Apple says its latest flagship wireless earbuds, the AirPods Pro 2, can be used as “clinical-grade” hearing aids. The feature has not yet been cleared by the FDA, but the company said it expects clearance “soon.” The new AirPods were unveiled at Apple's “It's Glowtime” event.
When enabled, the Hearing Aid feature amplifies specific sounds in real time, like parts of speech or elements of your environment, and applies a personalized hearing profile (more on that below) to music, movies, and calls across your devices.
According to Apple, this will enable wearers to better hear their surroundings and participate in conversations.
Image credit: Apple
In a related announcement, Apple previewed a five-minute certified hearing test coming to iOS 18 and AirPods Pro 2 that will allow users to check their current hearing health. In the test, users listen to a series of sounds at different volumes and frequencies, then tap on their phone screen. It is based on insights from Apple's hearing research and was developed using “real-world data at scale,” Apple said.
After you take a hearing test, you'll be presented with your results in a personalized hearing profile (used by the hearing aid feature mentioned above), which will then be stored in Apple's Health app and can be shared with your healthcare provider if needed.
Hearing profiles can be applied in conjunction with a feature called Media Assist, which can accentuate specific parts of a call or instruments in a soundtrack, and Apple claims that even users with minimal hearing loss can benefit from tuning at individual frequencies.
Both the hearing aid features in AirPods Pro 2 and Hearing Testing in iOS 18 will be available this fall via software updates in more than 100 countries and regions.