The Breaker Times

Between flashy shots of a sleek 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 gain a hearing aid function that anyone can access, a move that will provide a cheaper 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 signed off on over-the-counter hearing aids in 2022, giving people access to cheaper alternatives that don’t require them to see a doctor. Provided Apple receives approval from the FDA, Apple’s new “clinical-grade” over-the-counter hearing aid capability will roll out as a free software update this fall. Some people with hearing loss have already used the AirPods Pro as a way to amplify sound, but this update will have the FDA’s stamp of approval and will come with a few other benefits.

Instead of seeing a doctor to get set up with hearing aids, people will be able to take Apple’s five-minute hearing test at home. Users will also be able to create a personalized hearing profile that allows the AirPods Pro 2 to boost the volume of sounds, such as speech or noises within the wearer’s surrounding environment, based on specific hearing needs. The buds will also automatically adjust the audio across a person’s iPhone, iPad, or Mac, whether they’re on a phone call, listening to music, or playing a game. Apple will give users access to their hearing test results within the Health app, where they can retake the test at any time to monitor their hearing.

Since AirPods are just about everywhere at this point, this rollout means a lot of people who already own the second-gen Pro buds will get instant access to Apple’s hearing aid solution. Now, if someone suspects they may have a hearing issue, instead of just cranking up the volume on the TV, they can theoretically get the help they need by popping in the AirPods Pro they already own and turning on some features. That’s something existing OTC hearing aid providers just can’t compete with.

Previously, the second-generation AirPods Pro were considered personal sound amplification products (PSAPs), which aren’t replacements for full-fledged hearing aids. They lacked FDA clearance and any kind of official hearing tests but did include accessibility features like Live Listen and Conversation Boost, which can increase volume and enhance the sound of someone’s voice during a conversation.

Now, the buds will offer an all-in-one solution that not only (hopefully) helps people hear better but also has a hearing protection feature to filter out loud noises. “The longer you live with hearing loss, the more you realize that you want to protect the hearing that you’ve got,” Nancy M. Williams, the founder and president of Auditory Insight, a hearing healthcare consulting firm, tells The Verge. “Paying attention to protection is almost as important as providing assistance to people with hearing loss.”

The AirPods Pro 2 have plenty of other perks, too, including a transparency mode that lets in ambient sound from the surrounding environment as well as conversation awareness that automatically detects when someone is speaking to enhance their voice while lowering media volume. So far, no other OTC hearing aid offers a full-featured solution like this. “This is a tidal wave in hearing healthcare that just hit the shore,” Williams says.

Plus, so many people have AirPods glued to their ears all day that those with hearing loss might feel more comfortable wearing them compared to other options. Other brands, like Sony, Jabra, Sennheiser, and even HP, have launched OTC hearing aids, but none are as ubiquitous as the AirPods Pro 2. “We believe a significant segment of people who are untreated and have hearing loss are holding back because of stigma,” Williams says. “No one knows to what extent your AirPods Pro 2 are providing hearing assistance. It’s an invisible amount of assistance that’s being applied, and that’s, I think, a very powerful thing for people who suffer from stigma.”

Along with reducing stigma, the AirPods Pro 2 should also break barriers surrounding price. “The price difference alone will completely shake up the market,” Anshel Sag, analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, posted on Threads. At $249, Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 are far cheaper than most other OTC hearing aids, such as Sony’s $1,099 CRE-E10 self-fitting hearing aids or Jabra’s Enhance Select 50R, which start at $995. The big caveat is that users will still need an iPhone with iOS 18 and newer for this new feature to work. Depending on which iPhone model a user already has or wants to get, the total cost of Apple’s hearing aid setup may exceed other OTC options. Despite this, any of these options are still cheaper than your typical prescription hearing aid, which costs an average of $2,300.

A major drawback is that AirPods Pro 2 wearers won’t benefit from the same lengthy battery life they might get when using more expensive OTC or prescription options. The AirPods Pro 2 offer up to six hours of listening time on a single charge, as opposed to Sony’s CRE-E10, which offer up to 26 hours of continuous usage. “That’s a problem for people on the more severe end of the mild to moderate category,” Williams says. “The more severe someone’s hearing loss is — and the more interested they are in having hearing enhancement throughout the day — the more battery life becomes a significant drawback.”

Even with less-than-ideal battery life, the AirPods Pro 2 have the potential to open up access to hearing aids to the millions of people who own them. And because they’re AirPods, they’re basically the most visible — but invisible — hearing aids ever.