Between eye-catching images of a snazzy new Apple Watch and a colorful array of iPhones, Apple made a major announcement for a two-year-old product: the AirPods Pro 2. The earbuds will soon get a hearing aid feature that anyone can access, making the device a more affordable alternative to traditional hearing aids and an all-in-one solution that could change the way people get help for hearing loss.
The Food and Drug Administration has cleared over-the-counter hearing aids in 2022, giving people access to cheaper alternatives that don't require a doctor's visit. If Apple gets FDA approval, Apple's new “clinical” over-the-counter hearing aid feature will roll out as a free software update this fall. Some people with hearing loss have already used AirPods Pro to amplify sound, but this update will carry the FDA's seal of approval and bring a few more benefits.
Instead of visiting a doctor to get hearing aids fitted, people can take Apple's five-minute hearing test at home. Users can also create a personalized hearing profile that allows the AirPods Pro 2 to increase the volume of sounds like speech or noises in the wearer's environment based on specific hearing needs. The earbuds also automatically adjust the sound on a person's iPhone, iPad or Mac, whether they're on a phone call, listening to music or playing a game. Apple gives users access to their hearing test results in the Health app, where they can repeat the test at any time to monitor their hearing.
With AirPods now available almost everywhere, this launch means that many people who already own the second-generation Pro headphones will get instant access to Apple's hearing aid solution. Now, if someone suspects they have a hearing problem, they can theoretically get the help they need by plugging in the AirPods Pro they already own and turning on some features, rather than just turning up the volume on the TV. That's something existing OTC hearing aid providers simply can't compete with.
Previously, the second-generation AirPods Pro were considered personal sound amplification products (PSAPs), which are not replacements for full-fledged hearing aids. They had no FDA approval and no official hearing tests, but they did have accessibility features like Live Listen and Conversation Boost, which can increase the volume and improve the sound of a person's voice during a conversation.
“This is a tidal wave in hearing health that has just reached the shore.”
Now the earbuds offer a complete solution that not only (hopefully) helps people hear better, but also has a hearing protection feature that filters out loud noises. “The longer you live with hearing loss, the more you become aware of wanting to protect your hearing,” says Nancy M. Williams, founder and president of Auditory Insight, a hearing health consulting firm. The edge“Paying attention to protection is almost as important as helping people with hearing loss.”
The AirPods Pro 2 have many other benefits, including a transparency mode that lets in ambient noise from the surroundings, as well as conversation detection that automatically detects when someone is speaking to amplify the voice while lowering media volume. To date, no other over-the-counter hearing aid offers a fully functional solution like this one. “This is a tidal wave in hearing health that has just hit land,” says Williams.
Plus, so many people have AirPods in their ears all day that people with hearing loss feel more comfortable wearing these devices than other options. Other brands like Sony, Jabra, Sennheiser, and even HP have launched over-the-counter hearing aids, but none are as widely available as the AirPods Pro 2. “We believe that a significant portion of people who are untreated and suffering from hearing loss are holding back because of stigma,” says Williams. “Nobody knows the extent to which your AirPods Pro 2 are assisting with hearing. It's an invisible level of assistance that's being applied, and that's a very powerful thing, I think, for people who suffer from stigma.”
The AirPods Pro 2 are designed to not only break down the stigma, but also break down the price barriers. “The price difference alone will completely shake up the market,” wrote Anshel Sag, an analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, on Threads. At $249, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 are much more affordable than most other over-the-counter hearing aids, such as Sony's CRE-E10 self-fitting hearing aids for $1,099 or Jabra's Enhance Select 50R, which start at $995. The big caveat is that users will still need an iPhone running iOS 18 or later for this new feature. Depending on which iPhone model a user already owns or plans to get, the total cost of setting up an Apple hearing aid may exceed that of other over-the-counter options. However, all of these options are still less expensive than a typical prescription hearing aid, which costs an average of $2,300.
One major downside is that AirPods Pro 2 wearers don't benefit from the same long battery life as more expensive over-the-counter or prescription products. The AirPods Pro 2 offer up to six hours of listening time on a single charge, as opposed to Sony's CRE-E10, which offers up to 26 hours of continuous use. “This is a problem for people with mild to moderate hearing loss,” says Williams. “The more severe someone's hearing loss is – and the more interested they are in improving their hearing throughout the day – the more battery life becomes a significant disadvantage.”
Even if the battery life isn't optimal, the AirPods Pro 2 have the potential to provide hearing aid access to the millions of people who own them. And because they're AirPods, they're basically the most visible—but invisible—hearing aids ever.