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The FCC will soon require all hearing aids and phones to work together

The FCC approved new regulations requiring all phone manufacturers to make their handsets compatible with hearing aids.The rules ensure those with hearing loss can easily use compatible phones.

“Under the new rules, after a transition period, Americans with hearing loss will no longer be limited in their choice of technologies, features, and prices available in the mobile handset marketplace,” the FCC wrote in a press release. In addition, the FCC now mandates that cell phones’ point-of-sale labels clarify hearing aid compatibility and whether the handsets meet Bluetooth or telecoil coupling requirements. “Members of the Task Force worked together over a period of years to reach a consensus on how the Commission could achieve its objective of requiring 100% of all mobile handsets to be hearing aid compatible.”

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