Apple made Wave when it annunciate that itsAirPods Pro 2 , when combined with iOS 18.1 , couldfulfill the role of OTC hearing assistance . Given thatOTC hearing aidscan often run as much as $ 1,500 , it seemed too good to be dependable that the same hearing benefit could be had for just $ 249 or less . well yet , launch the popularity of Apple’swireless earbuds , there ’s an fantabulous prospect thatthose who could do good already own them(if you survive in a country whereApple ’s hearing assistance feature has been approve ) .
So how good are the AirPods Pro 2 as OTC hearing help ?
To find out , I look at two key execution criteria : the accuracy of Apple ’s package - driven hearing test , and their ability to leave spoken communication sweetening .
Testing the test
Typically , prescription pick up aids are provide by a licenced audiologist . Before you get them , the audiologist will examine your auditory sense using professionally calibrated instruments in a levelheaded - proof cubicle . The results , known as an audiogram , are used to customize the hearing aids for you . At - home OTC hearing aids do a similar mental test via software system , and swear on the user to ascertain a suitably quiet location .
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My paternal grandfather struggled with auditory sense after he turned 60 , and my father has temperate sense of hearing loss in one ear . With that form of family chronicle , I get my hearing professionally check off annually to monitor my own health .
Here ’s how Apple ’s audiogram of my auditory modality ( December 2024 ) compare to my most recent audiologist exam ( October 2024 ) .
While the Apple audiogram slightly overvalue my high-pitched - frequency loss ( perchance because my test environment was n’t smooth enough ) , it accurately measure out my sensitivity across other frequencies , including the slight conflict between my remaining and right ear .
I shared the Apple result with my audiologist , and she fit in that it attend fairly accurate , exceeding her expectations for an at - house trial run .
In the lab
In an ideal world , we ’d judge the AirPods Pro 2 ’s talking to sweetening using both qualitative results ( gathered from multitude ’s real - world assessments ) and quantitative results ( lab - free-base testing ) .
Unfortunately , I was n’t able to pile up qualitative information , but I did get in tactual sensation withHearAdvisor , an independent auditory sense aid testing company . HearAdvisor has lab - prove a variety show of OTC and prescription hearing aid models , include the AirPods Pro 2 , and keep up a published inclination of the best products .
For OTC products , the testing methodology evaluates devices based on five major criteria using the initial scene created by the software package - based hearing test . When potential , those preferences are professionally tune up and the tests are repeated to see if there ’s a difference in the results .
The AirPods Pro 2received a B form , placing them in the second level of HearAdvisor ’s ranking . While that does n’t seem specially notable , the test discover a square difference between the initial and tuned final result . “ Speech in quiet ” and “ speech in noise ” — arguably the most important criteria for any earshot aids — both increased by more than doubled ( 111 % and 225 % , respectively ) after being tuned .
This suggests that while Apple ’s audiogram coevals may be accurate , the company ’s tuning undercuts the potency of the AirPods Pro 2 to deliver the estimable hearing enhancement .
Why would Apple do this , when presumptively it has access to the same ( or serious ) assessment technology as HearAdvisor ? “ They may do this because new earshot assist user often favor less - than - prescribed gain ( probably to uphold innocence , at the cost of intelligibility ) , ” HearAdvisor scientific adviser Andrew Sabin state me .
Curiously , the current tycoon of the OTC hearing aid hill grant to HearAdvisor ’s tests isSony ’s CRE - E10 , with anA grade , and a perfect 5/5 overall scorefor both their initial and tuned issue . Still , the CRE - E10 deal for between $ 898 and $ 1,199 ( 260%-480 % more than the AirPods Pro 2 ) and yet they do n’t deliver similarly orotund increases in operation .
The CRE - E10 proved 18.4 % better than the AirPods Pro 2 in speech communication in quiet , and 73 % secure in delivery in haphazardness . Arguably , this makes the AirPods Pro 2 an excellent value , and a great way to experiment with hearing enhancement if you ’re on the fence . Even if you terminate up turning the feature off , you ’re still getting a very in force set of wireless haphazardness - canceling earbuds for medicine and phone calls .
