AirPods Pro 2’s useful hearing aid mode is coming to the UK soon The feature is coming “within weeks” due to a change in UK regulations The mode is only available on AirPods Pro 2 and not other AirPods
Apple’s impressive hearing aid mode for the AirPods Pro 2 is coming to the UK following its launch in the US already (and the UAE more recently). As reported by The Telegraph, this is due to a change in UK regulations, and the newspaper says that Apple confirmed that the software “will be introduced within weeks”.
Apple’s hearing test, to determine if you might have some degree of hearing loss, is already available in the UK, but the mode that takes your hearing loss data and enables the use of the AirPods Pro 2 as fully powered hearing aids to compensate for that – as long as you only have mild to moderate hearing loss – has not been available until now.
Speaking about the change in regulation that allows the AirPods Pro 2 to be used in this way, UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting said, “groundbreaking new hearing aids have the potential to help tens of thousands of people with hearing loss and help them live their lives to the fullest. action we are taking will give companies the green light to start selling these products to patients across the UK.
“This is part of the work this government is doing in partnership with leading technology companies to harness the revolution in medical technology, bring our analogue healthcare into the digital age and make life more convenient for patients.”
This mode is only available on the AirPods Pro 2 model of Apple’s headphones – not the more affordable AirPods 4 or AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation. Apple says this is because these models lack an in-ear seal to improve noise isolation, which is necessary for the technology to be effective. The mode also won’t be coming to earlier models of AirPods — though I’d expect it to be part of the feature list for the AirPods Pro 3, which are rumored to arrive later in 2025.
Apple is one of the first companies to add this kind of technology to its headphones, but you can expect to hear about it in many more of the best earphones in the future – Sennheiser, for example, is now owned by a company that specializes in hearing health, and has already made some products that combine the needs of the hearing impaired with Sennheiser’s consumer technology.
Apple’s hearing test will give you an indication of your hearing loss at different frequency levels and can adjust the condition of the hearing aid to compensate. (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
An ideal bridge to other hearing health products
I’m glad to see this coming to the UK because we’ve already tried Apple’s hearing aid mode in the US and found it potentially very useful. I have several members of my family here in the UK who at times show signs of hearing difficulties but have been resistant to the idea of being tested or getting regular hearing aids as many people are , for many different reasons ranging from pride to fear.
AirPods Pro 2 provide a friendlier and relatively affordable way for people who aren’t keen on the process of a full hearing aid to “try” to boost their hearing – perhaps only in places where conversations can be particularly difficult to follow, as it’s so easy to pop AirPods Pro in and out and carry them around in their case.
Really, that’s the ideal way to use them, because the maximum six-hour battery life won’t get you through a full day’s use anyway.
I am hoping that this mod on the AirPods Pro 2 will help me to perhaps bridge my family members to be convinced that seeing an audiologist can help improve their quality of life.
In its announcement of support for consumer health technology devices such as this condition from AirPods Pro 2, the UK government noted that it is still extremely important for people to consult their doctors about their hearing and not rely solely on these automated tests.
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