After years of dabbling in hearing health, Apple earlier this week went all-in, announcing that AirPods Pro, the tech giant’s top wireless earbuds, will soon double as hearing aids for people with milder forms of hearing loss.
Apple’s redoubled effort on hearing also includes software to test a person’s hearing and to customize the output of the hearing aid. This hearing aid feature, which boosts sound around users to make it more audible, is intended for people with mild to moderate hearing loss of the kind that can make it difficult to hear conversation in a noisy restaurant or other quiet sounds in everyday life — not for severe or profound hearing loss that requires professional treatment. Both the hearing aid and hearing test tools will be available in the United States as a software update after clearance from the Food and Drug Administration.
Apple hopes that the features will increase access to the hearing tools for millions who otherwise would not get their hearing assessed or treated. Audiologists and other hearing experts told STAT they were bullish that this move would reach people who have not sought help with their hearing despite a recent push to get cheaper, over-the-counter hearing aids to consumers.
