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Medicine Apple

AirPods Pro 2 Adds 'Clinical Grade' Hearing Aid Feature 47

Posted by BeauHD from the senior-sound-systems dept.
Apple says AirPods Pro 2 will receive a software feature "soon" that will turn the wireless earbuds into "clinical-grade" hearing aids. "This includes a hearing protection mode being enabled by default, offering passive noise cancellation in loud environments," adds 9to5Mac. From the report: Firstly, users can take a clinically-validated hearing test. The hearing test uses your AirPods and iPhone, and can be conducted by a user in under five times. The result of your hearing test can be viewed securely in the Health app. If hearing loss is detected, the hearing aid mode is then available to use. The AirPods will make it easier to hear sounds from the world around you. A custom hearing profile is automatically applied when listening to audio, like music or podcasts.

The hearing aid feature is currently making its way through the FDA and other regulatory bodies. Apple said the functionality will be available in more than 100 countries. The feature will be enabled through a free software update coming later this year to AirPods Pro 2.
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AirPods Pro 2 Adds 'Clinical Grade' Hearing Aid Feature More

AirPods Pro 2 Adds 'Clinical Grade' Hearing Aid Feature

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  • For those of us that went to one too many Rolling Stones concerts back in the day...(yes, using this to date myself)....I find myself asking "Huh?" way too often...

    Not wanting to drop thousands on HA's....but this might could help out between needing pro HA's and every day life.

    It may not be a big deal, but since SO many of us out here already have these things...why not?

    Just a few $100's....and bang, hearing again at a party.

    I have a TON of trouble hearing in environments where a lot of people are spea

    • I will certainly give it a try and I know I am getting there. I'm not certain this can match something that's professionally tuned but if it gets halfway there without further damaging my hearing it's worth a shot.

  • Not gonna happen... (Score:3)

    by jonwil ( 467024 ) on Monday September 09, 2024 @05:32PM (#64775533)

    There is no way the manufacturers of actual hearing aids (that cost a fortune and are VERY profitable for their manufacturers) will allow their bought-and-paid-for mates at the FDA to approve something like this.

    • Pah, that kind of stuff only happens in places like Russia. We should nuke it, or at least place a Stephen King-style dome over it and paint it black.
      Cut off from their food supply of fresh human baby blood, they will soon die and then we can take over that gas station with nukes for Freedom & McDemocracy inc.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by rsilvergun ( 571051 )
      Apple computer is a trillion-dollar company I'm pretty sure they can go toe to toe with a hearing aid manufacturer. We wouldn't even have the story if they weren't

      • Yes, hearing aid manufacturers aren't really the problem. The problem is squaring regulatory requirements with modern tech update and release cycles. Having the regulated stuff in there might add enough friction to Apple's processes that they give it up.

        • hearing aids aren't oral medication. And Apple is chasing after Medicare money. That's worth a little bit of work.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by dciman ( 106457 )

            hearing aids aren't oral medication. And Apple is chasing after Medicare money. That's worth a little bit of work.

            Medicare doesn't pay anything for hearing exams, hearing aid fittings, or hearing aids. Just FYI. So you're wrong in that sense.

            But, it is a huge market.

            OTC hearing aids have really brought the price down and forced prescription models to become more price competitive.

            Still, a proper hearing test and fitting of a few different models to see what you like best is worth the cash if you have it. Plus follow up appointments to get everything dialed in.

            But, this could prove a stepping stone for people curious if

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by shilly ( 142940 )

          They've got long experience with this. They launched the ECG app years ago. It didn't slow them down at all.

      • Hearing aids are single purpose devices while Air Pods are multi purpose and not specifically designed to be a hearing aid. Hmm. I wonder how this will go over with the regulators in regards to getting it certified as a medically approved hearing device?. I wouldn't want the Airpods to be my primary hearing aid (the non removable batteries being a major reason) but as a back up in case something happened to my 'official' hearing aids, sure.

    • bought-and-paid-for mates at the FDA

      You may have something resembling a point if Apple didn't have multiple FDA approvals already from manufacturers of various medical devices that cost a fortune and are very profitable. Your conspiracy theory that there's some secret corruption in favour of certain medical device manufacturers keeping tech companies from getting approval simply has no basis in fact.

      Now run along, I'm sure you're late to some secret anti-government meeting where you drink and complain about the illuminati raising the price of

      • What about that apple watch monitor brouhaha? Why are you so eager to cherry-pick away examples of threatened industries trying to shut down Apple (and other tech companies like say Google for trying to make all books available for free) for doing something they do much cheaper?

        • What about that apple watch monitor brouhaha?

          You mean the Apple Watch which was granted FDA approval for detection of a-fib 6 years ago?
          Or maybe you mean the Apple Watch which has FDA approval for use of ECG monitoring in clinical trials - including clinical a-fib diagnosis as of early this year?
          Or could you be talking about the Apple Watch which has FDA approval for use with StrivePD to monitor patients Parkinsons disease?

          Is that the Apple Watch you're talking about?

      • Raising the price of beer is strictly the Freemasons' doing. Since Biden is in power, they've divvied up the pie with the Illuminati and several three-letter-agencies and got the beer pricing and the sex parties.
    • It already did happen:

      You can now buy hearing aids over the counter if you are 18 years or older. The FDA recently established a new category of over the counter (OTC) hearing aids so people 18 years of age and older with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss can buy one in the store or online without seeing an ear-nose-throat (ENT) doctor, or a licensed hearing health care professional (an audiologist).

      https://www.fda.gov/medical-de... [fda.gov]

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Lehk228 ( 705449 )
      that's the nice thing about it being apple, they have more money than god to do any lobbying needed

  • Was this supposed to be minutes or what is it trying to say?

  • Camouflaged option? (Score:3, Informative)

    by hadleyburg ( 823868 ) on Monday September 09, 2024 @06:08PM (#64775597)

    One feature of clinical hearing aids is that they are designed to not stand out. They are generally small, skin coloured, and often sit behind the ear.
    AirPods have traditionally been stark white, and designed to be seen as a fashion item.
    Also, the wearer of AirPods is generally understood to be listening to something, and not ready to quickly engage in conversation.
    I wonder if Apple will offer an AirPod model (or even colour option) which helps to address this.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by ktung ( 963626 )
      easy solution: just go to HomeDepot and get a spray paint bottle with your skin tone.
    • I knew Colorware offers painting your AirPods and I tried some to find skin colors, but I was a little disappointed. The only camouflaging color I could find, was some sort of matte pink: Colorware.com [colorware.com]

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by piojo ( 995934 )

      AirPods have traditionally been stark white..

      I wonder if Apple will offer an AirPod model (or even colour option) which helps to address this.

      They can just release another software update that turns on RF cloaking.

    • "One feature of clinical hearing aids is that they are designed to not stand out. "

      They are designed to not stand out *as hearing aids*. These don't stand out as hearing aids, because they look like something else.

    • they are generally small, skin coloured, and often sit behind the ear. AirPods have traditionally been stark white

      That's actually a marketing advantage. Grandpa's got to have his beats - they make the wearer look hip, not handicapped.

  • Already available... and it's a game changer! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Yo,dog! ( 1819436 ) on Monday September 09, 2024 @06:17PM (#64775609)
    What Apple announced today is just the latest chapter. The only new feature Apple announced is their own hearing test. I've been using Apple "Headphone Accommodations" for roughly 2 years already with AirPods Pro and AirPods Max. They've supported a simple little A-B test all this time to equalize output, as well as allowed the user to enter audiogram results separately for each ear. 3rd party iOS apps will already test hearing, too, although they're not FDA approved and of questionable quality.
    Because of my moderate hearing loss, Headphone Accommodations has completely transformed my use and enjoyment of iPhone and iPad with media and phone calls. Transparency mode puts AirPods Pro/Max into their hearing aid-like operation. I purchased expensive hearing aids from Costco anyway, primarily for their discrete appearance and longer battery life, but otherwise that was $1600 splurge that I don't often really need. AirPods Pro are typically available for just $200 or less and everything sounds far more natural and is more enjoyable than with the expensive hearing aids. Plus AirPods Pro/Max support Active Noise Cancellation, which my expensive hearing aids don't.
    • Thanks for that feedback. I was in the army, so I have been wondering whether airpods will help.
    • i had the exact same experience. problem is the comfort, airpod pro 2s all day = torture.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Gilmoure ( 18428 )

      I have hearing discrimination issues (USAF crew chief, JP-4 exposure). Wonder if AirPods might help me out?

      My Airpod Pro 2s; the sound dampening is kinda wild. Hadn't thought to look into boosting frequencies or voices. Could be interesting.

  • In the bigger picture? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by King_TJ ( 85913 ) on Monday September 09, 2024 @06:25PM (#64775627) Journal

    This is really kind of an interesting road Apple seems to be trying to go down.... They've figured out how much money there is in the medical industry, and they're looking for avenues to tap into it, wherever they can.

    I think consumer electronics manufacturers have largely stayed away from all of this, traditionally -- only because the govt. approval process is a huge hurdle and makes it exponentially costly to bring something to market. That plus the legal battle you inevitably get into with the specialty medical equipment makers who don't like anyone cutting into their profits.

    Apple has the money to take it on, though -- and truthfully? It's a better way to spend their money than projects like the Apple electric car. It has the effect of making its "wearables" more attractive than the competition's offerings, plus it means they can bundle these new technologies nearly into existing products. They don't have to sell you yet another gadget because it'll just be part of the next Apple Watch or Airpods, or VR headset, or ?

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

      I think consumer electronics manufacturers have largely stayed away from all of this, traditionally -- only because the govt. approval process is a huge hurdle and makes it exponentially costly to bring something to market. That plus the legal battle you inevitably get into with the specialty medical equipment makers who don't like anyone cutting into their profits.

      It also helps that the US deregulated the hearing aid industry, which is why you can find "hearing enhancers" and other things really cheaply.

      It

  • '"software feature "soon" that will turn the wireless earbuds into "clinical-grade" hearing aids. "This includes a hearing protection mode being enabled by default, offering passive noise cancellation in loud environments"'

    If it's a passive noise canceling, it isn't going to be enabled by a software update- that would be the physical aspect of buds just being there and blocking noise. Not aware of any software that will change the physical effects of the buds and how effectively they'll block sound.

    If the

  • Will it be enough to counteract the harmful effects of BlueTooth radiation on the ear canal, ear drum and inside of the head?

    • Iâ(TM)m not sure if youâ(TM)re being serious or just trolling. But in case youâ(TM)re being serious, please understand that there have been long term studies that show the wireless technologies such as Bluetooth, WiFi and mobile phones have no effect on human health, and emits no âoeradiationâ.

        • One of many things of interest in this video (00:43) is that brain cancer takes forty years to develop (she explains how that's known).

          Given this, how is it even possible for there to have been valid (capable of getting to the truth) long-term studies which can exclude mobile phones as casual factors?

          • Brain cancer *can* take 40 years to develop, which doesn't mean it will take 40 years to develop. For example 9% of brain cancers are in people aged 20-34 and 13% in people under 20. As such if you actually understand statistics and probability (it is very hard and only a tiny fraction of the population do) you can do such studies. Mobile phones have been in widespread use for over 30 years now so if non ionizing radiation was going to be causing brain cancer we would have noticed an uptick in brain cancer

            • Although, smartphones are a relatively recent introduction with continuous evolution of the underlying communication tech.

              Coupled with: smart phones and the ecosystem of apps and social media are encouraging high-usage patterns.

              The window during which there's homogeneity of tech and usage-levels is their *much* narrower than 30 years.

            • There have been plenty of stories about rising cancer rates though.
  • I wonder if Americans understand the world is bigger than their country? Just reading some of the comments here it seems they think Apple will only consider selling hearing aids in their country.

  • I'm pleased to see this finally start to happen. Some of us have been using them as a hearing aid for quite a while now. I posted a howto on Mastodon back in March 2023. The article got a mostly positive response. Some people were rightly cautious, but I think Apple got it right by allowing us to import an audiogram. It has helped me massively over the past year and a half.

    https://toot.cat/@garry/110005... [toot.cat]

    Now, if only they'd fix that problem where Transparency mode switches itself off under certain circumst

  • I had to walk past a nighttime construction site in the road (they do a lot of night roadwork here) and this guy had a super massive asphalt cutting circular saw thing, cutting up the road. It was an extremely loud mix of super high pitched and low rumbling sonic overdose driven by a hulking Diesel engine it seemed, constantly revving up and down. I have to say walking past it from 20 feet away was such a visceral horrible assault I felt like whimpering. It can't have been good for that guy either! So if th

    • In-ear buds won't provide 'sonic protection' from that kind of noise.

      For that, you need over-the-ear 'can' type protection with a ton of NR.

  • The product that damages your hearing can also help fix your hearing.

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