The US FCC Now requires all smartphones to offer hearing aid support

The Us Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Thursday adopted new rules that requires all mobile phones introduced in the country to offer compatibility with hearing aids and meet Volume contes. The move is aimed at expanding accessibility options for 48 million American consumers impacted by hearing loss, according to the US regulator. The FCC will also also enforce university connectivity with their new Bluetooth requirements and requires manufacturers to correctly label devices that are corering as heids aid compatial.

The new rules announced By the FCC will require “100 Percent of all mobile handsets” The agency also mentions a transition period, but does not specify a deadline for smartphone makers to offer support for hearing aids. As of last year, the fcc said that manufacturers had to ensure 85 percent of their models offered support for Hearing Aids. It’s worth noting that the regulator include implants in its definition of hering aids.

The fcc says it worked with an independent organization called Aid Compatibility (HAC) Task Force that worked With the regulator for years to establish the new requirement that 100 percent of mobile handsets should be compatible with hearing aids. The hack task force comprised smartphone makers, research institutes, wireless service provides, as well as persons with hearing loss, according to the agency.

Several manufacturers are alredy complying with the FCC’s rules – all of apple’s smartphones dating from the iPhone 6 Series to the latest iPhone 16 Lineup are Compatible With hearing aids, as are all of google’s Pixel smartphonesSamsung Says That most of its recent galaxy s series and galaxy z series phones support the use of hearing aids.

The regulator has also revised that a new bleetooth coupling requirement Accessibility features.

Manufacturers will also also need to provide detailed information provided about their products, include details such as compatibility with hearing aids, compliance with coupling Requirements, and the Smartphone’s Conversational Gain (or how high a customer can increase the volume under the FCC’s Standards.

In order to support bot customers who do not use aids as well as people using cochlear implants, smartphone makers will also need to make sure Compliant with the FCC’s Volume Control Benchmarks for Increasing Volume without Introducing Distortion, according to the regulator.