AirPods Pro on par with more expensive hearing aids. A study has shown that AirPods Pro work very well as hearing aids. AirPods Pro can act as affordable hearing aids, with one study suggesting they perform well as dedicated devices that command price points in the four-figure range.
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Modern hearing aids are sophisticated devices, with the ability to filter out unwanted frequency ranges and focus on the sounds that serve the user. But all of this comes at a cost. A typical mid-range hearing aid costs several thousand euros, and high-end ones can even exceed 10,000 euros.
Apple has long been interested in the functionality of hearing aids. Back in 2013, the company’s MFi program expanded to allow iPhone to add functionality to Bluetooth hearing aids. In 2018, iOS 12 added a Live Listen feature and Apple then introduced the Conversation Boost feature on AirPods Pro, which increases the microphone reception of sounds coming from in front of the user, to better hear someone talking.
A study published Tuesday in the journal iScience found that the sound booster feature on AirPods Pro helped adults with mild to moderate hearing loss hear speech nearly as well as hearing aids.
The study was conducted on a very small scale, but the tests also found that AirPods Pro met four out of five hearing aid standards. The AirPods 2 met two out of five standards.
The biggest limitation is battery life, as AirPods use the iPhone’s microphones and therefore need a constant Bluetooth connection.
Hearing aids, on the other hand, use internal microphones to pick up ambient sounds, to the full advantage of autonomy.
At the moment, no institution will authorize the medical use of AirPods for those with hearing problems, but the path taken by Apple is the right one and things could change in a few years, making the functionality of hearing aids much more affordable.
