Apple’s recent announcement that its AirPods Pro 2 can be used as over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids with iOS 18.1 has generated significant interest. With prices starting at $249, it seemed too good to be true that the same level of hearing benefits could be achieved for such a low cost.
To evaluate the effectiveness of AirPods Pro 2 as OTC hearing aids, two key performance criteria were examined: accuracy of software-driven hearing test and speech enhancement capabilities. A recent study used these criteria to assess the AirPods Pro 2’s performance.
The results showed that the Apple audiogram, a software-driven hearing test, accurately measured the user’s sensitivity across various frequencies. The audiologist in charge agreed that the results looked fairly accurate, exceeding her expectations for an at-home test.
In a lab-based evaluation, HearAdvisor, an independent hearing aid testing company, tested the AirPods Pro 2 using five major criteria. Although it received a B grade, the tests revealed significant improvements when the settings were professionally tuned. Speech in quiet and speech in noise increased by over double, indicating substantial potential for the AirPods Pro 2 to deliver effective hearing enhancement.
The reason for Apple’s initial tuning of the device may be due to user preferences for less-than-prescribed gain, which can preserve naturalness at the cost of intelligibility. However, Sony’s CRE-E10 OTC hearing aids, which are currently ranked higher by HearAdvisor, offer comparable performance despite being more expensive.
In conclusion, AirPods Pro 2 is an excellent value and a great way to experiment with hearing enhancement if you’re on the fence. Even if the feature is not needed, users still get a high-quality pair of wireless noise-canceling earbuds for music and phone calls.
Source: https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/apple-airpods-pro-hearing-test-comparison