Apple AirPods Pro 2 update (7A294) with hearing aids features - personal reviews please!

Hearing Aids
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I have been using the Apple AirPod Pro2s for 2 weeks. They’re remarkable. For $189. on sale through Amazon, I have an appliance I can wear all day comfortably that makes phone calls and face-to-face interactions sooo easy. All the highs that I need are there. I can quiet the background if I desire, increase the volume of the interaction if I desire. They are better than EVERY “hearing aid” I have tried at 15x and more the cost. The set up was straight forward. Many controls. I finally called up Apple who walked me through it–as long as I needed… they were very helpful. FYI, I have an Apple iPhone 13 Mini with IOS 18.2.

Are they perfect? No. I have not figured out how to prevent the Airpod from quieting the remote human speaker if there has been a period of non-interaction. It takes a few second of speaking to make the human speaker come back. But the conversation is clear and easy.

I found that the last pair of hearing aids I used (Signia) got to irritating my ear canal after more than an hour or two. That doesn’t happen with the Airpods.

Try them… You’ll like them at a fraction of the price! I think Apple can drive the hearing aid industry into bankruptcy… and the industry deserves it!

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They work well for me as well as a (very new) hearing aid user.

I got the Airpods Pro 2s first a few weeks ago and loved being able to understand speech again in noisy restaurants and not be saying to family members ‘what?’ every other sentence!

However people may think you are listening to music/phone call etc if you wear them in public - I find I have to explain myself if I am wearing them. Battery life of course also isn’t great.

I also got some Eargo 7’s currently on sale as well. They seem to be working pretty well (Eargo has given me a couple of different Soundmatch options to try based on my Costco hearing test and the Apple test).

My current plan is to use use the Eargo 7 for day to day use and Airpod Pros for for listening to music (live and streaming) - but I am also switching between them a few times a day to see which I prefer.

I also tried some Jabra Enhance Pro 20’s briefly at Costco which helped with speech recognition (but also sounded quite harsh) which I may trial again if the Airpod / Eargo 7 do not work out.

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I just joined this forum and this is my first post. I tried the Apple AirPods on the first day that IOS 18.1 was availa ble. I have a mild to moderate hearing loss in the upper frequencies, and wanted to try the AirPods before spending a lot of money on prescription hearing aids.

I had some issues with the AirPod hearing test, because the headphones have to fit snugly in your ears to even get to the hearing test. I tried each of the different sized domes that were included and found that the largest size worked.

The test results were similar to the hearing test that I took at Costco a year earlier. The first issue I had with the AirPods comfort. The AirPods were uncomfortable wearing them continuously for most of the day, especially having my ears completely occluded all the time. Also, my wife kept telling me that I was speaking to her at a very low volume when wearing the AirPods

At work, the AirPods presented an interesting issue with my colleagues. They thought that I was not listening to them while the AirPods were in my ears. They assumed that I wasn’t paying attention because AirPods are generally used as headphones and not hearing aids. Of course, the biggest issue was that regardless how I adjusted them, the speech from others was not that clear. I returned them to Amazon and made an appointment at Costco to get real hearing aids.

I really wanted them to work for a couple of reasons. The primary reason is cost. Buying two pairs, so that I could get through the entire day, for about $400 would be a wonderful saving. Also, this is Apple’s first attempt at creating an over the counter hearing aid. If they can improve the quality of the speech recognition capability, they will have a real winner.

On December 9th, I have an appointment at Costco to be fitted with my new Jabra pro 20 hearing aids. During my short trial period, after receiving the audiogram, I was amazed at how well the noisy background at the warehouse store was was suppressed and how clear the conversations of the other customers was compared to my naked ears. The hearing aids were very comfortable and I didn’t have that occlusion feeling.

I’m hoping for the best and have I have 180 days to decide if I want to keep them, or exchange them for a different brand, or receive a full refund. There’s no better deal than that. So far, Costco has been amazing to work with.

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124

Hi Richard,

Thanks for this information, it’s super helpful. I have been trying to help my mother using Airpods Pro 2 for moderate to severe losses (in Canada). We have an older iPhone with IOS prior to 18.1 so we were able to set it up using Headphone Accommendations. Do you think it’s the same function as the hearing health feature?
Since Canadian government hasn’t approved Apple’s hearing health, if we want to set up the Hearing Health feature using IOS18.1, we actually have to drive to the US and then set things up there…

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Hi Mike,
Thanks for you advice here, it’s very helpful. I wish I have read all these details before updating IOS. I have been helping my mother with Airpods pro 2 hearing aids. After we realized that IOS doesn’t allow downgrade versions, we actually decided to buy an old iPhone just to get the Transparency Mode work with hearing test results.
However, do you know how the versions of the Airpods pro 2 firmware impact the functions? It appears that our airpods firmware is also updated to the latest version, although we managed to set up transparency mode using older IOS. So based on your experience, for anyone who really want to fully utilize the Hearing Aid feature for moderate and severe losses, it’s better to stay away from Hearing Health in the IOS18 for now?

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If you approach severe hearing loss (my audiogram), airpods are next to useless, since output is throttled at 85 db or so (as Apple acknowledges).

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Thanks for this information, it’s super helpful. I have been trying to help my mother using Airpods Pro 2 for moderate to severe losses (in Canada). We have an older iPhone with IOS prior to 18.1 so we were able to set it up using Headphone Accommendations. Do you think it’s the same function as the hearing health feature?*
*Since Canadian government hasn’t approved Apple’s hearing health, if we want to set up the Hearing Health feature using IOS18.1, we actually have to drive to the US and then set things up there…

Using my experience over the last few months it’s pretty much the same. The latest version has simplified the menus and some adjustments from the early version have disappeared. I’ve heard two differing opinions on the volume that the AirPods produce. One if that using 18.1 is that the volume is higher than the old version, the other that it’s lower. As I have no plans to upgrade any time soon I won’t find out for a while. I would be interested to see your Mum’s audiogram.

How severe is her hearing loss? I ask because the AirPods are meant to be good for mild to moderate hearing loss but I do know a few people with severe hearing loss who use the AirPods as a backup for their hearing aids and also for watching TV, phone calls, FaceTime and music.

The IOS 18.1 version will not work for people with severe hearing loss. When the Apple hearing test returns a severe hearing test it will warn you that she needs to see an audiologist and will not allow you to set them up. That’s something to bear in mind if you choose to upgrade.

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Yes. 18.1, assuming you can get it working. will prevent your mum returning a severe hearing test and they won’t work.

Do they work for your mum? Can she hear things better using the transparency option? It might be an idea to visit Costco and take a professional test and try other brands like Jabra. Don’t forget to request a copy of your Mum’s audiogram from Costco. You can apply it to the AirPods.

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Does the AirPod retain the “Hearing Aid” function when you cross back into Canada? I also made changes to the Transparency setting while in Canada and it worked well. However when we crossed into the US on the way south for the winter, the “Hearing Aid” became available. I found it easier to use.

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I experimented with some “fake” audiograms in the Health app and pushed it toward more severe hearing loss. At one point I could no longer enable the Hearing Aid function and so used one toward more moderate loss. At that point I noted feedback. So the AirPod hearing loss llimit may also be hardware related. I made sure the eartips were sealed but the feed back persisted. At the end of the day I reverted back to my last actual audiogram which was about 5Db less. All that said, the sound quality of the AirPods is so much better than my Jabras from Costco. Just need to figure out a way to keep them from falling out. Have tried several methods. While some worked to secure them, they made my ears sore as they increased the size of the AirPod. Don’t want to use the “hook” style since I wear glasses. Ordered some “memory foam” tips that I hope will work.

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Wonder if Apple will jack up the prices. After all it will be a “medical” device.

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I think that as long as the device is an AirPod, any increase will be moderate. If they come out with an actual prescription hearing aid, the sky is the limit.

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Just read an article that Health Canada has approved the hearing aid and hearing test features to launch with the release of iOS 18.3 in January, or with iOS 18.4 in April.

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From what others have said if you go back to Canada after enabling the hearing aid feature in the US and then do an update in Canada you will lose it.

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My sister struggled to get the AirPods to fit and not fall out and only one option from Amazon in the UK worked. She has very waxy ears too.

I bought three different sets from Amazon and sent them all back. The last set I bought was a lot more expensive but they do the job well.

I bought a pair of hooks for her and they don’t affect your glasses at all as they fit IN your ears.

Take a look. Two of the photos show where to place the hooks.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BDMRVHXB/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=A2353UQLH716GD&psc=1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08D8NY25S/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_2?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1

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136

Hi Richard,
Thanks for your responses again. My mother has a set of hearing aids from audiologists and her hearing loss is just at the beginning of the severe loss category. She told me that using Airpods for phone calls is quite clear, and during her Transparency headphone use, there is less noise compared to her real hearing aids. At least when at home where the environment is quite and family talks to her loudly, she is happy with airpods as hearing aids. Her hearing losses are caused by brain tumors.
One thing we noticed was that during the setup process with IOS 17 Audio & Visual > Headphone Accommodations > Transparency Mode , the amplification was very good. However, once we finish the setup using an audiogram, the amplification becomes lowers. So I am not sure if Apple is also applying restrictions based on the AirPods firmware. We have connected this set of airpods to an iPhone with 18.1 and that perhaps updated the firmware to the latest version.

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I have the 18.1 Firmware (7B21) but i am using IOS 17.7.1 and I haven’t noticed any difference. My firmware has changed twice since September and they still work as well as they did when I first started using them.

If you click on Transparency in the Ear symbol in the Control Centre you will see the Amplification slider where you can increase voice volume. Click on Ambient Noise Reduction and move the slider to the right it reduces ambient sounds.

I’ve just almost removed the sound of our tumble dryer and my wife is quite a lot louder while we are chatting.

These changes at a funeral a week ago there were 35-40 people chattering all around me in a big room and I could hear the people talking directly in front of me really well.

Change to Adaptive Mode for the AirPods to change both automatically. It’s my normal setting for most things.

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138

One thing to look at if AirPods keep falling out of your ears is the shape of your ear canal.
The big diagrams of ear canal anatomy in audiologist clinics always show the ear canal shape as being straight and of even diameter. However this is an idealisation as actual ear canal shapes may be quite different.
In my case my right ear canal has a bend quite close to the pinna and narrows down at the bend - so any “earbud headphones” I tried to insert in it very quickly fell out. My RIC HA open domes fit OK into , and stay in, that right ear canal once I got the right shape and size. However it does rule out Airpod Pro 2s for me.
My audiologist never mentioned this to me; I found out when I went to a Earwax removal nurse who had difficulty cleaning my right ear canal and explained why the canal shape was causing the difficulty.
So if earbuds keep falling out, add checking out your ear canal shapes to things to investigate.

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Does anyone find AAP2 just doesn’t seem to work well for them? It might just be fit but it can seem subjectively worse than Airpods/Airpods2 even if it can offer more hearing accomodations. That’s based on use for Bluetooth phone calls.

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As soon as IOS 18.1 came out, I purchased a pair of AirPod Pro 2 headphones. I did the Apple hearing test and found them to not work well for me. The first issue I discovered was that wearing them for a long time period was very uncomfortable. Also, they block all the environmental sound so they make your speech sound to you like you have your fingers inserted in your ears. My biggest complaint was that I was having difficulty hearing my wife’s speech and she still was complaining that I turned the volume too high on the TV. I have mild to moderate high frequency hearing loss. Regardless which setting I used, Transparency, or the other two modes didn’t help much at all.

I returned them and bought a pair of Jabra Enhanced Pro 20 genuine, prescription hearing aids from Costco. Obviously, the real hearing aids are much more expensive than the AirPods, but they are exceptionally more comfortable to wear all day. Also, I no longer have to ask my wife to speak up, and the TV isn’t blaring.

I have a follow up appointment on Tuesday and I have a few questions for my hearing aid specialist. I’m not happy about the noise reduction capability in restaurants. Also, there are some other settings that the Jabra app can use, which I don’t have, such as a Music mode, a wind noise mode, etc. also, there’s a way to set them up to allow manual focus of the inhanced speech function.

The two things that the AirPods did better were listening to music and automatically switching from my iPhone to my iPad without having to manually turn off the Bluetooth on one device.

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