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sparksd

macrumors G3
Original poster
Jun 7, 2015
9,988
34,226
Seattle WA
A follow-up. Had my regular hearing checkup with the audiologist today and told her what I did the APP2's and she was quite excited as she was aware of what Apple is doing. She did an actual test with the APP2's with the current state of transparency and available settings, the same test she did with my hearing aids. She said they did quite well, though not as good as my high-end hearing aids. She thinks these could be a real game changer.
 

rasg

macrumors member
Sep 27, 2024
64
39
That's really good to hear. I bet many in the hearing aid industry still haven’t got over the OTC hearing aids that are now allowed to be sold. When I next go to Costco, I hope the hearing aid guy is willing to let me have a copy of my audiogram he did for me a couple of months ago and I hope he is as interested in what Apple is up to.

I have a feeling that the Pro 3s are already well on their way and hope they will be able to cater for people with poor hearing. I was surprised to find that the Pro 2s on the Apple launch video in September had been out for two years. I was even more surprised when I did some research that people had been using them as hearing aids without the coming update.
 

ukms

macrumors demi-god
Apr 21, 2015
1,137
1,196
Dubai, UAE
I was even more surprised when I did some research that people had been using them as hearing aids without the coming update.
The functionality mentioned above has been around for quite a while and like others Ive happily used them as a compliment to my regular aids when Im sitting around at home or in situations outside where I dont want to wear my regular hearing aids.

My understanding is that the actual functionality won't change that much (in that it will work from your audiogram) they are just adding the hearing test etc. The big difference now with the FDA approval is that Apple can call them hearing aids whereas in the past it was just another accessibility function that couldn't be publicised as such. .
 

rasg

macrumors member
Sep 27, 2024
64
39
They already work with your audiogram without any update.

You are right. With the FDA approval Apple will be able to market them as hearing aids. With Apple's huge financial resources and expertise I can see that the next version of the Airpods will be even more powerful and sophisticated. Maybe even for people with far worse hearing. Who knows where this is going?
 
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sparksd

macrumors G3
Original poster
Jun 7, 2015
9,988
34,226
Seattle WA
The functionality mentioned above has been around for quite a while and like others Ive happily used them as a compliment to my regular aids when Im sitting around at home or in situations outside where I dont want to wear my regular hearing aids.

My understanding is that the actual functionality won't change that much (in that it will work from your audiogram) they are just adding the hearing test etc. The big difference now with the FDA approval is that Apple can call them hearing aids whereas in the past it was just another accessibility function that couldn't be publicised as such. .

I do wish they would clean the interface up. The current burying of settings within Accessibility is a bit of a mess; my non-tech-savvy older siblings would never be able to use them - they need a clearly labelled, readily accessible menu.
 

ukms

macrumors demi-god
Apr 21, 2015
1,137
1,196
Dubai, UAE
They already work with your audiogram without any update.

You are right. With the FDA approval Apple will be able to market them as hearing aids. With Apple's huge financial resources and expertise I can see that the next version of the Airpods will be even more powerful and sophisticated. Maybe even for people with far worse hearing. Who knows where this is going?
Apologies I didn't word my post very well, I should have said 'still' work with the Audiogram, agreed I have been using mine for a long while with my audiogram and also the transparency settings are great although mine does sometimes drop out of transparency mode from time to time for no reason.
 

ukms

macrumors demi-god
Apr 21, 2015
1,137
1,196
Dubai, UAE
I do wish they would clean the interface up. The current burying of settings within Accessibility is a bit of a mess; my non-tech-savvy older siblings would never be able to use them - they need a clearly labelled, readily accessible menu.
You can have a shortcut button in control centre that takes you straight to the settings
 
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rasg

macrumors member
Sep 27, 2024
64
39
I do wish they would clean the interface up. The current burying of settings within Accessibility is a bit of a mess; my non-tech-savvy older siblings would never be able to use them - they need a clearly labelled, readily accessible menu.
I agree with you about the interface 100%. There are three main ways to access them on the iPhone and some of the ways to change things only appear when you are connected to the Airpods.

Via the Control Centre using the ear symbol, also through Accessibility and there are more settings when you click on the Airpods close to the top of settings but that option only appears when they are connected.

It's not like Apple to do this and I hope they address what is a bit of a kludge in coming updates.
 

Scott99l

macrumors newbie
Oct 4, 2024
4
1
Is there any indication yet when the “hearing aid” function will be available ?
 

rasg

macrumors member
Sep 27, 2024
64
39
Is there any indication yet when the “hearing aid” function will be available ?
It's available now and has been for over a year. Until Apple do the main update you simply have to use an app like Mimi to do your hearing test or if you can get a copy of your audiogram and apply it to the Airpods (Pro 2s only), change a few settings and off you go. I have mild to moderate hearing loss and they work well for me. Apple got the FDA approval to sell the Airpods as hearing aids a about a week ago so the update should come quite soon. I will leave the update well alone until any bugs have been squashed because they are working fine for me already.
 
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sparksd

macrumors G3
Original poster
Jun 7, 2015
9,988
34,226
Seattle WA
It's available now and has been for over a year. Until Apple do the main update you simply have to use an app like Mimi to do your hearing test or if you can get a copy of your audiogram and apply it to the Airpods (Pro 2s only), change a few settings and off you go. I have mild to moderate hearing loss and they work well for me. Apple got the FDA approval to sell the Airpods as hearing aids a about a week ago so the update should come quite soon. I will leave the update well alone until any bugs have been squashed because they are working fine for me already.

Have you tried the recent APP2 f/w beta? Two postings on Reddit, one saying no changes apparent, another saying "there is a night and day difference in the ANC/Transparency settings".
 

rasg

macrumors member
Sep 27, 2024
64
39
Not yet. I will wait until it's out of beta. I like the existing ANC/Transparency settings so when they are out of beta they will be even better. They work well for me and I have no doubt they will get better.
 
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