The UK rail network’s first permanent Auracast installation represents a significant development for the passenger experience. For audiologists and hearing aid dispensers, it signals something more: how the growing availability of broadcast audio may reshape everyday listening for hearing device users.
A Familiar Challenge: Hearing in Noisy Environments
Anyone who has fitted hearing devices knows the complaint before the patient finishes the sentence: public transport stations, terminals and echoing public halls can be among the most difficult listening environments for people with hearing loss.
Reverberant architecture, competing announcements and background noise can all undermine speech clarity. For the estimated 18 million people in the UK who are deaf or have hearing loss, missing an important announcement can create uncertainty, stress and potential safety concerns.
Jenny Sarling, who leads Brighton & Hove Hearing Loss, at Brighton Station for the launch of Auracast.
New Technology at Brighton Train Station
Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express have permanently installed Auracast technology at Brighton station—the first permanent installation of its kind on the UK rail network.
The system uses Bluetooth LE Audio to broadcast station announcements from the public address system directly to compatible hearing aids, earbuds and headphones. Rather than relying solely on announcements projected through station loudspeakers, passengers can receive the audio directly through their own devices.
Compatible devices can locate and access the broadcast without going through a traditional one-to-one Bluetooth pairing process.
The technology was manufactured and installed by Ampetronic and Listen Technologies as part of the companies’ Auri system. The Brighton deployment follows an earlier trial at Bristol Temple Meads railway station, where the system was used to deliver public address announcements across ticketing areas, platforms and connecting passageways.
Jonathan Hoskin, Division Sales Manager at Ampetronic | Listen Technologies.
That earlier installation was explored in a 2025 This Week in Hearing discussion with Ampetronic’s Jonathan Hoskin. The conversation examined how Auracast could improve speech clarity in a large, acoustically challenging transportation hub while giving passengers greater freedom to move throughout the station. It also highlighted possible future applications, including multiple language streams, simpler ways to access broadcasts and integration with live captioning.
Jenny Sarling, who is a hearing aid user and leads Brighton & Hove Hearing Loss, said: “Without Auracast, I can go to a platform and suddenly hear a muffled announcement, see everyone run off and be left standing there not knowing what’s happened. Now announcements such as platform changes go direct into my ears.
“As a person with severe hearing loss, it’s a complete game-changer – a life-changer in fact. I’m aware that people can use it with earbuds or headphones as well, but for those of us with hearing loss, it’s the difference between hearing and not hearing. It’s the difference between feeling isolated on the station and worried about your journey and being able to relax knowing that if anything changes you will hear it.”
How Auracast Works
Auracast is a broadcast audio standard built on Bluetooth LE Audio. Rather than pairing one receiving device with one source, the technology allows a single audio stream—or several streams on different channels—to be accessed by multiple compatible receivers simultaneously.
The experience is sometimes compared with tuning into a radio broadcast, although the digital audio is received through compatible personal devices such as hearing aids, cochlear implant sound processors, earbuds, headphones and smartphones.
Auracast can be controlled on smartphones at Brighton station
It is useful to consider the technology alongside a more familiar assistive listening system: the induction hearing loop.
Loops rely on a telecoil inside the hearing aid or cochlear implant processor and a physical loop of cable installed around a listening area. They are widely available in UK public buildings but can be affected by signal spillover between adjacent loops and generally cannot provide multiple discrete audio streams within the same space.
Auracast does not require a telecoil, can support multiple broadcasts and is also accessible through compatible mainstream consumer audio products. As more hearing aids, cochlear implant processors, earbuds and mobile devices add Bluetooth LE Audio and Auracast support, the number of people able to use these systems is expected to grow.
Brighton station also has an existing induction loop system, and there are no plans to remove it. Maintaining both systems provides continued access for passengers whose hearing devices cannot yet receive Auracast broadcasts.
Brighton Sets a New Precedent
Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express describe the Brighton installation as a permanent pilot. The operators hope that strong passenger use will help support funding for a broader rollout across the rail network.
Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express Accessibility Lead Carl Martin listens to announcements broadcast through Auracast
Carl Martin, Accessibility Lead, Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express said: “This fabulous technology will have a huge impact, overcoming the difficulty of hearing announcements in our beautiful but acoustically very challenging, noisy station at Brighton. As people upgrade their devices, more will steadily find they have access to crystal clear announcements. And the way it is used in public spaces will also steadily evolve, making it even easier to use.”
RNID’s Technology Lead, Alastair Moore, framed the installation as part of a broader accessibility effort:
“Public transport is an essential service, enabling people to live, work, and participate fully in everyday life. However, for the 18 million people in the UK who are deaf or have hearing loss, announcements can remain a major barrier. Places like stations often have high levels of reverberation and background noise making important information hard to understand.”
“We hope this will encourage more places across public transport, education, healthcare, performing arts and places of worship, to adopt Auracast and help make public spaces accessible for deaf people and people with hearing loss.”
What the Installation Means for Hearing Care
Brighton represents a single-site installation, but it offers a useful indication of where assistive listening technology may be heading. Bluetooth LE Audio and Auracast are beginning to move beyond product demonstrations, conferences and controlled trials into everyday public infrastructure.
Easy to install – the single broadcast point for the Auracast system helped minimise the impact on the Grade II-star listed building
For hearing care professionals, this raises a practical question sooner than many may have expected: not whether they should understand Auracast, but how soon compatibility should become part of hearing aid selection, fitting and counseling discussions.
Connectivity conversations have traditionally focused on direct streaming from smartphones, televisions and other personal devices. As broadcast audio becomes available in more public venues, patients may also need guidance on how to identify an Auracast broadcast, access it through their hearing devices and understand where the technology is available.
Professionals may also need to explain the current transition period. Auracast availability is growing, but compatibility remains dependent on the hearing device, its hardware and software, the connected smartphone or accessory and the way a particular venue has implemented the broadcast.
Paul Surridge, Chair of the British and Irish Hearing Instrument Manufacturers Association, said: “This is an important time for audiologists and dispensers, who often need to broach the subject of connectivity with patients and clients to improve how they utilise assistive listening systems. Being well versed in technology development is a growing part of the role performed by hearing care professionals and the availability of Auracast is certainly one to watch.
“The landscape of hearing technology is constantly evolving, and we are excited for the future, as the roll out of Auracast systems along with the availability of Bluetooth enabled hearing devices will significantly improve the experience of many people will hearing loss.”
The Brighton installation does not mean induction loops or other assistive listening technologies will disappear. During the transition, a combination of established and emerging systems will likely be necessary to serve people using devices with different capabilities.
What Brighton does provide is a visible, permanent example of broadcast audio being incorporated into a complex public environment. For hearing care professionals and their patients, it may be an early indication that Auracast compatibility is moving from a future-facing feature toward a practical consideration for everyday life.
Source: BIHIMA
