All smartphones sold in the US should support hearing aids by 2026, FCC orders

Smartphone manufacturers are also required to ensure that their devices meet certain volume control benchmarks.

Apple AirPods Pro. (Image credit: Apple)

All mobile phones in the US will be made compatible with hearing aids soon, according to a recently issued government directive.

The US Federal Communications Commission on Thursday, October 17, issued a new mandate that gives smartphone manufacturers time till 2026 to stop selling devices that are non-compatible with hearing aids. Meanwhile, the transition period for nationwide service providers and non-nationwide providers is 30 months and 42 months, respectively.

Additionally, handsets in the US are now required to have simpler Bluetooth pairing options. The US FCC has further cautioned phone manufacturers against having proprietary Bluetooth standards built into their products as they could make it harder to connect to hearing aids.

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Smartphone manufacturers are also required to ensure that their devices meet certain volume control benchmarks and include details about hearing aid compatibility as part of the product information on the website or smartphone packaging.

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The mandatory compatibility of smartphones with hearing aids comes months after Apple announced that it was incorporating hearing aid functionality in its AirPods Pro 2. The iPhone maker was recently given the green signal by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the AirPods Pro 2 to be used as hearing aids.

Apple’s Hearing Aid Feature is a software-only mobile medical application and is set up using an iOS device like an iPhone and the user’s hearing levels are accessed from the iOS HealthKit to customise the feature.

Once installed and customised to the user’s hearing needs, the software enables versions of the AirPods Pro to serve as an OTC hearing aid, that is intended to amplify sounds for 18 years or older people with perceived mild-to-moderate hearing impairment, the health regulator said.