Two years after federal health officials approved the sale of over-the-counter hearing aids, some Apple AirPods owners may soon be able to access the medical device in the comfort of their home with the click of a software update.
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved Apple’s new “Hearing Aid Feature” which will amplify sounds for people with perceived mild to moderate hearing impairment. The Apple feature, coming this fall via a free software update, will only work with AirPods Pro 2 ear buds and iOS 18-compatible iPhones or iPads. It is intended for adults 18 or older.
Why it matters
More than 30 million American adults have some degree of hearing loss. But only 1 in 6 Americans with hearing impairments between the ages of 20 and 69 actually use hearing aids due to high cost, lack of accessibility, poor customer satisfaction and stigma, according to the National Council on Aging.
Research shows that if left untreated, hearing loss can increase the risk of social isolation, depression, cognitive decline and frailty. Meanwhile, other studies suggest that using hearing aids may reduce the frequency or severity of those health problems in older adults as well as possibly lead to a longer life.
With the new feature, Apple AirPods owners will be able to check their hearing at home through a five-minute test and adjust their sound settings based on their hearing.
“Your AirPods Pro are transformed into a personalized hearing aid, boosting the specific sounds you need in real time, like parts of speech or elements within your environment,” said Sumbul Ahmad Desai, Apple’s vice president of health, in an announcement…
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