AirPods as hearing aids

Key information:

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved a new Apple “hearing aid feature” that will amplify sounds for people with mild to moderate hearing loss.

Why it’s important: More than 30 million American adults have some degree of hearing loss. Yet only 1 in 6 hearing-impaired Americans ages 20 to 69 actually use hearing aids because of high costs, lack of availability, poor customer satisfaction and stigma, according to the National Council on Aging.

Details: The Apple feature, which is coming in the fall via a free software update, will only work with AirPods Pro 2 and iPhones or iPads compatible with iOS 18. It is intended for adults 18 years of age or older.

Why now: Two years ago, federal health officials approved the sale of hearing aids without a prescription, which ultimately led to Apple developing this new feature.

Two years after federal health officials approved the sale of hearing aids without a prescription, some Apple AirPods owners will soon be able to access the medical device from the comfort of their own home by simply tapping a software update.

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved Apple’s new “Hearing Aid Feature” that will amplify sounds for people with mild to moderate hearing loss. The Apple feature, which will arrive this fall via a free software update, will only work with AirPods Pro 2 and iPhones or iPads compatible with iOS 18. It is intended for adults 18 and older.

More than 30 million American adults have some degree of hearing loss. Yet only 1 in 6 hearing-impaired Americans ages 20 to 69 actually use hearing aids because of high costs, lack of availability, poor customer satisfaction and stigma, according to the National Council on Aging.

Studies show that if left untreated, hearing loss can increase the risk of social isolation, depression, cognitive decline and frailty. Meanwhile, other studies suggest that using hearing aids can reduce the frequency or severity of these health problems in older people, and potentially lead to longer life.

With the new feature, Apple AirPods owners will be able to check their hearing at home with a five-minute test and adjust the sound settings to suit their hearing.

“Your AirPods Pro will turn into a personalized hearing aid that hones in on the specific sounds you need, like parts of speech or the environment, in real time,” Sumbul Ahmad Desai, Apple’s vice president of Health, said in a video announcing the new feature.

For years, advocates for people with hearing loss have been pushing for more affordable and accessible medical devices, which paved the way for the FDA to approve over-the-counter sales of hearing aids in 2022. But hearing aids can still be expensive — this year, they ranged from $99 to $7,000 — according to the National Council on Aging. (AirPods Pro 2 cost $249.)

Meredith Resnick, a spokeswoman for the Hearing Loss Association of America, said she hopes Apple’s new hearing aid feature will help raise awareness and reduce stigma around hearing loss, but added that most over-the-counter (OTC) devices — including Apple’s — primarily serve people with mild to moderate hearing loss.

Screenshot of an Apple promotional YouTube video showing off the new hearing aid feature for AirPods Pro 2 and iOS 18-compatible iPhones and iPads.

“OTC hearing aids won’t be for everyone, but we hope they can help some adults with mild to moderate hearing loss take the first step toward treatment more quickly. For example, an OTC hearing aid could help someone who needs some situational hearing assistance but isn’t at the level of wearing a device all day long,” she said.

The FDA approval comes after a clinical study of 118 people with mild to moderate hearing loss. The results showed that people who used Apple’s hearing aid feature “achieved similar perceived benefits to people who received a professional fitting of the same device.” The FDA added that “no device-related adverse events were observed in this study.”

“Today’s approval for the sale of over-the-counter hearing aid software on a commonly used consumer audio product is another step that increases the availability, affordability and acceptability of hearing support for adults with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss,” Dr. Michelle Tarver, acting director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in a statement.

Editor’s Note: Apple is among NPR’s recent financial supporters.

Copyright 2024 NPR