AirPods Pro 2 Hearing Aids not available in Canada

Well, I am a Senior Citizen and I have been waging this battle for 2 years. I wrote emails to my Federal Member of Parliament, Liberal Robert Oliphant, and my Provincial MPP, Liberal Stephanie Bowman, detailing all the information you have provided above, such as how the USA carried out strict test on over the counter hearing aids products and concluded it was in the Public Interest to open up the market. Not here. Both of these Liberal politicians tap danced and provide the same pablum based responses, such has how there were morally outraged at how the hearing aid monopilies in Canada have managed to block access for Canadians. However, after several exchanges when I pleaded with them to do their jobs by doing something tangible to effect a change in legislation, they did NOTHING - they simply ignored my emails (I wrote another email to them yesterday on this Apple issue).

I was fortunate to have contacts in the USA and I purchased a set of JABRA hearings aids for $1,200 - less than half or a third of what I was quoted at Hearing Life and House of Hearing. Note that most of the hearing aids are made in Scandanavia (Denmark is a big producer). The on-line test showed exactly the same hearing deficiences as the in-house test at Hearing Life and House of Hearing. And the service was excellent. I met on-line with an Audiologist and they addressed all my concerns. When I had a small problem with one hearing aid, they shipped me a new pair (through my US contact) - all for free.

This latest scam with preventing Canadian citizens from accessing low cost hearing aids is a complete disgrace, and I promised both Liberal politicians Robert Oliphant and Stephanie Bowman that I would go to the end of the earth to expose their betrayal to the Senior citizens of Canada in favor of protecting a well oiled and financed political lobby.

Big Gordo

I wrote to the Quebec Health Minister and my email was transferred to the Quebec Health Ministry.

Here is the response I received today - January 7, 2025 (in French)...

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Monsieur Marcil,

​​​Nous avons bien reçu votre courriel concernant la vente d’appareils auditifs au Québec. Nous portons à votre message toute l'attention requise.

Nous lisons attentivement tous les témoignages, car le bien-être et la santé des Québécoises et des Québécois demeurent notre priorité. Ceux-ci nous sont utiles pour mieux connaître l’impact des décisions, et améliorer les mesures en place ainsi que les services offerts aux citoyens, lorsque cela est possible. 

Plusieurs solutions sont analysées en continu afin d'assurer des mesures adéquates et suffisantes dans l’ensemble du réseau de la santé et des services sociaux.

Veuillez agréer, Monsieur Marcil, l'expression de nos sentiments les meilleurs. 

L’équipe du Ministère

Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux

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Let’s hope they follow up by approving the over-the-counter sale of hearing aids designed for mild to moderate hearing loss in Quebec ASAP so that Apple can activate their hearing Aid functionality on the Airpods Pro 2 in this province...

Interesting article from yesterday where Apple is quoted as still working with the provinces on this: https://www.thestar.com/life/health-wellness/apple-s-airpods-hearing-aid-feature-is-available-in-106-countries-but-not-canada-here/article_76c5641a-0346-11f0-a88b-9fa7e7f24a0b.html

The quote makes me feel a little more optimistic since it indicates that Apple has not been given a hard no by the provinces yet.

Federal and provincial Ministers start their days by reviewing Press/Media stories relevant to their areas of responsibility. For example, strong editorials on this regulatory nonsense could turn things around. Market Place would be good but may take ages. Legal action would be great but costly unless done pro bono; would be a great test case for Law School students to work on.

This would probably work if you have a vpn but my understanding is it might violate the Apple terms of service.

I’ve contacted my MP and MLA and heard back from our mla. He’s looking into the issue.

Yes, that worked for me. I happened to be in California (from Calgary) when 18.1.1 was released. I updated in California and the hearing capability was added.

Here’s unexpected good news: AirPods Pro 2 Hearing Aid and Hearing Test Features Approved to Launch in Canada

On December 12, 2024, Health Canada approved the hearing aid features of the airpods pro 2. So, now the question is when Apple will actually provide this function in Canada.

Good idea to write CBC Marketplace. They crack lots of issues open and cause change. I’m going to write them now.

Last year, I purchased the Sony CRE-C10 from BestBuy US and had them shipped to Shipito for re-shipping to me in the Montreal area. Last month, I bought the Sony CRE-C20 from Amazon US, and it was again shipped to Shipito for re-shipment to me in the Montreal area. To install the Sony app for these OTC-ITE hearing aids, I had to create a US Apple ID, log out from my Canadian Apple ID, and use a VPN to be able to get the Sony app from the Apple store while logged into my US Apple ID, set up my hearing aids with the app, log out of my US Apple ID, log in to my Canadian Apple ID to have access to all my purchases (music, movies, books, etc.).

Fortunately, I don’t need to repeat this process to fine-tune my hearing aids with the Sony app. Once installed on my iPhone, I can use it even when logged into my Canadian Apple ID.

But isn’t it ridiculous that I must do all this to access good OTC-ITE hearing aids in Canada? One needs to be a bit savvy to do what I did, which is not the case for many elderly Canadians who would benefit most from affordable OTC hearing aids. The more I think of this, the more outrageous it appears to me...

I did just that to install the Sony app for iOS that must be used with their OTC ITE hearing aids. I created a US Apple ID, used a VPN, and downloaded the Sony app. I then used the Sony app to configure my hearing aids. The problem is that you can’t do this from a location in Canada with the Airpods Pro. We must assume that Apple determines your area based on GPS data extracted from your iPhone.

I believe someone could configure the AirPods Pro's hearing aid functionality from a US location. However, I’m not sure one would have to create and use a US Apple ID or perform this process using their Canadian Apple ID while in the US. For my part, I want nothing to do with the US since November 5, 2024...

I think you can purchase the Airpods Pro from Canada. What is important is to get the most recent firmware on the Airpods Pro.

It's not. They still work well in Adaptive or Transparency Mode and you can upload your audiogram. Any IOS that's older than 18.1 will work and there are NO locks. I've been using them for weeks as hearing aids and they work extremely well running IOS 17.7.1. Yes the volume can be slightly more in 18.1 but the hassle. For me it's not worth it. FYI I have mild to moderate in the medium and high frequencies.

Strangely mine are running the very latest firmware nut I doubt that 17.7.1 can take full advantage of it BUT it didn't stop them working.

I’ve just gone thru the process that @rasg suggested and if you use the mimi app for the hearing test there is a box below the audiogram that asks if you want to integrate into Apple health.

Excellent.

Thanks Gordo. You have inspired me to do something about this. I am also infuriated about the blocking of this very needed feature for AirPods 2. I teach about 160 students every year. Although they probably don’t need hearing assistance, I will ask them to all send letters to Health Canada and MP. I also teach seniors for fitness and some do wear hearing aids. I will also get them to contact the authorities. As someone else said, it’s a disgrace. I guess it will take volume of letters/messages to get someone to do something about this. But, I won’t hold my breath here in Canada!!!!! Thank you.

The finger pointing on this is so frustrating.

CASLPO said it’s not them who’s blocking this: https://caslpo.com/about-caslpo/media-and-publications/express/current-issue/volume-11-issue-1-february-2025?words=AirPods&filter=exact

Meanwhile, there are several responses in this thread from provincial governments saying that it’s not their responsibility.

All while Health Canada said they did their part…

So whose responsibility is it!? Like others suggested, a CBC Marketplace investigation would help tremendously on this.