It’s official: AirPods Pro 2 are getting a hearing aid mode. Here’s what to know about all the hearing features Apple announced at its iPhone event.
AirPods Pro 2 are getting a hearing aid mode. Here’s what to know about all the hearing features Apple announced at its iPhone event.
The US Food and Drug Administration on Thursday authorized the software Apple announced this week at its iPhone event, allowing the AirPods Pro 2 to start doubling this fall as hearing aids for adults with mild or moderate forms of hearing loss.
The FDA signed off on Apple’s hearing aid feature as the «first over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid software device», but the AirPods Pro 2 will join a growing class of other OTC devices which have only been available without a prescription since late 2022 when the FDA changed the way hearing aids may be sold. The availability of over-the-counter hearing aids have cut costs for devices that have had notoriously poor insurance coverage, and allowed consumer tech companies such as Apple and Sony to enter the hearing aid market.
Apple announced a slew of hearing health features this week at its iPhone event. In addition to the hearing aid feature, Apple also announced active Hearing Protection and a clinically validated Hearing Test.
While more factors like long-wear comfort and practicality will ultimately determine how AirPods will work as hearing aids, they’re expected to give consumers a more approachable and more affordable choice to treating hearing loss. Here’s everything we know about the major hearing health upgrades.First, you’ll take the Hearing Test
For users with mild to moderate hearing loss, the AirPods Pro 2 will add an over-the-counter Hearing Aid capability. But first, you have to take Apple’s Hearing Test, which is a clinical-grade hearing test based on pure-tone audiometry that takes about 5 minutes to complete with the AirPods Pro 2 and a compatible iPhone or iPad.
