FDA approves Apple AirPods as hearing aids
The Peninsula
If you have mild to moderate hearing loss, your AirPods could soon function as hearing aids. The Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday it h...
If you have mild to moderate hearing loss, your AirPods could soon function as hearing aids.
The Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday it has approved a piece of software that will transform the latest model of Apple’s AirPods Pro earbuds into over-the-counter hearing aids. The company’s hearing aid feature will be pushed to eligible devices through a software update in coming weeks, Apple said.
The move, which comes two years after the FDA first approved over-the-counter hearing aids, could help more Americans with hearing loss start getting help, the FDA said in a statement.
The feature works by amplifying some sounds, such as voices, while minimizing others, such as ambient noise. Users can take a hearing test in the Apple Health app, and their AirPods will adjust sound level automatically based on the results. The feature is only available on the AirPods Pro 2, which cost $249.
The FDA says it tested Apple’s hearing aid feature in a clinical study with 118 subjects who believed they had mild or moderate hearing loss. The study found that people who set up their AirPods using Apple’s hearing test noticed similar benefits as people who had a professional set up the earbuds.
