Hearing Aid Compatibility Task Force Updates FCC

Members of the ATIS Hearing Aid Compatibility Task Force updated FCC staff on the group’s work toward a goal of making all handsets hearing-aid compatible, said a filing posted Friday in docket 15-285. The group is “hard at work considering the questions posed by the Commission … and is preparing its report and recommendations for the FCC due at the end of 2022,” the filing said. A recent consumer survey found more than half of respondents “use direct Bluetooth audio streaming between their hearing device and their wireless phone,” the filing said: “Consumers generally use more than one way to connect the hearing device to a wireless phone, including Bluetooth, speakerphone, holding the wireless device to the microphone in the hearing device, removing the hearing device. … Some consumers experienced barriers to satisfactory wireless phone communication, such as noisy environments.” The task force is made of representatives of the wireless industry, device makers and consumer groups.