Updated on January 21st with more details on the hearing health skill and how to set up the new feature when it arrives.
Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 got updated software last fall, and now the UK will benefit from the hearing aid’s cool features in a matter of weeks. Now more details have emerged about the feature and a neat add-on to help it work, though it’s also clear that not every new hearing feature is coming to AirPods Pro 2 everywhere.
Apple AirPods Pro 2.
As described below, a feature called Hearing Protection is not yet coming to UK users, and to set up the hearing aid feature, “Users will likely need to re-run the hearing aid test, which will open the Hearing Assistance menu. Apple will only recommend using AirPods Pro as a hearing aid if you have mild to moderate hearing loss when listening to spoken word frequencies. Macworld points out.
Why the hearing health features are limited to the AirPods Pro 2 and not the new AirPods Pro that come in versions with or without Active Noise Canceling has been confirmed by Matt Bolton at Tech Radar.
“Apple says this is because these models lack an in-ear seal to improve noise isolation, which is necessary for its technology to be effective. The feature won’t come to previous AirPods models either – although I’d expect it to be part of the feature list for the AirPods Pro 3, which is rumored to arrive later in 2025,” explains Bolton.
AirPods Pro 2 already unveiled the Hearing Test feature so users can take a validated hearing test at home to see if they would benefit from the hearing aid.
However, while these features are already available in the US, for example, some countries, including the UK, did not have regulations to allow the headphones to continue to be used as hearing aids.
Britain’s health secretary, Wes Streeting, said: “Britain can be a powerhouse for medical technology, but only if we scrap the pointless regulation that stifles innovation,” according to a report in Daily Telegraph.
The report also cited a statement from Apple. “With new policy guidance from the UK Department of Health and Social Care, we look forward to bringing hearing aid functionality to AirPods Pro 2 in the coming weeks to help improve the daily lives of so many UK users,” Apple said.
In other words, Apple will release a software update for the UK, likely iOS 18 but possibly with new firmware for the AirPods Pro shortly.
AirPods Pro 2 can then be used as a hearing aid to help people with mild to moderate hearing loss.
Oh, and for that neat extra: if you hear a ring from the AirPods Pro 2 case while it’s charging, it turns out it’s a feature designed to make sure the microphones and speakers are working properly, “for example to help you provide high-quality hearing test results,” Apple says in a support guide.
Of course, the battery life can’t match regular hearing aids, so you’ll need to remove them to recharge them periodically. And it can look like you’re listening to music or making a phone call when you wear them.
But for some people it could overcome the social stigma of having a visible hearing aid while allowing them to hear better.
As for the timing, Apple’s comment about “the next few weeks” suggests January or February to me. For some, this could be a real boon.
And then there’s Hearing Protection, which Apple describes in a supporting document as a way to “use your AirPods to help protect your hearing in loud environments. If you’re in a loud environment like a live sporting event or fitness class, you can use your AirPods to reduce your exposure to loud sounds around you.”
This feature, which is based in part on a comfortable in-ear fit for AirPods Pro 2, is enabled by default and works in all Transparency, Adaptive and Noise Canceling modes. Apple also says it’s effective when “your AirPods are clean.” Which I would like to hope it would be.
Currently, this functionality is very limited to the US and its small outlying islands, the US Virgin Islands, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Guam.
