In November 2022, the FDA passed a resolution allowing Americans to purchase hearing aids over-the-counter. The move launched a mini-industry, with companies rushing to make available technology that was previously mired in healthcare restrictions.
Consumer electronics firms saw opportunity, as well. In September, Apple announced that it would be bringing hearing aid features to the AirPods Pro 2, as part of an upcoming iOS update.
I had the opportunity to test a demo version of the feature at the iPhone 16 event. The offering was designed to provide insight into how users can test their hearing at home, though those results were incomplete. More recently, however, Apple gave TechCrunch access to the upcoming feature in its final form.
I confess to being a bit anxious. I’ve had tinnitus my entire life, and while I’m pretty good about packing earplugs, I was fairly convinced that decades of rock shows had taken their toll on my overall hearing health.
As these processes go, however, Apple’s new Hearing Test feature is painless. It’s been far too long since I’ve had any manner of formal testing, but the feature immediately transported me back to elementary school tests. Wait to hear a tone and hold up the corresponding hand. You get the drift.
The feature is immediately accessible from the Settings menu when you have a pair of AirPods Pro 2 connected and in your ears. At the moment, the feature is only available on that specific model. This is because they’re the only member of the AirPods family with both the new chip and a silicone tip for passive noise canceling. Absolute silence is the key, after all. The tones are faint, easily masked by the slightest bit of ambient noise.
After a few basic questions — Are you over 18? Did you attend a loud concert in the past 24 hours? – the system will play a generic piece of music to ensure that the AirPods fit is correct. If the seal is out of place, the system will prompt you to fix before testing again.
Next up, the test monitors the room for absolute silence. The first time I tried it, I was informed my environment was too loud. Turns out the air filter in the corner of the room was loud enough to set it off. Once the room is silent, the test will start. Just my luck, however, a guy was fertilizing the lawn outside. He rode by my window every 45 seconds, and each time the test paused and waited for things to quiet down.
The hearing test goes one ear at a time, starting with the left. The system then runs through a series of tones, twice a piece. When you hear the tone, you tap the screen. It’s pretty much as simple as that. The test isn’t measuring the speed with which you tap the screen – just whether you tap it each time.
The tones run through a range of frequencies to determine which parts of your range may be impacted by hearing loss. The whole process takes around five minutes, all told.
The results populate quickly. I was surprised when my results came back as “little to no hearing loss.” The app rated my left at 18 dBHL (decibel hearing loss) and my right at 19. Mild hearing loss kicks in around 25 dbHL. The hearing aid feature will only be available to those who test within the bounds of mild to moderate hearing loss.
If your hearing loss is more severe, Apple recommends you get a professional test. If you test within the normal range, on the other hand, the system will offer the ability to turn on Media Assist. The new feature amplifies certain elements like speech, distinguishing them from background noise. It’s similar to the new Hearing Aid feature in that it’s meant to improve one’s day-to-day life, though the amplifications aren’t as pronounced.
Even still, the feature takes a bit getting used to. I found that some things, like the sound of fabric rubbing against fabric while walking, was significantly more noticeable than normal. In more chaotic environments, it’s a genuinely useful feature – once you get through the societal norm of taking your headphones out to speak with someone.
That may well be the biggest challenge for the feature. We’re used to hearing aids. If you see someone wearing one, you assume they’re living with some degree of hearing loss. If the same person were using AirPods and didn’t bother to take at least one out before engaging with you in conversation, you would probably consider them rude.
As barriers go, however, this bit of social nicety is something a quick explanation can address. It’s a small price to pay for a technology that could fundamentally improve lives.