AirPods Pro 2 doubles as hearing aids, widens access to hearing health tech (2024)

SINGAPORE – For several years, Madam Lilian Ang has found it hard to make out what doctors are saying to her under their masks.

The Apple AirPods Pro 2, which now comes with new health features, could soon change things for the 76-year-old retiree, who recently tested the technology.

On Oct 29, tech giant Apple rolled out a software update for its AirPods Pro 2, essentially allowing the earbuds to become hearing aids for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss.

Experts said this lifestyle product offers a less intimidating alternative to traditional hearing aids, which are expensive, and could get more people to address their hearing issues earlier in life.

Madam Ang did not buy traditional hearing aids as she did not want to spend thousands of dollars on something she might not be able to adjust to.

Traditional hearing aids typically cost upwards of $1,400, according to information on Singapore General Hospital’s website.

During an hour-long test of the upgraded AirPods Pro 2 at The Straits Times, Madam Ang could even hear the low rumbling of the air-conditioner in the room she was in, and hold conversations with loud music playing in the background. Sounds and voices had become clearer, louder and sharper, she said.

Hearing someone call her from 5m away and music wafting from a laptop speaker 2m away was also a breeze for her with the Apple earbuds on.

Madam Ang is now considering paying $349 for the AirPods Pro 2 to cope with her mild hearing loss, which makes it hard to hear drivers when she sits at the back of a car.

“I think it’s worth it, given that you can use it to do other things too, like listen to music,” she said. “But I wouldn’t wear it for an entire day because it feels like there’s a foreign object inside your ear.”

The hearing aid feature works only on the AirPods Pro 2 model. The earbuds must be paired with the iPhone or iPad operating on iOS 18.1 or iPadOS 18.1 or later versions.

Users can lower the ambient noise picked up by the earbuds through a system menu in the paired iPhone or iPad. Turning on the Conversation Boost feature in the menu is supposed to enhance hearing in face-to-face conversations.

But holding a conversation at a coffee shop during lunch hour was still a challenge for media consultant Jonathan Ng, 51, with the Conversation Boost feature turned on.

The sounds of clanging plates, scrapping chairs and chatter from about 30 patrons in a coffee shop near ST’s office overwhelmed the voice of the person he was speaking to, said Mr Ng, who has mild hearing loss in both ears.

Reducing ambient noise is the holy grail of hearing aid makers.

“Effectively, the challenge is to obtain the highest possible speech and audio intelligibility in all conditions,” said Professor Joseph Chang from NTU’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. “Noise is a particularly difficult problem, as speech intelligibility degrades with noise.”

Also, the silicone tips of the AirPods Pro 2 form a seal in the ears and add to the discomfort of prolonged use, said Mr Ng, who has been wearing behind-the-ear hearing aids for a year. “When you wear hearing aids, you want to forget that it’s there.”

The Singapore Association for the Deaf puts the number of people here with some form of hearing loss at half a million.

Some people associate hearing aids with ageing or disability, which leads them to feel embarrassed about wearing them openly, said the association, adding that such stigma and social perceptions are hurdles that some struggle to overcome.

“Normalising hearing assistive technology via lifestyle devices can help more people accept the support,” said the association, adding that there is a social impact to hearing loss.

The World Health Organisation said hearing loss can lead to social isolation, loneliness and frustration. A 2024 Lancet Commission report said treating hearing loss could cut the number of people with dementia by 7 per cent.

Given Singapore’s ageing population and the increased noise that younger people are exposed to, hearing-related issues are likely to become more widespread in future, said lecturer Lim Shu-En Anna at NUS’ Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine.

She said that a lifestyle device such as the AirPods Pro 2 is a less intimidating alternative to traditional hearing aids and could get more people to address their hearing issues earlier in life.

However, she added that as hearing loss progresses to moderate or severe levels, more sophisticated support becomes necessary, which dedicated hearing aids can provide.

Hearing aids incorporate features such as frequency lowering, which helps users perceive high-frequency sounds by replicating them at lower frequencies, said Dr Lim. Professional-grade ones can be customised with ear domes or earmolds, to sit deeply in the ear canal, which allows for higher amplification withoutfeedback.

Mr Bryan Ma, vice-president of devices research at market research firm IDC, said he expects more companies to offer similar hearing health features in future.

“When one vendor introduces a new feature, competitors are compelled to respond to keep their products competitive,” he added.

The first-generation Apple Watch was launched in 2015 with fitness and health tracking, which quickly became draws. Now, many smartwatches can take electrocardiograms, letting users know more about their heart health and share the information with their doctors.

“That’s the great thing about competition – it keeps raising the bar for everyone, and consumers ultimately benefit,” said Mr Ma.

Correction note: The honorific for lecturer Lim Shu-En Anna has been updated in this version of the story.