diff --git a/mp4parse/src/lib.rs b/mp4parse/src/lib.rs
index 04a81886..3c126d2f 100644
--- a/mp4parse/src/lib.rs
+++ b/mp4parse/src/lib.rs
@@ -2050,6 +2050,7 @@ pub enum CodecType {
     Unknown,
     MP3,
     AAC,
+    XHEAAC, // xHE-AAC (Extended High Efficiency AAC)
     FLAC,
     Opus,
     H264, // 14496-10
@@ -5118,7 +5119,7 @@ fn read_ds_descriptor(
     };
 
     match audio_object_type {
-        1..=4 | 6 | 7 | 17 | 19..=23 => {
+        1..=4 | 6 | 7 | 17 | 19..=23 | 42 => {
             if sample_frequency.is_none() {
                 return Err(Error::Unsupported("unknown frequency"));
             }
@@ -5205,6 +5206,12 @@ fn read_ds_descriptor(
             esds.extended_audio_object_type = extended_audio_object_type;
             esds.audio_sample_rate = Some(sample_frequency_value);
             esds.audio_channel_count = Some(channel_counts);
+
+            // Update codec type for xHE-AAC if audio object type 42 is detected
+            if audio_object_type == 42 {
+                esds.audio_codec = CodecType::XHEAAC;
+            }
+
             if !esds.decoder_specific_data.is_empty() {
                 fail_with_status_if(
                     strictness == ParseStrictness::Strict,
@@ -5257,11 +5264,14 @@ fn read_dc_descriptor(
         )?;
     }
 
-    esds.audio_codec = match object_profile {
-        0x40 | 0x66 | 0x67 => CodecType::AAC,
-        0x69 | 0x6B => CodecType::MP3,
-        _ => CodecType::Unknown,
-    };
+    // Only set codec type if it hasn't been set to a more specific type (e.g., XHEAAC)
+    if esds.audio_codec == CodecType::Unknown {
+        esds.audio_codec = match object_profile {
+            0x40 | 0x66 | 0x67 => CodecType::AAC,
+            0x69 | 0x6B => CodecType::MP3,
+            _ => CodecType::Unknown,
+        };
+    }
 
     debug!(
         "read_dc_descriptor: esds.audio_codec = {:?}",
diff --git a/mp4parse/tests/public.rs b/mp4parse/tests/public.rs
index 3e9628c2..98b4678d 100644
--- a/mp4parse/tests/public.rs
+++ b/mp4parse/tests/public.rs
@@ -218,6 +218,8 @@ static VIDEO_H263_3GP: &str = "tests/bbb_sunflower_QCIF_30fps_h263_noaudio_1f.3g
 // The 1 frame hevc mp4 file generated by ffmpeg with command
 // "ffmpeg -f lavfi -i color=c=white:s=640x480 -c:v libx265 -frames:v 1 -pix_fmt yuv420p hevc_white_frame.mp4"
 static VIDEO_HEVC_MP4: &str = "tests/hevc_white_frame.mp4";
+// xHE-AAC test file generated by exhale encoder - 3 seconds, 44.1kHz mono, ~14.6kbps
+static AUDIO_XHE_AAC_MP4: &str = "tests/sine-3s-xhe-aac-44khz-mono.mp4";
 // The 1 frame AMR-NB 3gp file can be generated by ffmpeg with command
 // "ffmpeg -i [input file] -f 3gp -acodec amr_nb -ar 8000 -ac 1 -frames:a 1 -vn output.3gp"
 #[cfg(feature = "3gpp")]
@@ -1580,3 +1582,80 @@ fn public_video_mp4v() {
         };
     }
 }
+
+#[test]
+fn public_audio_xhe_aac() {
+    let mut fd = File::open(AUDIO_XHE_AAC_MP4).expect("Unknown file");
+    let mut buf = Vec::new();
+    fd.read_to_end(&mut buf).expect("File error");
+
+    let mut c = Cursor::new(&buf);
+    let context = mp4::read_mp4(&mut c, ParseStrictness::Normal).expect("read_mp4 failed");
+
+    println!("xHE-AAC MP4 file parsed successfully");
+    println!("Number of tracks: {}", context.tracks.len());
+
+    // This file contains a single xHE-AAC audio track at 44.1kHz mono, ~14.6kbps, 3 seconds
+    assert_eq!(context.tracks.len(), 1, "Expected exactly one track");
+
+    let track = &context.tracks[0];
+    assert_eq!(
+        track.track_type,
+        mp4::TrackType::Audio,
+        "Expected audio track"
+    );
+
+    // Check sample description
+    let stsd = track.stsd.as_ref().expect("expected an stsd");
+    assert_eq!(
+        stsd.descriptions.len(),
+        1,
+        "Expected one sample description"
+    );
+
+    let a = match stsd.descriptions.first().expect("expected a SampleEntry") {
+        mp4::SampleEntry::Audio(ref a) => a,
+        _ => panic!("expected an AudioSampleEntry"),
+    };
+
+    println!("Audio track details:");
+    println!("  Codec type: {:?}", a.codec_type);
+    println!("  Sample rate: {}", a.samplerate);
+    println!("  Channel count: {}", a.channelcount);
+
+    // The parser should detect this as xHE-AAC
+    assert_eq!(a.codec_type, mp4::CodecType::XHEAAC);
+
+    // Based on ffprobe: 44.1kHz, 1 channel (mono)
+    assert_eq!(a.samplerate, 44100.0);
+    assert_eq!(a.channelcount, 1);
+
+    // Check codec-specific data
+    match &a.codec_specific {
+        mp4::AudioCodecSpecific::ES_Descriptor(ref esds) => {
+            println!("  ESDS present");
+            println!("    Audio object type: {:?}", esds.audio_object_type);
+            println!(
+                "    Extended audio object type: {:?}",
+                esds.extended_audio_object_type
+            );
+            println!("    Audio sample rate: {:?}", esds.audio_sample_rate);
+            println!("    Audio channel count: {:?}", esds.audio_channel_count);
+
+            // Should be xHE-AAC with audio object type 42
+            assert_eq!(esds.audio_codec, mp4::CodecType::XHEAAC);
+            assert_eq!(esds.audio_object_type, Some(42));
+
+            // Verify ESDS matches the container info
+            if let Some(sample_rate) = esds.audio_sample_rate {
+                assert_eq!(sample_rate, 44100);
+            }
+            if let Some(channel_count) = esds.audio_channel_count {
+                assert_eq!(channel_count, 1);
+            }
+        }
+        _ => panic!("Expected ES descriptor for xHE-AAC audio"),
+    }
+
+    println!("xHE-AAC file parsing test completed successfully");
+}
diff --git a/mp4parse/tests/sine-3s-xhe-aac-44khz-mono.mp4 b/mp4parse/tests/sine-3s-xhe-aac-44khz-mono.mp4
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..44c74bab
Binary files /dev/null and b/mp4parse/tests/sine-3s-xhe-aac-44khz-mono.mp4 differ