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Loving AirPods Pro for Music

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I recently bought a pair of AirPods Pro 3 for music listening. I bought them because I had learned that they could be programmed to compensate for my . I wasn’t sure how well they would work, but I was finding with my new prescription that I couldn’t really wear my hearing aids under my headphones anymore, so I thought I would give them a try. And I’ve got to say that they’re amazing. MediaAssist turns music from a muddy mess into something that, if not perfect, was enough to almost bring me to tears the first time I heard it. The results are at least as good as my previous hearing aids worn under a pair of Sennheiser headphones…something I could really only do at home. And streaming to may aids has never been good enough to really appreciate music as anything more than background noise. It’s amazing how something as simple as being able to listen to music on a pair of ear buds again has affected my quality of life. I’ve been listening back to old favorites even exploring new music in a way I haven’t for years.

In any case, I would highly recommend at least trying them to anyone with mild-to-moderate hearing loss. It really has been a game-changer for me.

And as an added bonus, they are the best noise-cancelling headphones I’ve ever tried, as well.

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They are working for me too. Not as good as my headphones + amp but much better than any hearing aids I have. I mainly use them for music while working out. Good for phone calls also. And I have a moderate to severe loss.

For me they’re not as good as good over-the-ear headphones with my hearing aids, but they’re far better than any headphones without them.

Interesting but with my hearing loss they might not be as effective. I listen to music a lot using my phonak spheres which I have programmed. I’m reasonably happy with how music sounds from my speakers. But maybe it would be worth investing in air pods? I gave up with headphones because they isolate you.

try them and see. Your hearing is similar to mine and they work for me even though they are not supposed to. You do have to play around with the settings a lot and using them for music is different than using them as hearing aids. To use the function you have to lie to Apple and input a false .

I have been fitted with Jabra Pro 10s and absoluely hate them. Useless in a restaurant and the sound quality just sucks. That is why a year and a half ago I decided to try the Apple AirPod 2 as hearing aids. I used the results of the latest in the settings. I loved them. The only downside was keeping them in my ears. Kept faliing out but the sound was great and the transparency mode keeps me aware of my surroundings. When the APP3s came out, I switched to them. I noticed a bit more volume and a cleaner sound. However while they stay in the ears better, I still constantly have to adjust them. Since I have a Mac, an iPhone and an iPad, I love that they seamlessly switch between devices. Music is so enjoyable compared to my hearing aids. And I am actually able to carry on a conversation in a noisy restaurant. If they would fit better with a bit more volume, they would be perfect. I have tried at least six different brands of eartips and they all fall out after a while. I keep going back to the Apple tips because the sound isolation is better than any of the third party tips. Too bad someone doesn’t make custom ear molds for them. Today I wore my hearing aids to try to insure I stay used to them and do this on a regular basis. After several hours of hearing what I consider someone scraping a chaulk board, I returned to my AirPods, even if I do need to keep pushing them in.

Airpod Pros vs PC with equaliser and headphones - depends on the quality of the PC’s audio circuits and the quality of the headphones.
To be sure of significantly bettering Airpod Pros for music, I would turn to an external DAC + headphone amplifier with inbuilt equaliser and a pair of audiophile headphones.

An example of the latter is the FiiO K13 R2R dac/headphone ampifier with Sennheiser HD650 headphones. This combo will cost US $300 + $300 = $600 so Airpod Pro 3 are lots cheaper.

Hi everyone, I also use AirPods Pro 3 as a backup for my hearing aids and i’m very happy with them. I’ve noticed that sometimes, for example when i whistle, they deactivate and reactivate after a couple of seconds, as if there were an anti-feedback system. It also happens with some other sounds. Does it happens to you as well?

Cheers!

Edited

In reply to @Herv

@Herv said:

Are Airpods (tuned to audiogram) significantly better than what we can do with any headphones on PC with equaliser?

Well, the AirPods Pro will work with any BlueTooth audio source, since they take care of the adjustment onboard. So that’s a big advantage, as is portability (I almost always listen to music on the go). It’s also a single toggle to set it up once you’ve imported your , and their adjustments will be precise to your loss with no guesswork. Of course with an EQ you can achieve a similar effect, but you’re relying on your ear rather than the data.

I agree on all those points, and they’re not terrible either! Currently on a week’s ski holiday in the French Alps, and guess what I forgot to pack? My Lumity HA charging case; I blame the awful o’clock flight. Anyway, no chance of buying another case in a ski resort and equally, getting one mailed here from an online purchase would see them arrive after I’ve left…

AirPods Pro 3s are something I remembered to pack and they are much better than nothing, though the battery life is a bit limiting. Another Apple hit.

In reply to @Dr_Dr_please

Pretty sure that is the hearing protection kicking in. Anything louder than a certain volume will be automatically blocked. AirPods return to normal after a few seconds. I get that if one of the dogs barks close to me. Also when I use my gas engine pressure washer.

You can essentially do nothing with Airpods unless you can set them up with an Apple device (the Walled Garden concept).

Note also that their functionality only makes sense if your hearing loss is around 50 db or less- they don’t work at all for me (tried).

If you are looking for earbuds with better amplification (but no HA function), go for One Plus Buds Pro 2 which, after a hearing test on its Android app, produce much better (louder) audio for me than Airpods, for half the price.

In reply to @PaRambo

You need an iPhone to set up your and turned on Media Assist (the feature that adjusts audio for your audiogram), but once they are set up those settings will persist and they can be used with any BlueTooth audio source.

Just to be clear, I don’t think the AirPods make great hearing aids. They will do in a pinch, but the results are likely to be harsh and may not help in noise. They lack a lot of the advanced features of dedicated aids that help with speech recognition and speech in noise. And they won’t help with profound loss.

Where the AirPods Pro do shine is in compensating for mild-moderate high frequency loss while listening to media (music, movies, etc.) Of course nothing will bring back the dynamic range of your youth, but it helps me not to feel like I’m listening always with my head under water.

In reply to @RobHooft

The OnePlus Pro’s don’t allow you to enter your , do they? It’s based on their own in-app hearing test? I ask because I tried the AirPods using its native test and found the results far inferior to using my professional audiogram. Perhaps OnePlus’ test is better–but I have my doubts.

Indeed, it’s just on-the-go testing. They are the only earbuds that I have seen (among many!) that produce a decent output for me.

With your hearing loss you can just tweak your phone’s equalizer (if you are on Android)- any earbuds will do…

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