Apple has announced the rollout of AirPods Pro 2 hearing aid and hearing test features to additional countries. The feature will be available in Australia, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Colombia, and Malaysia starting today. Users will be able to use the Hearing Aid experience by conducting a test, use AirPods Pro 2 as hearing aids, and also setup Loud Sound Reduction.
Apple has first announced the AirPods Pro 2 Personalized testing, Hearing Protection, and Hearing Aid features last year. The features were released as part of the iOS 18.1 update, and made the popular wireless earbuds as an economical option hearing aid option.
Nicky Chong-White, Principal Engineer at National Acoustic Laboratories, said about this rollout:
“Hearing loss can impact more than a person’s hearing. It can impact their communication at work, their social life, and their overall wellbeing. The new hearing features in AirPods Pro are an exciting advancement — they give people a way to check their hearing and set up hearing assistance at home using familiar devices.”
Users can take Apple’s clinical grade hearing test using their AirPods Pro 2 with an iPhone or iPad. The test guides the users step-by-step through the process and takes 5 minutes overall to complete. Users need to be in a quiet place to ensure that they can complete the test without issues and get the best results.
One the test is complete, users are shown a summary of their results, as well as information on their hearing level in each of their ear, alongside recommendations. These details are securely stored in the Health app and can be shared with a doctor later.
If needed, the AirPods Pro 2 can act as an accessible and over-the-counter hearing aid. Based on the results of the hearing test, a personalized profile is created for the user so they can use it as a clinical grade device. This personalized profile is used not only when users are interacting in the real world with other people, objects and places, but also when they are using their iPhone or iPad for calls, music, movies and games, without the need of any manual changes.
Lastly, Loud Sound Reduction provide passive sound reduction to reduce user exposure to loud environments. The H2 chip provides this functionality at 48,000 times per second to monitor sound and reduce its levels.
These features are available in over 100 countries. You can check whether they are available in your country on Apple’s website.
