The Apple AirPods Pro 2 just gained some new powers, with hearing health functionality now launched for everyone with the flagship AirPods in the UK. You don’t have to buy a new pair to take advantage of this feature, as it’s been made available to all the wireless earbuds through a software update.
As announced at Apple’s September event in 2024, the new set of features is designed to help diagnose and provide assistance with any hearing difficulties. These include providing a clinicallyvalidated hearing test, a hearing profile to apply to all the music and podcasts you listen to, and the capability for the best AirPods on the market to now work as hearing aids, with millions of people across the country standing to benefit from them.
While highquality hearing aids are available for free on the NHS, having them built into the AirPods you may already use might make wearing a hearing aid feel less intrusive and more accessible, along with making the technology more mainstream.
“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 endtoend hearing health experience with AirPods Pro 2,” explains Sumbul Desai, Apple’s vice president of health.
In a statement, British Academy of Audiology (BAA) president Clare Benton said: “The BAA supports innovation in audiology and hearing care and welcomes the increased awareness this technology brings to hearing loss and early intervention. However, we strongly encourage anyone with hearing concerns to consult a qualified audiologist for a professional test and diagnosis.”
Meanwhile, the RNID (Royal National Institute for Deaf people) has welcomed the launch, saying, “We believe there is a real opportunity to explore how overthecounter hearing aids, including the new Hearing Aid feature on Apple AirPods Pro 2, could encourage people to seek help for their hearing health sooner.”
How to update your AirPods Pro 2
You need to have either the Lightning or USBC version of the AirPods Pro 2 to access this feature. It doesn’t work on the older firstgeneration AirPods Pro, or other versions like the AirPods 4.
Your iPhone or iPad will need to be running the latest software, and you’ll need to make sure that your AirPods are updated to the latest firmware.
There isn’t a manual way to trigger an update, but Apple’s support page states that updates are delivered to your AirPods while they “are charging and in Bluetooth range of your iPhone, iPad or Mac that’s connected to wifi”, so this should be easy enough to trigger by charging your earbuds within range of your phone.
How to use AirPods Pro 2 as hearing aids
Once they’re updated, you just head into your AirPods’ settings, and that’s where you’ll be able to take a hearing test. Locate your AirPods in the Settings app, find the Hearing Assistance and then take the test, which takes about five minutes to complete.
You need to be in a very quiet environment, and the AirPods will double check that you’ve got a secure fit. Once that’s verified, they will play a range of tones (one ear at a time), sometimes at very low volumes, and you tap the screen when you can hear the sound. The results of the test will tell you whether you have any hearing loss.
I’ve been through the process and found I’ve got “little to no loss” in both ears, thankfully, but others might see a result indicating “mild hearing loss”, “moderate hearing loss” or “severe hearing loss” after the test. If you get a “severe” result, have any concerns about your hearing, or experience a sudden change in your hearing, always talk to your doctor or a hearing specialist.
After taking the test, you’ll be able to turn on the Hearing Aid feature, and you can adjust the level of amplification from the Control Centre on your device. The feature will only amplify sounds around you when you’re using the transparency mode on your AirPods Pro.
The “hearing profile” generated from the test can also be applied across your music, films and phone calls, for several Apple devices.
Apple AirPods Pro 2
Simon Cocks is Hearst UK’s Technology Ecommerce Editor, overseeing tech shopping content and strategy across a range of titles including Good Housekeeping UK, Esquire UK, Digital Spy, Men’s Health UK and Women’s Health UK.
Simon specialises in testing the latest smart gadgets, home entertainment gear, headphones, speakers, portable chargers, radios, ebook readers and smartphones. He’s reviewed top tech products from brands including Google, Apple, Amazon, JBL and Bose.
A magazine journalism graduate from Kingston University in 2014, Simon also worked on the Discovery and Silkroad inflight magazines. He then gained experience writing about entertainment at SFX and Total Film. He also contributed reviews and interviews to TwitchFilm (later ScreenAnarchy), CultBox and Frame Rated.
He joined Good Housekeeping UK as the Editorial Assistant for Special Projects and was part of Good Housekeeping’s Consumer Affairs Team between 2014 and 2019. In this role, he conducted price comparison research, wrote detailed household and moneysaving advice guides and edited thousands of indepth reviews for the Good Housekeeping Institute.
He has focused on technology and gadgets since 2020, where he started by testing out power banks and instant cameras. He writes reviews, roundups, news articles and deals updates, and also covers top tech deals during sales like Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
When not testing out the latest gizmos, you’ll find Simon either catching up with the newest releases at his local cinema or out shooting with his beloved compact camera.
You can follow Simon on Instagram, on Bluesky, on LinkedIn and on Threads.
