UK users: Your AirPods just became hearing aids
In a little bit of good news for the otherwise miserable UK market, Apple has confirmed that the fantastic Hearing Aid feature is now available to UK AirPods 2 starting from today. It doesn’t quite make up for the UK’s insane attack on personal privacy and data security, but it’s something, I suppose.
Your AirPods just became hearing aids
In a statement, Sumbul Desai, M.D., Apple’s vice president of Health, said: “At Apple, we believe that technology can help people live healthier lives, and we’re delighted to bring the Hearing Aid feature to the UK, offering our users an end-to-end hearing health experience with AirPods Pro 2.”
It’s a cool feature that works like this – it makes use of personalized hearing profiles generated by Apple’s five minute hearing test. Those measurements are used to create dynamic adjustments to boost sounds around a user in real time. This helps you hear conversation better; just as hearing aids do. The hearing profile is also automatically applied to music, movies, games, and phone calls across devices.
See also: How to test your hearing with your iPhone and AirPods Pro 2
Both the Hearing Test and Hearing Aid features are grounded in science and were validated through rigorous scientific studies.
Millions may benefit from this
It’s likely to be a popular introduction, given that mild to moderate hearing loss affects millions of people in the UK. Research has shown that untreated hearing loss can affect a person’s overall health and wellbeing, including an increased risk of dementia and social isolation.
The Hearing Test feature is a scientifically validated hearing test that users can take themselves with AirPods Pro 2 and a compatible iPhone or iPad. At the end of the test you get an easy-to-understand summary of their results, including a number representing hearing loss in each ear as well as an audiogram, which is stored privately and securely in the Health app and can be shared with a healthcare provider.
Private by design
Returning to privacy, if you use the feature and have your device locked all your health and fitness data – other than your Medical ID – is encrypted. All health data in iCloud is also encrypted, and when using 2FA and a passcode, Health app data is encrypted end-to-end with iCloud, meaning Apple can’t access it. We’ll see if that lasts, given the UK government’s disgusting attack on digital privacy.
You can follow me on social media! Join me on BlueSky, LinkedIn, Mastodon, and MeWe.
