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Apple announced Hearing Aid functionality in AirPod Pros 2 with clinical Tone testing

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AirPods Pro 2 - Hearing Health - Apple2 (edit in new link)

Apple to Convert All AirPods Pro 2 Earbuds into FDA-Registered Hearing Aids,...77

Apple announced that it is finally making the leap into over-the-counter () hearing aids with new software updates to its AirPods Pro 2 hearing aids. The “clinical grade” hearing aid mode Apple is implementing will allow users to enhance their...

Apple says AirPods Pro 2 can be used as 'clinical-grade' hearing aids |...3

Apple says that AirPods PRo 2, its latest flagship wireless earbuds, can be used as 'clinical-grade hearing aids' -- pending approval.

Apple's AirPods Pro update turns them into a clinical grade hearing aid42

Apple is adding an over-the-counter, professional-grade hearing aid feature to its AirPods Pro. It'll boost the specific kinds of sounds you need help with.

Additionally the hearing profile will float to all your attached devices automatically without having to do additional setting changes per device. So your iPad will ‘just work’ etc with the Hearing Aid function from your iPhone settings.

Admin note: Added link to our coverage from Karl Strom.

30 people in this conversation24 min readJump to latest
@kiki said:

Apple says AirPods Pro 2 can be used as 'clinical-grade' hearing aids | TechCrunch

I have been waiting for this for a while. Super happy to see this! I am sure that whenever Airpod Pro 3 launch they’ll do even better, however rolling this out to the existing product line is a huge plus.

So cheap to access, excellent streaming sound across every frequency without that dreaded occlusion sense thanks to the onboard processing in Transparency – easy phone calls that are appropriately amplified – this is exciting stuff.

I’m mainly excited because it’s bound to disrupt the quite stagnant [in my opinion] hearing devices market.

They do work with massive amounts of data. Honestly while Widex and Oticon are doing work, they aren’t getting 100,000+ people involved.

Apple Hearing Study shares preliminary insights on tinnitus15

The Apple Hearing Study is sharing new insights on tinnitus in one of the largest surveys to date.

" The Apple Hearing Study is sharing new insights on tinnitus in one of the largest surveys to date.

Through the study, University of Michigan researchers reviewed a cohort of more than 160,000 participants who answered survey questions and completed app-based assessments to characterize their experience of tinnitus. This research aims to improve understanding of tinnitus characteristics and inform future research on potential treatments."

I’m forecasting Tinnitus treatment within 2 years.

Edited

In reply to @tenkan

While Apple is know for its hype-driven buzzwordy marketing, they’ve been very careful about their medical related stuff. I’m not sure what is “clinical” supposed to mean in this context though.
And I’d love to see the extent to which they can be fit.

Edited

I see the air pods as an alternative for people that have mild to moderate hearing loss. But what about the ones of us that have severe to profound loss, and what about the ones of us that wear our aids continuous for 16 our more hours a day. The last I heard the air pods only had about a 4 to 6 hours of battery life. And I guess they are great for Apple fans, but I don’t see myself going back to apple products anytime soon.

You have to take into account that some folks, even with severe to profound loses cannot afford proper hearing devices [not that air pods are particularly cheap]. So it will definitely fill that gap [for better or worse].

But to your another point, I agree, I cannot imagine wearing them for hours.

In reply to @Reginald

@Reginald said:

I’m not sure what is “clinical” supposed to mean in this context though.
And I’d love to see the extent to which they can be fit.

Yes that was my point also, we’ll have to wait and see.

@cvkemp said:

severe to profound loss, and what about the ones of us that wear our aids continuous for 16 our more hours a day.

Yes and this is why we do have clinical/prescription for severe/profound losses.

Some people have fit issues with Air Pod Pro 2. This may not work well for those users. But this should put some downward price pressure at least for the market despite battery life limitations.

@user490 said:

But this should put some downward price pressure at least for the OTC market despite battery life limitations.

Yes agreed, I think the market is way overpriced.

In reply to @tenkan

Additional thought, tenkan – if you find that hearing aids you can order from Lively or Bose are ‘clinical’ in their self-administered hearing tests, then you have to give Apple that same nod. It’s not exactly rocket science to create a hearing test app - there are dozens on the App store already. When you know the exact frequencies your device can output (ideally, of course, same as a Bose hearing aid has a frequency response range) it’s easy enough to administer a test, and use the on board microphone of either the AirPods or the phone to check it’s actually quiet in the room.

The support page is yet to be up but looks like a limited rollout for now? Only North America.

Interested to see how they integrate it all for people who have single sided loss (maybe introduce a functions) and people who have a cochlear implant on one side (streaming to both would be a god-send, is that already possible?)

From the footnotes:

  1. The Hearing Protection feature works with AirPods Pro 2 with the latest firmware when paired with a compatible iPhone, iPad, or Mac running the latest operating system software. The feature will be available in the U.S. and Canada. See support.apple.com/1208507 for total attenuation and more information.
  2. The Hearing Test and Hearing Aid features are expected to be available fall 2024. The Hearing Aid feature is pending marketing authorization from global health authorities. The Hearing Test and Hearing Aid features will be supported on AirPods Pro 2 with the latest firmware paired with a compatible iPhone or iPad with iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 and later, and are intended for people 18 years or older. The Hearing Aid feature is intended for people with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss.

In reply to @kiki

@kiki said:

if you find that OTC hearing aids you can order from Lively or Bose are ‘clinical’ in their self-administered hearing tests

Actually I don’t believe they can be considered “clinical” either, but they do work well for those in the mild moderate losses that are not challenging, but for severe/profound it’s another thing all together which of course doesn’t deliver.

Oh sneaky - they added

" Background Sounds play calming sounds — like the ocean or rain — to mask unwanted environmental noise."

AKA tinnitus treatment without calling it tinnitus treatment.

Edit: you know – that is already there, and I just didn’t notice they added it.
I turned it on – it’s very much like every other app that does this, but via the iOS. Hello soft ocean waves.

more edit: but nicer because battery saving / auto turn off on phone sleep can be bypassed if it’s run at the iOS level.

This should make hearing aids much more acceptable to the young, whom are well used to charging their stuff multiple times a day.

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