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Hearing Health Blog

Are Apple Air Pod Pro 2 The New Solution to Hearing Loss?

calendar-icon January 27, 2025
bookmark-icon Facebook Live, Hearing Loss

Most of us have seen the new Apple commercial, advertising the new Air Pod Pro 2 and its ability to be used as hearing devices. I love the idea behind this commercial. It shows how fulfilling life can be when we can hear and enjoy the world around us. It also allows others to understand what it is like to live with hearing loss. While I am happy that Apple is producing commercials promoting hearing loss treatment, I feel that the Air Pod Pro 2 has little value for the majority of those with hearing loss. 

Air Pod Pro 2 must be used with Apple phones, and is programmed using a hearing test within the Apple Health app. This test is not a reliable measure of hearing loss and cannot diagnose conditions that could require medical intervention. Air Pod Pro 2 claims to be “clinical grade”, which is just a clever marketing term, not a label recognized by the FDA or the field of audiology. Rather, the Air Pod Pro 2 is classified by the FDA as an Over The Counter (OTC) hearing aid.

Air Pod Pro 2 is not adaptable to the environments around you. It does not offer the customized noise reduction technologies found in prescription hearing aids for wind, road noise, and crowd noise. Unlike prescription hearing aids, it does not consider the unique anatomy of an individual’s ear and the complexity of their hearing loss. Prescription hearing aids contain powerful directional microphones, 4D sensors, and deep neural networks, all of which help to predict hearing needs, automatically adjusting to optimize your hearing for any unique situation. Air Pod Pro 2 does none of these things.

Using Air Pods as hearing aids also presents some practical challenges. They are not designed to be worn all day, every day. Hearing aids are custom fit to the ear and offer stability and comfort, even during extended wear. Air Pods are heavier than hearing aids, which can cause soreness and discomfort. They are also known to fall out quite easily.

Those that wear hearing aids need to be sure the battery will last all day. Air Pod Pro 2 battery life is poor-only lasting 6 hours on a full charge. The newest prescription aids have a rechargeable battery that will last 24 to 48 hours, depending on the model chosen.

To summarize, Air Pod Pro 2 offers generalized amplification that is not meant to be worn all day. It enhances sound but does not offer the prescriptive approach audiologists and hearing instrument specialists are trained to provide.  Just like using cheaters to treat vision impairment, OTC aids will provide improvement, but in a limiting way that doesn’t work for all real-life situations. For most individuals with hearing loss, prescription hearing aids are necessary and very effective. In my 20 years as an audiologist, it is my experience that once someone understands everything they are missing, hearing well is worth the necessary investment. 



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