AirPod pro hearing aid functionality

I’ve been curious on this since Apple announced this feature. Anyone using AirPods for hearing support?

You’ve been able to EQ by audiogram for ages, and I like it a lot. My old IEMs sadly didn’t work for me any more

The new features coming includes a hearing test, and perhaps other stuff, but I think it’s only been rolled out in the US so far. I’m interested myself but still waiting.

I have asymmetric hearing loss, which the AirPod Pro’s current audiogram feature doesn’t support (they set both ears the same) so my hope is that the new features will include separate calibration for each ear.

Hearing support is not available in the UK (and a lot of other countries), as it has not been approved by some health authority or other. I’m annoyed by this; I’d really been looking forward to trying it, but it was only after the update that it became apparent we were not going to get it here, and there’s no info about when it might become available.

“I have asymmetric hearing loss, which the AirPod Pro’s current audiogram feature doesn’t support (they set both ears the same)”

When I set up my AirPods I programmed in the data from my hearing chart, which is different in each ear. Seems to work for me.

Benos, have you had a proper hearing test? Asymmetric hearing loss should be properly investigated.

If anyone really wants to try the hearing features they could try this:

https://www.wired.com/story/apple-airpods-hearing-aid-hack/

Please report back

Because this feature makes the AirPod pros work as a hearing aid it will need certification as a medical device. In the USA this means FDA approval for the hardware/software combination. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-authorizes-first-over-counter-hearing-aid-software

could you spoof it by setting your regional settings to ‘USA’? Edit – the Wired article says no

in the EU I expect this still means a CE mark. In the UK it might be a CE mark or whatever post-Brexit nonsense the last shower of fools introduced.

that Apple appear to have plans for  submissions in more regions is very positive.

https://www.apple.com/airpods-pro/feature-availability/

it can’t just be turned on globally because  medical device regulations differ between regions – governments want to keep their people safe & have them use efficacious products. What FDA considers sufficient may be different from the health regulator’s views where you are.

that being said, the audiogram EQ is my favorite associated accessibility feature and that’s been there for a while. I’m not sure I’d abandon my Phonaks for AirPods completely. Still, would be handy to be able to stop the music, turn on ‘hearing aid mode’ and hear OK. Bring it on.

Doesn’t anyone who has hearing loss have it assymetric to varying degrees, given they’re separate ears?  Mine certainly is, but then that’s also why I’m waiting for an audiology appointment.

I tried some android app (can’t remember which) with my phone and earphones, but it was useless with a very obvious delay.

@easily You put the data in for both ears, but according to this page the result isn’t asymmetric:

If you have a nearly symmetric audiogram, Headphone Accommodations will take the average of the two ears and fit the left and right audio channels with that profile. If you have an asymmetric audiogram, it will fit the left and right audio channels for your better ear.

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/102663

It’s not a big deal as it’s so much better than not having the feature at all, but I think it could be better still.

What would also make it better would be user-customisable parametric EQ. Apple seems to think that everyone in the world is a massive bass head, and I’ve had to ‘cheat’ my audiogram to tone it down. Their “rock” “pop” etc presets are utter bollocks, to put it mildly. But that’s another conversation.

@jkomo Absolutely, well said! I am fully investigated and tested (lucky me I have two separate causes of hearing loss) and I also have a pair of Phonak hearing aids. Getting hearing aids was life-changing, and I’d recommend them to anybody who’s suffered hearing loss. Same as wearing glasses, they allow you to fully interact with the world.

@longdog Yes, but I believe the normal age-related hearing loss is usually pretty close for each ear. Disease or noise-related hearing loss can be hugely different.

could you spoof it by setting your regional settings to ‘USA’?

I’ve been able to get around location-restricted features in the past this way, doesn’t work this time though!

Thanks for the explanation @benos

Does anyone have any idea of how we could find out when the hearing functions will be available in the UK?

“could you spoof it by setting your regional settings to ‘USA’?”

See my earlier link – it can be done with an iPad, a microwave, and a faraday cage.

longdogFree Member
Doesn’t anyone who has hearing loss have it assymetric to varying degrees, given they’re separate ears?  Mine certainly is, but then that’s also why I’m waiting for an audiology appointment.

I tried some android app (can’t remember which) with my phone and earphones, but it was useless with a very obvious delay.

DBpoweramp app (now just called power amp) has a pretty comprehensive built in EQ, along with L/R balance if you are more deaf in one ear more than the other. Android only I think though?

18.2 update allows us UK users to do the hearing test. I did it last night, and it was similar to my official test results, which is reassuring.

Still no news on UK getting the hearing aid functions, but at least it seems we haven’t been forgotten.

This article in Wired describes what I’d expected would be the experience of using AirPod Pros as hearing aids.

https://www.wired.com/story/can-apple-airpods-pro-2-replace-hearing-aids-ask-a-grandmother/

My TLDR – they work OK but aren’t really a hearing aid substitute suited for regular and long term use.

perhaps trying them out as hearing aids will prompt many folks to seek professional audiological help.

The 80-year old grandmother angle I thought was a nice touch when it came to commentary on interfaces and ease of use.