AirPods Pro 2 Could Replace Hearing Aids

This week, Apple announced the imminent launch of Hearing Health features that will be available to AirPods Pro 2 wireless earbuds users with the release of iOS 18.1 next week. This includes the ability to use the earbuds as a hearing aid, as well as hearing protection features. However, not all AirPods Pro 2 owners will be able to take advantage of these new features, at least at this stage.

For people ages 18 and up with mild to moderate hearing loss, AirPods Pro 2 can now serve as a clinical-grade hearing aid. You can turn on the Media Assist setting, which uses the results of the hearing test to optimize the sound of music, phone calls, and video content.

And the main compromise with the AirPods Pro 2 is battery life: They last about six hours with the hearing aid turned on.

There are already people swapping earplugs for AirPods Pro at concerts. But until this fall, Apple had never marketed its headphones as hearing protection. The company knew people were doing it, but it kept quiet.

In the US, Apple has already received approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market the AirPods Pro 2 as a “clinical-grade” hearing aid. Apple is likely currently awaiting regulatory approval from other countries to expand the availability of new features.