Apple gets FDA authorization to turn the AirPods Pro into hearing aids

I won’t know for about six months if traveling back to Canada removes the hearing aid function. Hopefully it does not. I spent most of the day wearing them while out on the road traveling south. I also listened to some music as well as the GPS function in Apple maps I was able to have a conversation with my wife in a reasonably noisy environment. I also noticed that when I spoke to my wife, the music disappeared completely and I could have a completely normal conversation. A few seconds after the conversation stopped, the Music resumed. I thought it was a nice feature. Downside is it only lasts about seven hours and I had to revert back to my regular hearing aids. So far I like it, but the real test will come in next week when we go to a very noisy restaurant that we frequent down in Texas.

Buy a second pair. A 30 second swap out and you will never run out of power again.

Exactly what I did. Works like a charm after making sure the “Hearing Aid” settings are the same on both sets. Since the Airpods are matched to the cases, I did mark the Airpods and cases so the Airpods go back into the right case. Just makes the “Find” feature on the phone easier. I put Airpods #1 in first thing in the morning. I put Case #2 in my pocket. Around 2 pm I put #2 Airpods in my ears and put Airpods #1 into Case #2 to charge just in case I need more than 12 hours total. The case brings them up to full chare in about an hour. At the end of the day I make sure that the Airpods are in the right case and charge both overnight.

@PhotoCasey How did the Airpods work in the very noisy restaurant in Texas (you mentioned that in a previous post as a test you were going to run)?

I find that if I disconnect blue tooth and immediately reconnect the AirPods it brings up Transparency mode. However even though Transparency initially doesn’t show, it appears to be enabled anyway. Probably a bug. I too would like a bit more amplification, however I am getting used to the limit imposed on the hearing aid settings. I always found the Jabras somewhat too loud. The ability to have a conversation in a noisy environment and the great sound quality offset any downsides. I also like the ability to set it on noise cancellation when listening to music and videos. Icing on the case is the ability to control the AirPods by touching the stem and the seamless integration with other Apple devices.

@1Bluejay said:

but I’m not confident they are in the GAME like the kingpins: Oticon, Phonak, Widex, a few others.

Yep. Consumer electronics is not medical device product, FDA approval or not. I expect the recent rise of insurances requiring pre-approving HA for coverage will still be an impediment to Apple buds.

At less than a tenth of the cost of hearing aids, I don’t need insurance.

After about a week with the AirPods Pro 2 I really like them as hearing aids. They are crap in noise. But for relatively quiet around the home, hearing my wife or the grandson (2 yo) they really work well. The noise in the wind is worse than my Phonak p90 audeos by a long way. I listen to a ton of podcasts and they are great for that. I don’t notice them after a minute or two. I was doubtful that they would be any better really than my old OG AirPods. They still sound great but they have been crapping out on me in the cold when I’m out walking in the morning. So I needed to buy something, but my son encouraged me to try the AirPods Pro 2 saying the occlusion wasn’t nearly so bad as the ones I’d tried a few years ago while my Phonaks went in for service. They were better than a sharp stick in the eye, but I didn’t really enjoy them. I enjoy the new ones. I switch over to the phonaks for the majority of my day, but these fill a hole.

WH

@RobHooft said:

So you wonder then what those FDA (and, I guess, other agencies) approvals are really good for, given that whatever sound you can squeeze out of these buds can’t even harm the hearing of non-impaired people?

I’m glad the FDA isn’t regulating the db of MY aids. YE GODS. I’d be doomed.

I’m impressed! You’re hearing loss is better than mine. I’d really like to try some. Your comment about the noisy restaurant helps me a lot!