New Apple AirPod Pros can serve as hearing aids

Experts say that addressing hearing deficits is beneficial for our health, and it has become easier in recent years.

First, the FDA approved the sale of over-the-counter hearing aids.

Now, Apple is getting into the hearing aid game. The FDA recently approved a software that turns the new AirPod Pros into a hearing device.

Silence is golden in some instances, but not hearing the world around you is another thing altogether.

“Cognitively, people that keep their auditory system stimulated with amplification have better memory, have better ability to process information and have less risks of dementia,” said Jack Adams, audiologist at Audiology Consultants of Southwest Florida in Fort Myers.

Adam’s life’s work is to help people maintain their hearing. He’s seen the field come a long way since he went into business decades ago.

“We had little potentiometers that you could adjust, maybe something 2% or 3% or 5% of frequency response or the amount of power that’s coming out of the hearing aid, and today, I can adjust 128 different variables in a hearing aid,” Adams said.

However, many people don’t want to wear a hearing aid. About 75% of those diagnosed with hearing loss don’t get the treatment they need. Apple hopes to make hearing capabilities in an AirPod more discreet and user-friendly.

Apple Health product manager Deidre Caldbeck said the Series 2 Airpod Pros can test hearing and then, using the IOS18 software, serve as hearing aids.

“This new feature will seamlessly transform your AirPods Pro into clinical grade hearing aids, and those hearing aids will allow for dynamic adjustments, so you have the specific frequencies you need boosted in real-time, ultimately helping you better engage in conversation and really stay connected to the people and the environment around you,” Caldbeck said.

The AirPod hearing tool is targeted at people with mild to moderate deficits. However, people with more pronounced issues will still benefit from personalized devices like those offered by Adams.

“What’s available over the counter is not what we now call a prescription hearing aid, which is what we fit in an audiology office. The level of technology just is not the same,” Adams said.

Still, any option gives people a valuable boost to stay connected.

Advocates say options like these make hearing devices more acceptable and affordable.

The National Council on Aging finds that hearing aids range from around $100 to more than $7,000.

The Airpod Pros are priced at around $250.

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