Big Sky Audiology, a Billings audiology clinic donated the Auracast transmitter that went live at Billings Studio Theatre
BILLINGS, MT, UNITED STATES, September 14, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Big Sky Audiology Clinic purchased and donated an Auracast transmitter to Billings Studio Theatre, and the system is now live in time for the theatre’s production of “Come From Away.” The equipment connects to the theatre’s soundboard and streams performance audio directly to compatible hearing aids, cochlear implants, headphones, and earbuds, letting patrons with hearing loss listen through the device they already wear. The Billings audiology clinic covered the purchase and installation costs and has said it intends to do the same for other venues that want the technology.
Billings news station KTVQ reported on the installation the same day, noting that the donated system replaces an assistive listening setup the theatre had used since roughly 2015. That older approach, common in venues across the country, required a patron to request a receiver and headset at the door, then listen through borrowed equipment rather than through a device programmed for their own hearing loss. Auracast removes the checkout step entirely. A patron who wears hearing aids in Billings, MT can take a seat, join the broadcast the way a phone joins a Wi-Fi network, and hear the show without identifying themselves as needing an accommodation.
How Auracast Broadcast Audio Technology Works
Auracast broadcast audio technology is a development in Bluetooth audio that allows a single transmitter to send sound to an open number of compatible receiving devices at once. Older hearing loop systems required a hearing aid with a telecoil and worked only for people whose devices had one.
Auracast is not limited that way. Any Auracast-enabled receiver can pick up the stream, which means the same transmitter serves a patron with premium hearing aids, a patron with a cochlear implant processor, and a patron using consumer earbuds, all during the same performance.
For a venue, the practical effect is that accessibility becomes part of the room rather than a separate service counter. There is no inventory of receivers to charge, sanitize, or replace between shows, and no ceiling on how many audience members can use the system at the same time. For patrons, dialogue and music arrive without the reverberation, distance, and competing audience noise that make large rooms difficult for people with hearing loss.
The project began in July, when the clinic contacted the theatre’s managing director to propose the upgrade. Theatre staff connected the transmitter to the house sound system, and it was operating for the opening of “Come From Away” on September 11, the second show of the theatre’s 74th season.
A Billings Audiology Clinic Working Outside the Exam Room
Big Sky Audiology Clinic treated the theatre project as an extension of clinical care rather than a promotion. Fitting a patient with hearing technology solves part of the problem, but the value of that fitting depends on whether the rooms a patient wants to sit in are built to work with it. A theatre, a sanctuary, or a lecture hall that broadcasts to personal devices turns good hearing technology into a usable evening out.
For Dr. Tracy Hayden, Au.D., who founded the clinic and has practiced audiology for 33 years, 27 of them in the Billings area, the work is about keeping patients connected to the parts of life they had started to give up.
“Hearing loss should never be the reason someone stops enjoying live theatre or participating in their community,” said Dr. Tracy Hayden, Founder of Big Sky Audiology.
Clinic audiologist Dr. Kelsi Prosser has described the difference in terms of signal quality. Sound that travels from the board straight to the listener’s device skips the acoustic distortion of the room, which is where most of the listening difficulty in a large hall originates. That direct path is why Auracast represents a change in kind rather than a refinement of what came before.
The clinic treats Billings Studio Theatre as a starting point and has said it hopes other venues in the area will adopt the technology. Broader adoption also gives patients a concrete reason to ask about Auracast certification when shopping for new devices.
The theatre partnership sits alongside the clinic’s regular practice, which covers diagnostic hearing evaluations, hearing aid selection and fitting, tinnitus care, cochlear implant services, vestibular and balance testing, and earwax removal. Patients considering an upgrade can ask whether a device under consideration carries Auracast certification, a question that will matter more as additional venues in Billings and across Montana adopt the standard.
About Big Sky Audiology Clinic
Big Sky Audiology Clinic is a locally owned audiology clinic in Billings, Montana, founded by Dr. Tracy Hayden, Au.D. The clinic provides hearing evaluations, hearing aid selection and fitting, tinnitus treatment, hearing implant evaluation, vestibular and balance testing, and earwax removal, and serves patients from Billings and communities across the region. It works with local organizations to expand hearing accessibility in public spaces. They are an A+ rated audiology practice with the BBB.
Dr. Tracy Hayden
Big Sky Audiology
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