Google to bring native hearing aid support to Android

Hearing aids these days have similar functionality as that of Bluetooth headphones. Where Bluetooth hearing aids have been compatible with iPhones, Google is now working to bring the same compatibility to Android devices making it easier for people with disabling hearing loss.

Google announced yesterday that it is working to bring native hearing aid support for streaming on Android where users will be easily able to connect and stream audio directly from Android devices to the hearing aids.

Partnering with Danish hearing aid manufacturer GN Hearing, Google is working to develop a new open hearing aid specification for Android smartphones with the name of ‘ASHA’, short for ‘Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids’.

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ASHA will allow Bluetooth hearing aids to be utilized the same way as headphones are via which they can call friends, listen to music or other audio and also monitor their hearing aids through their phones so that they can hear them ‘loudly and clearly’, as per Google.

The specification is designed to have minimal effect on phone and hearing aid battery life, provide high quality audio with low latency for users relying on hearing aids. The users can connect to and stream from Android devices without the need to use another intermediate device.

Moreover, Google has published the new protocol specification online, available for everyone through which any hearing aid manufacturer can build native hearing aid support for Android.

“The spec details the pairing and connectivity, network topology, system architecture, and system requirements for implementing hearing aids using low energy connection-oriented channels. Any hearing aid manufacturer can now build native hearing aid support for Android,” wrote the tech giant.