Hearing Aid Feature UK

[ukms]

I don't know where you got that information from because it is totally wrong.

The hearing aid feature is available in over 100 countries.

Here is the up to date list:

AirPods Pro 2 - Hearing Health Feature Availability

Hearing Health in AirPods Pro 2 is a Hearing Test, Hearing Aid, and Hearing Protection all in one device. See feature availability based on location.

www.apple.com

The interesting part is …. What determines a users ‘country’ ? ….. for most features its iCloud account or device rather than simply location but not so sure with this.

 

[rasg]

I think it's to do with the country where you registered your Apple ID but I'm not sure.

People have reported going from Canada to the USA and doing an update there.

 

[ukms]

I think it's to do with the country where you registered your Apple ID but I'm not sure.

People have reported going from Canada to the USA and doing an update there.

My Apple ID is registered in the UK and has been since Apple ID’s existed. I have the hearing aid but it appears others in the UK don’t.

 

[rasg]

My Apple ID is registered in the UK and has been since Apple ID’s existed. I have the hearing aid but it appears others in the UK don’t.

So has mine but I don't plan on updating to find out that I have lost access to the Transparency Mode I have been using successfully since September. Sure, I am stuck on 17.7.1 for the time being but I have never been in a rush to update to anything because there are always bugs.

I think you are an exception.

 

[ukms]

So has mine but I don't plan on updating to find out that I have lost access to the Transparency Mode I have been using successfully since September. Sure, I am stuck on 17.7.1 for the time being but I have never been in a rush to update to anything because there are always bugs.

I think you are an exception.

It would just be interesting to know why 😃

 

[rasg]

It would just be interesting to know why 😃

I agree. Yes it would. When I first saw your profile and it said Dubai I thought that may have explained it but the UAE has only just been granted approval.

 

[mitchino]

My friend who has been waiting like me for the feature to work in the UK, went to Portugal for a month yesterday, and the hearing aid feature just works, without her having to change any settings. She watched TV without subtitles for the first time in ages.

 

[ukms]

My friend who has been waiting like me for the feature to work in the UK, went to Portugal for a month yesterday, and the hearing aid feature just works, without her having to change any settings. She watched TV without subtitles for the first time in ages.

Thats good !

Mine has also worked whilst I've been in the UK (and many other countries) so it will be interesting to hear if your friends continues to work when she returns.

 

[cubid]

Hi, I'm new on the forum. I'm in the UK and have been using a new iPhone 16 Pro max with Air Pods Pro 2 as a hearing aid since September and they are much better than my NHS hearing aids (now abandoned). Ok, we haven't got the definitive hearing aid software yet and I am eager to try it out, but the Apple combination is highly effective on accessibility settings for me to cope with my hearing loss and has had an immediate and positive effect on my social life.
I started by taking an online hearing test (I think it was the mimi test as the apple test wasn't available in the UK) and uploaded it to apple health to use in my accessibility settings. This matched very well with previous hearing tests. About a week later I uploaded a test that I paid £100 at a private hearing clinic a couple of years ago and I'm using that one now.
Cutting a long story short, wearing the Ear pods, I can hear and join conversations in busy social environments with lots of background noise. I now participate in family gatherings without having to ask what people said and then jut giving up and keeping quiet; anyone hard of hearing knows how that feels. It really has changed my social life.
Just for information, 14 years ago I woke up with deafening and complex tinnitus and massive hearing loss in my left ear. I spent months and a small fortune on ENT consultants to try to cure it. All I ended up with is a pair of NHS hearing aids that were totally useless in the busy social environments as background noise destroyed their effectiveness. The Air pods have been a revelation for me. I'm not saying they are perfect but I have great hopes for the full hearing software when it arrives

 

[rasg]

My friend who has been waiting like me for the feature to work in the UK, went to Portugal for a month yesterday, and the hearing aid feature just works, without her having to change any settings. She watched TV without subtitles for the first time in ages.

At a educated guess I bet her iPhone updated when she was in Portugal. I am still surprised that most people leave the auto update on but most do.

 

[rasg]

Hi, I'm new on the forum. I'm in the UK and have been using a new iPhone 16 Pro max with Air Pods Pro 2 as a hearing aid since September and they are much better than my NHS hearing aids (now abandoned). Ok, we haven't got the definitive hearing aid software yet and I am eager to try it out, but the Apple combination is highly effective on accessibility settings for me to cope with my hearing loss and has had an immediate and positive effect on my social life.
I started by taking an online hearing test (I think it was the mimi test as the apple test wasn't available in the UK) and uploaded it to apple health to use in my accessibility settings. This matched very well with previous hearing tests. About a week later I uploaded a test that I paid £100 at a private hearing clinic a couple of years ago and I'm using that one now.
Cutting a long story short, wearing the Ear pods, I can hear and join conversations in busy social environments with lots of background noise. I now participate in family gatherings without having to ask what people said and then jut giving up and keeping quiet; anyone hard of hearing knows how that feels. It really has changed my social life.
Just for information, 14 years ago I woke up with deafening and complex tinnitus and massive hearing loss in my left ear. I spent months and a small fortune on ENT consultants to try to cure it. All I ended up with is a pair of NHS hearing aids that were totally useless in the busy social environments as background noise destroyed their effectiveness. The Air pods have been a revelation for me. I'm not saying they are perfect but I have great hopes for the full hearing software when it arrives

I doubt that Apple's "definitive hearing aid software" will be much different. From what I have been reading many people have been unsuccessful with Apple's hearing test. Using your audiogram from an Audiologist works well and the Mimi test that I did was very close to it. Almost identical.

You haven't mentioned how bad you hearing is now but I have mild to moderate hearing loss in the mid and upper frequencies and my left ear borders on severe. If I didn't have a right ear I wouldn’t be able to hear much with at all with my left. Like you I am still running an older IOS and the AirPods have been a revelation. Especially for music, phone calls. I'm loving the noise cancelling in a crowded room.

I don't think the update will make much of a difference to us. I've read many opinions on the difference. Some say the volume is higher with the update, some say lower.

I will set mine up on somebody else's iPhone running 18.1 or newer when approval finally gets to the UK to see what the difference is before I make a decision to update.

They have simplified the menus and choices in the update and I think they have removed a few useful sliders from pre 18.1. I'm still not sure if Hearing Protection is the same as Loud Sound Reduction.

If it is, Hearing Protection is only available in the US and Canada and I find it really useful in noisy environments.

I will still probably hold back on updating to keep the Loud Sound Reduction.

 

[Night Spring]

I'm still not sure if Hearing Protection is the same as Loud Sound Reduction.

It is. Tapping on Hearing Protection simply takes you to the Loud Sound Reduction settings.

 

[Night Spring]

I have been reading many people have been unsuccessful with Apple's hearing test.

What problems are people having? Apple's hearing test worked perfectly for me.

Mimi, on the other hand, I found impossible. It's the reverse of normal hearing tests -- they make you press and hold the screen until you STOP hearing a sound. I have 2 problems with that.

1. Holding my finger down on the screen takes effort. I find myself letting go when I don't mean to.

2. I find it hard to tell when I stop hearing a tone. I can't tell if I'm still hearing something or imagining that I'm hearing something.

 

[rasg]

It is. Tapping on Hearing Protection simply takes you to the Loud Sound Reduction settings.

Thank you. So my original guess was right. The odd thing is Hearing Protection is only available in the US and Canada because it's separate to the Hearing Aid Feature. How many IOS 18 updates will Apple need to do to bring all countries up to date with all the features? Why on earth is Hearing Protection even something that needs approval? You would think it would be a no brainer.

AirPods Pro 2 - Hearing Health Feature Availability

Hearing Health in AirPods Pro 2 is a Hearing Test, Hearing Aid, and Hearing Protection all in one device. See feature availability based on location.

www.apple.com

 

[rasg]

What problems are people having? Apple's hearing test worked perfectly for me.

Mimi, on the other hand, I found impossible. It's the reverse of normal hearing tests -- they make you press and hold the screen until you STOP hearing a sound. I have 2 problems with that.

1. Holding my finger down on the screen takes effort. I find myself letting go when I don't mean to.

2. I find it hard to tell when I stop hearing a tone. I can't tell if I'm still hearing something or imagining that I'm hearing something.

Quite a few instances I have read about where the Apple Hearing Test refused to return a result at all for different people.

I found that the way Mimi works suits me better rather than touching the screen when a noise starts. If my memory is right (it's more than two months ago), I think they changed the Mimi test since I first used it. I prefer Mimi now which is opposite to you so I think we are all different.

 

[Night Spring]

Thank you. So my original guess was right. The odd thing is Hearing Protection is only available in the US and Canada because it's separate to the Hearing Aid Feature. How many IOS 18 updates will Apple need to do to bring all countries up to date with all the features? Why on earth is Hearing Protection even something that needs approval? You would think it would be a no brainer.

AirPods Pro 2 - Hearing Health Feature Availability

Hearing Health in AirPods Pro 2 is a Hearing Test, Hearing Aid, and Hearing Protection all in one device. See feature availability based on location.

www.apple.com

Do you know someone in the UK who has updated to iOS 18.1 or later? If so, have them check to see if they have the Reduce Loud Sound setting. If they do, then they have Hearing Protection -- it's just not called "Hearing Protection."

And yes, it's maddening that Apple is using two different terms to refer to the same feature.

 

[rasg]

Do you know someone in the UK who has updated to iOS 18.1 or later? If so, have them check to see if they have the Reduce Loud Sound setting. If they do, then they have Hearing Protection -- it's just not called "Hearing Protection."

And yes, it's maddening that Apple is using two different terms to refer to the same feature.

Can someone confirm for me who is using the hearing aid feature who DOESN'T live in the USA or Canada if Loud Sound Reduction OR Hearing Protection works on their AirPod Pro 2s please? Is it greyed out?

According to Apple's website regarding availability of the feature it only works in the USA and Canada. For me if it's unavailable, it would be, yet another reason, not to update to 18.1 or newer until everything has rolled out. It's very useful.

AirPods Pro 2 - Hearing Health Feature Availability

Hearing Health in AirPods Pro 2 is a Hearing Test, Hearing Aid, and Hearing Protection all in one device. See feature availability based on location.

www.apple.com

 

[Tenkaykev]

Can someone confirm for me who is using the hearing aid feature who DOESN'T live in the USA or Canada if Loud Sound Reduction OR Hearing Protection works on their AirPod Pro 2s please? Is it greyed out?

According to Apple's website regarding availability of the feature it only works in the USA and Canada. For me if it's unavailable, it would be, yet another reason, not to update to 18.1 or newer until everything has rolled out. It's very useful.

AirPods Pro 2 - Hearing Health Feature Availability

Hearing Health in AirPods Pro 2 is a Hearing Test, Hearing Aid, and Hearing Protection all in one device. See feature availability based on location.

www.apple.com

Just tested here in Dorset. Hearing test is available ( I just completed mine ) Loud sound reduction works ( the button slides right and turns green )

 

[Tenkaykev]

Just tested here in Dorset. Hearing test is available ( I just completed mine ) Loud sound reduction works ( the button slides right and turns green )
View attachment 2464017

 

[Pug72]

It’s the hearing aid we’re waiting for.

 

[rasg]

Just tested here in Dorset. Hearing test is available ( I just completed mine ) Loud sound reduction works ( the button slides right and turns green )

So the button slides right and turns green but have you heard the difference when you switch it on in a loud environment?

 

[Tenkaykev]

So the button slides right and turns green but have you heard the difference when you switch it on in a loud environment?

Sorry, can't help you there as I am very rarely in such environments. Not antisocial, just spend a lot of my socialising time in quiet pubs 🍺🍺

 

[rasg]

Sorry, can't help you there as I am very rarely in such environments. Not antisocial, just spend a lot of my socialising time in quiet pubs 🍺🍺

It's not a problem. i checked mine when I ground some peanuts with a grinder. That's the sort of noise they are designed to protect.

 

[Night Spring]

It's not a problem. i checked mine when I ground some peanuts with a grinder. That's the sort of noise they are designed to protect.

Or get somebody to drive by you with a loud motorcycle. 🤪
Or maybe go stand next to a construction site.

To be honest, I don't pay much attention to how the reduce loud sounds function works with environmental sounds. I mostly use it for media playbacks. Basically, I just set the volume to maximum, and set the "reduce sound" level to what I'm comfortable with, then I never have to think about adjusting the volume because it always plays at the level I like.