The FCC on Thursday approved new regulations requiring all cell phone manufacturers to make their devices compatible with hearing aids. The number of Americans over age 65 is expected to increase by nearly 50% by 2050, and this rule will ensure that people with hearing loss no longer have to worry about which phones can be used with hearing aids.
“Under the new rules, after a transition period, Americans with hearing loss will have unlimited choice in technology, features, and prices available in the mobile phone market,” the FCC said in a press release.
Meanwhile, the FCC also passed requirements for hearing aid manufacturers that effectively prohibit proprietary Bluetooth coupling standards in assistive devices. Therefore, the phone must be compatible with the hearing aid and vice versa. This rule also applies to recently approved over-the-counter hearing aids, including AirPods Pro 2.
Other changes include requiring all new cell phones sold in the U.S. to allow users to turn up the volume without distortion. Additionally, the FCC now requires POS labels on cell phones to clarify hearing aid compatibility and whether the cell phone meets Bluetooth or telecoil coupling requirements.
The FCC worked with a consortium of carriers, cell phone manufacturers, and researchers to draft and adopt the rules. “Establishing a 100% hearing aid compatibility requirement for all mobile phones is a collaborative effort by members of the Hearing Aid Compatibility Task Force, an independent organization of wireless service providers, mobile phone manufacturers, research institutions, and organizations that support people with hearing loss. ”, the committee wrote. “Task force members have worked together for years to reach consensus on how we can achieve the commission’s goal of requiring 100% of all mobile phones to be hearing aid compatible. ”
