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Apple takes hearing health seriously with AirPods Pro 2 update
- An incoming update aims to allow AirPods Pro 2 to replace hearing aids.
- Apple expects the feature to gain FDA approval later this year.
- If approved, the AirPods Pro 2 would be among the cheapest hearing aids on the market.
In its announcement event today, Apple stated that an inbound update to the AirPods Pro 2 would activate a hearing protection feature by default, and the earbuds would also be gaining the ability to act as a “clinical grade” hearing aid. Up until now, it was capable enough to act as a Personal Sound Amplification Product (PSAP), but becoming a true over-the-counter hearing aid is something else entirely.
With this update, the AirPods Pro 2 (when used with an iPhone) will gain the ability to give you what Apple claims is a clinically validated hearing test, and adjust the performance of the transparency mode accordingly. The AirPods Pro 2 did have a similar capability in the past, but this new update is much more comprehensive. Apple says that they conducted a hearing study with 160,000 participants as part of their research for these new features.
The test itself should take roughly 5 minutes of your time, and appears to be a simple process. You just tap the screen when you can hear a tone that plays at different frequencies. The test will give you a visual representation of your hearing loss profile (i.e., an audiogram), which can be shared with your audiologist, or ENT doctor. Just be aware that some conditions may not be helped by this feature, depending on the type of hearing loss you have.
This is important mainly because of the popularity of AirPods across the entire audio market. Now that the most successful personal audio product out there currently has the capability to act as a hearing aid, the transition of the earbuds category to hybridize with personal corrective devices is far underway. Though a number of hearables and OTC hearing aids were on the market after 2022, most were comparatively much more expensive than a set of AirPods Pro. For many, AirPods will be the most accessible hearing health product to address hearing loss. Earlier last year, we posited that this change was coming to earbuds by 2025, and it looks like we were right on the money.
In addition, the company also unveiled its attempt to improve the AirPods Pro 2 with a Hearing Protection feature. This feature uses the muscle of the H2 processor to listen to your surroundings and reduce the level of noise that reaches your eardrum. Noise-induced hearing loss is something that Apple correctly noted can lead to worse health outcomes and depression, so this kind of feature is a welcome one.
It’s unclear when exactly this feature will roll out, but Apple claims that it should be given FDA approval — and approval in roughly 100 other countries — “later this year.” It will roll out as a software update to iOS 18, so existing and new AirPods Pro (2nd generation) owners will get access to all of these features.