Apple has announced that its latest premium wireless earbuds, the AirPods Pro 2, can function as “clinical-grade” hearing aids. This feature, whilst not yet FDA-cleared, is expected to receive approval “soon”, according to the tech giant. The announcement was made at Apple’s “It’s Glowtime” event.
When activated, the hearing aid feature enhances specific sounds in real-time, such as elements of speech or environmental noises. It also applies a personalised hearing profile to music, films, and telephone calls across devices.
Apple claims this will enable wearers to better perceive their surroundings and participate in conversations more effectively.
In a related development, Apple previewed a five-minute certified hearing test, set to be introduced with iOS 18 and AirPods Pro 2. This test will allow users to assess their current hearing health.
Users will be asked to tap their smartphone’s screen upon hearing a series of tones at varying volumes and frequencies. Apple states that the test “builds on learnings from Apple’s hearing studies, and was developed using large-scale real-world data”.
Following the hearing test, users will receive results in a personalised hearing profile, which will be utilised by the aforementioned hearing aid feature. These results will be stored in Apple’s Health app, with the option to share them with a healthcare provider.
The hearing profile can be used in conjunction with a feature called Media Assist to enhance certain aspects of speech during phone calls or specific instruments within a soundtrack. Apple suggests that even users with minimal to no hearing loss may benefit from these adjustments at individual frequencies.
Both the hearing aid feature for AirPods Pro 2 and the hearing test for iOS 18 are scheduled to launch this autumn via a software update in over 100 countries and regions.
