Your hearing aids don't have Auracast: the bridges that fill the gap

Most hearing aids in people's ears today cannot join an Auracast broadcast, and Cochlear's implant and bone-conduction processors are still waiting on firmware. That does not shut you out. Something else can receive the broadcast and hand it on in a form your aids already understand. There are four ways to do that, plus the obvious fifth: wait for your next pair.

First, check for a telecoil

The cheapest bridges all rely on the telecoil, the small coil that lets a hearing aid pick up an induction loop. Two things to know.

Not every aid has one. RNID says most NHS hearing aids have a telecoil built in; Connevans notes that particularly small models usually do not. RNID also lists telecoils in hearing implants.

Having one is not enough. Your audiologist has to set up a telecoil programme on the aid before you can switch to it, by button, app or remote. Connevans says it is often present but never switched on. A T programme usually turns the aid's microphones off; MT keeps them on at a lower level, so you hear the broadcast and the person beside you. If you are not sure what you have, ask your audiologist or implant centre before buying anything below.

1. A receiver and a neckloop

How it works. A pocket receiver joins the broadcast and drives a neckloop, a loop of wire you wear. The neckloop makes a small magnetic field, exactly like a room loop, and your aids pick it up in their T or MT programme.

What it needs. An aid with an enabled telecoil programme. No phone.

The options. The Avantree AuraClip (US$69.99) is a clip-on receiver with a 3.5 mm output, three channels and up to 16 hours of battery. The neckloop is not in the box; you plug in your own, or wired headphones. It joins open broadcasts by scanning and appears to have no way to enter a password.

The Avantree AuraCoil (US$179.99) has the neckloop built in, with volume and left-right balance controls and up to 20 hours of playback. It is on pre-order with a listed date of 30 November 2026. The MOER MoerDuo Plus is a pocket receiver that comes with a neckloop and also works as a classic Bluetooth receiver.

Limits. Loop sound is mono and depends on how well your telecoil is set up. You carry and charge another gadget.

2. A phone dongle

How it works. The Avantree Aura C (US$69.99) plugs into a USB-C phone or tablet. With Avantree's app, it finds the broadcast, and the phone passes the audio on to the Bluetooth headphones or MFi or ASHA hearing aids it is already paired with.

What it needs. A USB-C phone or tablet that supports USB audio (Lightning iPhones need an adapter, not included) and aids that already stream from that phone.

Limits. One phone and one listening device at a time, receive only, no calls. Avantree says support depends on the exact aid and phone, and tells you to check its compatibility list first. It is on pre-order. This is the route for streaming aids without a telecoil, and for iPhone owners, whose phones cannot join a broadcast on their own (our phone guide explains).

3. Hearing-aid maker accessories

These are worth knowing about, but check what they actually do.

The ReSound Multi-Mic+ is a remote microphone for ReSound aids (£299.99 at Connevans, otherwise through clinics). It transmits Auracast: it can start an open, unencrypted broadcast of what its microphone hears, which anyone's receiver can join. It also has a telecoil, FM and audio input, so it can pick up a room loop and stream that to compatible ReSound and Danalogic aids. Neither ReSound nor its retailers say it can receive someone else's Auracast broadcast, so do not buy it to hear a venue's.

TV streamers such as the ReSound TV-Streamer+ (about US$220) are for the television at home. It broadcasts an open or password-protected Auracast stream, which helps only if your aids or a receiver can join it. For a telecoil aid without Auracast, Avantree's AuraCoil TV set (US$239.99) pairs a TV transmitter with the AuraCoil neckloop receiver. None of these help at a venue.

4. Borrow at the venue

Most Auracast venues lend receivers. Sydney Opera House hands out receivers with headphones or a neckloop from the cloakroom in all seven indoor venues. Birmingham Hippodrome keeps 32 Auri RX1 receivers, 32 headphones and 12 neckloops, and asks you to book through its Access Advisors.

The Auri RX1 is the professional receiver behind many of these fleets, with two 3.5 mm outputs and a display. At US$335 it is a venue purchase rather than a personal one.

Limits. Neckloops run out before headphones do, so ask ahead. Headphones over hearing aids work for some people and not others.

5. Upgrade at your next fitting

Auracast is now in current models from most of the big hearing-aid makers, though how you join differs by brand and some models are still waiting on firmware. Our hearing-aid list has the detail. Ask for a telecoil too, so you keep the loop and the neckloop routes.

Which one should I get?

• Telecoil switched on, want your own kit: AuraClip and a neckloop for the lowest price; AuraCoil if you want the neckloop built in.
• No telecoil, but your aids stream from your phone: Aura C, once you have checked your exact aid and phone on Avantree's list.
• Only go to one or two venues: borrow. It costs nothing.
• It is mainly the TV: a TV streamer, plus a neckloop receiver if your aids have no Auracast.
• Due for new aids within a year: you may not need a bridge at all.

Once you have something that receives, how to join a broadcast has the steps, and Auracast vs hearing loops explains why the telecoil still matters. The receivers page has the full range.