Trihear's ClearTV Auralink is another battery-powered Auracast TV streamer

Trihear, which sells assistive listening gadgets online, showed its ClearTV Auralink at the EUHA hearing-care congress in Hannover last month. It is a small TV streamer that sends sound to hearing aids as an Auracast broadcast. Unlike many trade-show products, it is already on sale: Trihear lists it at US$119 and marks it in stock.

What it does

The Auralink plugs into a TV's headphone socket, optical output or coaxial output. It has two modes, and a small screen shows which one is on:

• LE Audio for one listener, connected directly to a pair of hearing aids.
• Auracast for several listeners at once. Trihear pitches this at care homes, lounges and shared TV rooms.

Trihear quotes latency as low as 35 ms, a range of up to 15 m, and up to 12 hours on a charge. The screen also shows volume, battery and connection status. It can run while charging over USB-C, so it can live by the TV. Aurahear reports that Trihear also shows it plugged into a plane's seatback entertainment system.

The compatibility list is short

Trihear names only three hearing aid families: Oticon Intent, Oticon Zeal and Starkey Omega AI. It adds that compatibility may vary with the model and firmware, and asks anyone whose hearing aid isn't listed to email support before buying.

A true Auracast broadcast should work with any Auracast receiver. Aurahear makes the same point, and so do we. But Trihear's caution is a sensible one: hearing aids differ in which broadcast settings they accept, and some can't join 48 kHz broadcasts. Trihear doesn't say what sample rate the Auralink uses.

It is notable that no GN hearing aids (ReSound, Jabra Enhance, Beltone) are on the list. GN models have had Auracast the longest. That may just mean Trihear hasn't tested them.

What Trihear doesn't say

• How many people can listen at once in Auracast mode.
• Whether you can set a password or give the broadcast a name. In a shared building, you may want both.
• The sample rate, as above.
• Which countries it ships to. The 45-day trial and free shipping are listed without regions.

Trihear also sells two similar-looking siblings, the ClearTV (US$99) and the ClearTV ASHA TV Streamer (US$119). Trihear says plainly that neither of those supports Auracast. The plain ClearTV pairs with listed Phonak and Unitron hearing aids, and the ASHA model is for hearing aids that use Android's ASHA streaming. Check you are buying the Auralink.

How it compares

The Auralink's battery and screen are what set it apart. Neither of the others is built to be carried from room to room. If the TV is the only source, the Audikast 4HA is cheaper and does document a broadcast name and encryption. For more options, see our best Auracast transmitters for TV.