For the Disabled, Consumer Electronics Aren’t There Yet

It’s a new world for the differently abled thanks to software patches, but hardware needs to be designed from the beginning with accessibility in mind.

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The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders reports that 15% (37.5 million) of Americans over the age of 18 have some hearing loss, and nearly 29 million US adults could benefit from hearing aids. Improving TV sound quality is one of the most requested features among hearing aid users.

To this end, Amazon recently launched Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids on the Fire TV Cube, which works with compatible Bluetooth hearing aids from Starkey. This makes the second-generation Fire TV Cube the first-ever streaming media player to support Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids (ASHA). Starkey is one of the largest hearing aid brands available today.

We live in a streaming world now. Some holdouts clinging to broadcast television or Blu-ray discs still exist, but once everything goes the way of streaming, at least some ASHA will be in place. More hearing aid brands such as Widex, Signia/Siemens, and Oticon must collaborate with streaming services to make their contribution to an inclusive world.

Unfortunately, it still leaves out other streaming devices such as phones, tablets, and laptops. Decades passed with people thinking they didn’t need subtitles—or felt old or ashamed that they didn’t hear everything. Now, research shows that subtitles increase viewership. The potential ubiquity of ASHA could help erase the stigma around hearing aids in the same way. It’s just one example of how software can improve the day-to-day life of the disabled, even when the hardware has yet to catch up.