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Apple's AirPods Pro hearing health features

(www.theverge.com)
282 points elsewhen | 4 comments | 22 Oct 24 00:25 UTC | HN request time: 0.033s | source
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gedy ◴[22 Oct 24 01:50 UTC] No.41910392[source]▶
Unless I'm misunderstanding, the news here is Apple is adding a hearing test app, and "officially" stating that you can use your Airpods Pro like hearing aids.

I mention this as you can use these today as hearing aids, you just need to use a third party app to create your audiogram. I have fairly bad hearing loss and use Airpods instead of hearing aids.

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dagmx ◴[22 Oct 24 01:56 UTC] No.41910423[source]▶
You are missing that these are now cleared as hearing aids by the government.
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mmcconnell1618 ◴[22 Oct 24 02:15 UTC] No.41910525[source]▶
As an approved medical device I wonder if you can buy airpods with a HSA now?
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1. trollbridge ◴[22 Oct 24 04:04 UTC] No.41911085[source]▶
I suspect the answer is "yes", and probably with an FSA now too. There is a similar situation with the Natural Cycles app, which is cleared by the FDA as a medical device, so you can buy it with an FSA or HSA, or have insurance pay for it - which is mandatory, since it is legally a birth control device, which they have to cover. (It is also a steal for the insurance company since it costs roughly $10 a month.)

I expect that insurance plans that cover hearing aids are going to cover this eventually, as a set of AirPods Pro 2 is $249, which is substantially cheaper than other hearing aids on the market. An open question is if any other manufacturer will be able to get a device that works this well at this price point - the amount of software and chip design engineering that went into H2 and the bridgeOS or RTKitOS that the AirPods run is just not something smaller manufacturers will be able to easily copy.

Now, I wish I could find a better eartips fit for my ears... XS doesn't pass in the app as having a good enough seal, and S is just a little bit uncomfortable for me for all day use.

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2. mschuster91 ◴[22 Oct 24 07:45 UTC] No.41912109[source]▶
> An open question is if any other manufacturer will be able to get a device that works this well at this price point - the amount of software and chip design engineering that went into H2 and the bridgeOS or RTKitOS that the AirPods run is just not something smaller manufacturers will be able to easily copy.

Well, "classic" hearing aids have two features that I don't see Apple replicating any time soon: longer battery life (AirPods roughly last around 4-6 hours depending on battery degradation and usage, whereas hearing aids run for days) and most especially, support for audio induction loops [1] - basically PA systems for the impaired, you'll find these in churches, conference/meeting rooms, concert halls/stadiums and in the UK also in taxicabs.

Classic hearing aids will have their place for quite the time to come.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_induction_loop

3. yunohn ◴[22 Oct 24 13:34 UTC] No.41914103[source]▶
Highly recommend giving Comply Foam tips a shot - I got them a few years ago, total game changer. I replace them approx every year, since they wear out based on your usage pattern.

https://www.complyfoam.com/products/apple-airpods-pro-ear-ti...

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4. tstrimple ◴[22 Oct 24 16:53 UTC] No.41916220[source]▶
I must be particularly hard on mine, or wear them far too much. A 3 pack of comply tips will only last me six months. The foam starts to tear and flake off after a while. I'm still quite happy to replace them because the sound isolation and comfort are much better than the silicon tips.