The Federal Communications Commission announced that all cell phones, including smartphones, in the United States will be required to be compatible with hearing aids. It also introduced new volume control rules and improved product labeling to help people with hearing aids make informed purchasing decisions.
The gist is that the FCC is introducing a Bluetooth pairing requirement, thereby discouraging smartphone manufacturers from using proprietary versions that could limit compatibility. A press release states that this will ensure universal connectivity between cell phones, hearing aids and over-the-counter hearing aids. While a Hearing Aid Compatibility Task Force report found that most smartphones Do Assistive hearing aids help close the remaining gap.
Smartphone manufacturers will also have to meet new volume control benchmarks that allow users to increase the volume without causing distortion. The goal is to ensure that everyone, not just people with severe hearing loss, can enjoy clearer sound. Finally, companies will also need to revise product labeling to include information about hearing aid compatibility, telecoil or Bluetooth pairing requirements, and call amplification – how high a phone's volume can be while still meeting volume control requirements.
It will be a while before the new rules fully come into effect. The transition period is 24 months for mobile phone manufacturers, 30 months for nationwide providers and 42 months for non-national providers. Nevertheless, this is consistent with public health efforts to improve hearing aid accessibility in recent years. Two years ago, the Food and Drug Administration introduced OTC hearing aids to provide more affordable options for people with mild to moderate hearing loss.