers to dig into the latest trends, technology and insights hearing care professionals need to keep their clinics thriving and patients hearing their best. If better hearing is your passion and profession, you won’t want to miss Starkey Sound Bites.
Starkey Sound Bites: Hearing Aids, Tinnitus, and Hearing Healthcare
What Is Auracast? The Future of Bluetooth Audio for Hearing Aids
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Dr. Dave Fabry and Henry Wong unpack Auracast and why it’s fundamentally different from the old Bluetooth routine: no fiddly pairing, just a simple search and select flow that feels more like joining a Wi‑Fi network than connecting a gadget. The headline is bold but practical a single transmitter can broadcast high quality audio to unlimited nearby listeners at the same time, straight to compatible hearing devices.
We walk through what “integration” really means on two fronts. First, the devices: Auracast transmitters can be smartphones, TVs, tablets, laptops, and even public announcement systems, while receivers can include hearing aids, earbuds, headphones, speakers, and other hearing instruments. Then the locations: deployments are already showing up across countries, and we talk about the momentum that turns a cool feature into something you can actually rely on when you step into a venue.
From sports bars and gyms with multiple TVs to any place with a sound system, broadcast audio opens up choice and clarity for everyone, not just a small subset of users. We also share where to look for Auracast location profiles, plus how locations can register so the map gets easier for professionals and everyday listeners to use. Along the way, we connect the dots to hearing accessibility, the limits of older approaches like telecoils, and how making assistive listening mainstream can help reduce stigma for people who need support but avoid “medical” feeling gear.
If you care about Bluetooth LE Audio, assistive listening technology, hearing aids, and the future of accessible public audio, hit subscribe, share this with a friend who struggles in noisy venues, and leave a review with the first place you want Auracast to show up next.
Quick Intro And The Big Promise
Dr. Dave FabryHere's your fresh Sound Bites snack. Let's dive in.
What Auracast Actually Is
Henry WongSo before I provide some real-world examples of RCAS integrations, maybe let me step back and let me explain what RCAS is. This is not the traditional Bluetooth experience. There are no pairing involved. A single transmitter can broadcast high audio high quality audio to an unlimited number of nearby hearing devices simultaneously. Now, when you look at RCAST integration, there are the devices and the location.
Devices And Venues That Can Support It
Henry WongLet me talk about the devices first. We believe RCAS broadcast audio feature will find its way into all Bluetooth-enabled audio devices. Today, pretty much every major brand has devices with RCAST support. An RCAST transmitter can be anything from your smartphone to the TV, tablets, laptops, and even to a public announcement system. AureCast receivers are hearing aids, earbox, headphones, speakers, and any hearing instruments. And as for location integration, we're really pleased with the deployment momentum. Thousands of AuraCast location today is deployed across 19 countries.
Why It Feels Like Wi-Fi Discovery
Dr. Dave FabryYeah, it's been really fun. I still work with patients in my role. I work in RD, but as a component of that is ensuring to help ensure that the needs of the patient are met as we're developing the new technology. I still work with patients uh today, and as I upload them with our latest technology, we we have a device, Omega AI, that incorporates that uh Oracast finder. And and talk a little bit about the ease of connectivity that ORCAST does provide. You've alluded to the broadcast and and uh you know one-to-many uh applications. And and to me, the one thing that patients are immediately responding to is it's almost as easy as just searching out and finding a Wi-Fi connection. And you know, that ease of finding that in the wild is something I send my patients out on a on a wild goose chase, if you will, when they're in a situation that is like one that you described, and to look to see if there is broadcast or cast streams available, if there are broadcast streams available.
Henry WongYeah, that's right. So um an analogy that we use, as you mentioned, Dave, is just like on someone's a Wi-Fi for audio. You take out your phone, either on the phone or the app, you hit search, and you'll be able to search for any nearby oracast, broadcasts, or transmitters. And if there's multiple transmitters or broadcasts, you would be you're able to see them. And all the user has to do is select which one that he or she wants to listen into. And the beauty of this is the audio comes directly from the transmitter or the broadcast source directly to your hearing device, be it Hearing Aid or Earbox or headphone. It does not go through the phone.
Real World Example Gyms And Bars
Henry WongUm, so similar use case, you can imagine if you go to a gym uh or a bar that have multiple TVs and they have incorporated these TVs with AuraCast, then you're able to take up your phone as an AuraCast assistant to be able to discover different AuraCasts and be able to listen in to the one that you
How To Find AuraCast Locations
Henry Wongchoose.
Dr. Dave FabryYou mentioned that there are already thousands of Oracast broadcast transmitters being used around the world. Um, are there resources for professionals or end users who might be listening to this podcast to find out if there are locations that they plan to visit where Oracast transmitters are already in use?
Henry WongYeah, um that's a great question. Um we at the Bluetooth.com slash AuraCast, we have an AuraCast location profile page. And what this page is pretty much highlights some of the location that has deploy AuraCast um as a um use case study. Now, this is not a comprehensive list. It does not include you know all a thousand of them, um, but it includes location that has register with the Bluetooth SIC for us to promote them on the AuraCast location profile pages.
Registering Locations To Build The Map
Dr. Dave FabryCan let's say one of my patients who's who are familiar with going out and seeking to find those Oracast transmitters, if they discover a location that isn't on the list uh or a repository, is there a way that we can crowdsource this where people can put in locations where they have experienced the benefits of broadcast Oracast and then so that others can benefit from it as well?
Henry WongOh, definitely. Um again, if you go to Bluetooth.com slash oracast, there's a uh location registration page. Um there's only like five five fields there for a location that has deployed AuraCast. We encourage them to register with us so we could track it and we could promote the location with these location profile case studies
Accessibility Momentum Forecasts And Stigma
Henry Wongthat we're doing.
Dr. Dave FabryYou know, for me as an audiologist, I'm excited about the applications for hearing aids, but we also know from the history that when telecoils were used in places of worship and in other public spaces, um, it often was met in some cases with resistance by the people who owned those spaces because you know they had to they had to install a loop or they had equipment that they had to maintain. And it was only for people with hearing loss that had hearing aids with it that were equipped with a telecoil. One of the reasons that personally I'm so excited about Oracast and its potential, as you mentioned at your opening remarks, that this is for in the goal really for the SIG is to raise awareness for this as a tool of anyone who's using wireless audio speakers or uh uh headsets of any form. And the fact that people with hearing loss or with normal hearing can use this ORCAST technology, I think, will really help with embracing and populating Oracast transmitters throughout the world. That's right.
Henry WongUh you know, we believe AuraCast forecast audio feature will find its way into all Bluetooth enabled audio devices. And any location where there's a public address system or sound system can add AuraCast to enhance the visitor experience for people with all level of hearing health. But we're already seeing you know great momentums in the market across both devices and locations. You know, ABI research has forecast around 1 million locations will have AuraCast by the year 2029. And it takes time, right? I wish I could snap my finger. It takes time, and I wish I could snap my finger and have every single location across the globe that has AuraCast, but these um these will take time. And also, I wanted to also add is um there are a huge number of people who have hearing loss but not using hearing aid. And one of the biggest reasons is the stigma of using and hearing aid. When people think about hearing aid, they think about old medical equipment. With ORCAS, we could help medicate that by trans by thinking these are not medical devices, these are protective devices for consumers.