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Mikeske

macrumors 6502
Jan 14, 2012
457
360
Washington
I also have a moderate hearing loss in my left ear. on some frequencies Could you please confirm that the amplification is done individually on the right and left ear? Like for example the Even headphones do? https://www.weareeven.com/

I remember I tried some kind of accessibility feature with my AirPods Pro 1, but they amplified the frequencies equally on both sides, no matter that my hearing is quite different on my ears. I found that quite annoying.
Yes confirmed that the AirPods Pro 2 do have individual controls but you have to activate the Swipe to Control Amplification in the Adjustments menu.
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xenoako

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 30, 2021
348
107
I just took the test and scored 38/34 (L/R) while a professional audiologist test taken within the last month was 38/44.
I got 42/40 (L/R) using AirPods Pro 2 and 40/39 (L/R) using AirPods Pro (2022).
Apples rates 42 as moderate but 40/39 as mild.
 

appeLappe

macrumors newbie
Jan 28, 2003
25
27
Sweden
Yes confirmed that the AirPods Pro 2 do have individual controls but you have to activate the Swipe to Control Amplification in the Adjustments menu.


Thank you very much for you reply.

It doesn't seem to work quite like I thought... I thought it would be more like the Even headphones I linked to. They basically turn up the frequencies you have trouble hearing on each ear. Like I believe "real" hearing aids do.

Maybe the AirPods still do this although it's not that obvious in the interface?
 

doogm

macrumors member
Oct 31, 2024
31
37
I know that when you do a hearing test the phone creates an audiogram (visible in the Health app, Browse, Hearing, Hearing Test Results) and the hearing aid feature uses that audiogram to boost the frequencies that need them. See https://support.apple.com/en-us/120991 and https://support.apple.com/en-us/120992

(You can also use the audiogram to boost media in Settings / Accessibility / Audio & Video / Headphone Accommodations.)
 

sparksd

macrumors G3
Jun 7, 2015
9,988
34,225
Seattle WA
Thank you very much for you reply.

It doesn't seem to work quite like I thought... I thought it would be more like the Even headphones I linked to. They basically turn up the frequencies you have trouble hearing on each ear. Like I believe "real" hearing aids do.

Maybe the AirPods still do this although it's not that obvious in the interface?
As an owner of real hearings purchased through an audiologist, mine are individually tuned to each ear by my audiologist. But even with those, I can use the associated app to adjust volume both individually and together - the AirPods could operate similarly; i.e., they may be tuned by frequency for each ear with overall volume adjustable for each ear.
 
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xenoako

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 30, 2021
348
107
I read an academic paper this morning via Zoom to a World Council of Churches conference near Geneva, Switzerland.
I was having trouble hearing the other speaker and those who were asking questions.
I discovered that if I put in only the right AP P2 that the sound from my pc speakers is easier for me to process.
 

jared52

macrumors member
Nov 18, 2010
89
52
I have mild hearing loss and have been using hearing aids for 2.5 years because my wife got tired of repeating herself. I have been looking forward to seeing if the hearing test showed a similar outcome as my audiogram from 2.5 years ago and it very much did. I didn't compare the numbers but the form looked identical for both ears. I had already entered my audiogram into my phone months ago and it was noticeably better quality but I was curious to see if the "hearing aid mode" was any different than transparency. I can say it might be different. There's a slider to increase the volume of amplified sounds for conversations that's welcome, but using them for conversation is decidedly not better than my regular hearing aids that are 10x the cost. I wouldn't expect them to be at this point. I doubt I would not replace my hearing aids in the future when they die for day-to-day use, but having the feature in APP2 is nice. My hearing aids have bluetooth, but honestly there's ZERO low end when using them for music so it's really only good for podcast listening. I'll pop in my APP2 for that.
 

Saturn007

macrumors 68000
Jul 18, 2010
1,594
1,480
I know that when you do a hearing test the phone creates an audiogram (visible in the Health app, Browse, Hearing, Hearing Test Results) and the hearing aid feature uses that audiogram to boost the frequencies that need them. See https://support.apple.com/en-us/120991 and https://support.apple.com/en-us/120992

(You can also use the audiogram to boost media in Settings / Accessibility / Audio & Video / Headphone Accommodations.)

I saw those web pages before but, unless I’m not reading them carefully, they never come right out and state that the AirPods adjust levels by different frequencies! I've assumed they do, but it would nice to see confirmation!

They mention they can produce an audiogram and use an audiologist's audiogram to set up “Hearing Assistance”.

One page links to another that states:

“Hearing Aid uses the results from the Hearing Test that you took on your device or audiogram results from a hearing healthcare professional to customize the sound of your AirPods for your specific hearing needs.​
But exactly what that means is unclear or unstated. The controls mentioned and shown there are global ones. They don't say that the AirPods will adjust by particular frequencies. (Would be largely pointless if they don't!)

You'd also think that if the AirPods adjust by different frequencies, they would give users the ability to tweak the settings by frequency!

Anyone yet found an Apple declaration of frequency adjustments or user-controlled adjustments by frequency?!
 

rasg

macrumors member
Sep 27, 2024
64
39
No I haven't and I have delved into every menu and slider for my Airpods. They definitely adjust different frequencies or I wouldn't be able to hear mid and high frequencies in my left ear at all.
 

mfram

Contributor
Jan 23, 2010
1,355
404
San Diego, CA USA
You'd also think that if the AirPods adjust by different frequencies, they would give users the ability to tweak the settings by frequency!

Anyone yet found an Apple declaration of frequency adjustments or user-controlled adjustments by frequency?!

The sound is adjusted by frequency based on the audiogram generated by the hearing test or manually entering information from a professional hearing test. AirPods have already been doing that even before the latest release via the "Headphone Accommodations" function. What's new is the 'Hearing Aid" functionality that actually works reasonably well.

My hearing loss fits the pattern of Sensorineural hearing loss. That is, my hearing is relatively good at lower frequencies but rapidly trails off at higher frequencies. The result is that it is difficult for me to make out words because the consonant sounds mostly go away. I can tell that people are talking, just not the words they are saying.

At the low end of the audiogram spectrum I have a loss of about 20db. But at the higher-end (2-4KHz) my loss is about 85dB. Imagine listening to music with the bass slider cranked all the way up and the treble slider cranked all the way down. That's my life. My APP2 can't make up for all that high-frequency loss in my case. But it does a reasonable job. My real prescription hearing aids do much better.

So, yes, the APP2 are adjusting for different gains at different frequency level based on the audiogram. If it wasn't, believe me, I would know. Compared to my real aids the APP2 Hearing aid function gives much less gain. But it's better than not having the function at all when I want to wear the AirPods in public when someone might talk to me.

If you want to adjust the value, change the underlying audiogram data. Or move the "brightness" and "amplification" sliders.
 
Last edited:

JoyfulPlantLady

macrumors newbie
Oct 7, 2022
22
28
Has anyone tested the 'hearing aid' feature of the AirPods Pro 2?

I recently attended a conference inside a railroad station and the acoustics were compromised for my hearing. Increasingly problematic are voices in a given tone range.

I have, and they work great. The hearing test is pretty cool too.
 
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