In iOS 18.1 the long awaited Air Pods Pro 2 Hearing Test and Hearing Aids feature is (as of 18.1 release date) not available in Canada. When will it be available and is there any specific was as users we can make this happen?
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
iPhone 13 mini, iOS 18
I contacted Health Canada Bureau Of Licensing Services and if I interpret their response correctly, AirPods Pro 2 are approved (as of Dec 11/24) as class 2 medical devices. Availability is dependent on the provinces.
Has anyone had any luck?
Here is their response to my inquiry -
“On December 11th, 2024, Health Canada issued two Medical Device Licences to Apple Inc., authorizing the sale of their Hearing Aid Feature and Hearing Test Feature, which are compatible with Apple’s AirPods Pro 2. These types of hearing aids are Class II medical devices in Canada and require a Medical Device Licence to be sold in Canada.
Provinces and territories decide how licensed medical devices are accessed in their province or territory including, in the case of hearing aids, whether a prescription is required. Please contact your provincial health department for information regarding access to hearing aids and the applicable regulations.”
Yes. I arrived home in Alberta last week and the hearing aids are working perfectly. I was in California when 18.1.1 came out - I updated there and lo and behold the hearing aid capability was added. I am guessing that IF I update to the next software release in Canada I will lose the hearing aid capability?
The only way to find out is to update! I am still on 17.7.1 as they work anywhere in the world.
rasg wrote:
Does 17.7.1 let you enter the audiogram test result to use the "hearing aid" function? If yes, you are probably right. If not, it is not a hearing aid, just a background noise cancellation. Honest question here because I don't have an airpod pro 2.
Yes it does. It is a hearing aid. Apple the Airpod Pro 2s in September 2022 but they didn't publicise it but let people find out for themselves. What it led to was Apple getting mountains of information from the people who owned them about hearing aids. 150,000 of them. They mentioned it in the Apple iPhone 16 keynote in September.
The AirPods are effectively "tuned" by your audiogram AND they also have excellent noise cancellation and excellent Loud Sound Noise Reduction.
It appear what you described is the custom transparency mode which in reality pretty close to an OTC hearing aid. The hearing aid upgrade in 18.1 includes hearing test and updated algorithm to received approval as OTC hearing aid device, probably with better hear aid performance and functions. Are you saying that by upgrade to 18.1, the custom transparency will be blocked?
It appear what you described is the custom transparency mode which in
reality pretty close to an OTC hearing aid. The hearing aid upgrade in
18.1 includes hearing test and updated algorithm to received approval as
OTC hearing aid device, probably with better hear aid performance and
functions. Are you saying that by upgrade to 18.1, the custom
transparency will be blocked?
It's not something I have tried as I am still using IOS 17.7.1.
I have read that you cannot use your Audiogram in Transparency Mode after you update to IOS 18.1 in countries where the Hearing Aid feature has not been approved. It's certainly upset a lot of people who have been using them for a while. The feature was first available in September 2022 when the AirPod Pro 2s were launched. It was orginally launched in the AirPod Pros back in 2020.
What I don't know is if the Custom Transparency Mode is still available after upgrading to 18.1 in countries where the Hearing Aid Feature has been approved. It might be worth asking somebody who is using them in the US.
The one thing I do know is that Apple have simplified the menus dramatically in the update. Lot's of settings seem to have disappeared including Loud Sound Reduction that I really like in 17.7.1. According to the Apple availability chart the Hearing Protection feature is only available in the US and Canada.
Are Loud Sound Reduction and Hearing Protection the same? I don't know.
Here’s unexpected good news: AirPods Pro 2 Hearing Aid and Hearing Test Features Approved to Launch in Canada
The article says January or April but I bet it will be quicker than that. Apple just needs to flick a couple of switches and create a new update and I hope it coincides with the UK too. I won't hold my breath though and I'm not that bothered. Too many bugs so far for me.
It does. I’ve had the Hearing Test and Aid features since flying to the US on Dec17. They became active while I was in the air! I thought I might lose these features upon my return to BC, but I’m still using them. Now I’m afraid I might lose them if I upgrade to 18.2. An AI search tells me the upgrade should be ok, but past experience leads me to not always trust AI.
I join with all the others here in saying this is all SO RIDICULOUS. I just want to be able to improve my hearing (which has a tremendous impact on my quality of life) without unnecessarily wasting a pile of money.
It does. I’ve had the Hearing Test and Aid features since flying to the US on Dec17. They became active while I was in the air! I thought I might lose these features upon my return to BC, but I’m still using them. Now I’m afraid I might lose them if I upgrade to 18.2. An AI search tells me the upgrade should be ok, but past experience leads me to not always trust AI.
I join with all the others here in saying this is all SO RIDICULOUS. I just want to be able to improve my hearing (which has a tremendous impact on my quality of life) without unnecessarily wasting a pile of money.
You need to switch auto update off if it's not. If you update to 18.2 you will lose the feature.
iOS 18.3 is out now and supposedly allows the hearing aid function in AirPods Pro 2. I don’t have AirPods Pro 2 YET, but was wondering if anyone here can confirm that this update allows the hearing aid function.
You’ve probably already heard stories like mine, but living in Canada, not being able to take advantage of the hearing aid feature that hundreds of other countries enjoy. Today I landed on a flight to London, England and immediately the hearing aid feature was available on my phone when I connected to the airport wifi. This is so frustrating. I have been active in contacting CBC Marketplace, no response, Health Canada, Ontario College of audiologists, Saskatchewan Health where I live and continue to get the runaround. I actually own a terrible set of $5,000 hearing aids that I do not wear. They sound awful. My AirPods sound wonderful as they are designed with music fidelity in mind. If I sit down and play my guitar with my $5000 hearing aids, the sound is so awful I want to throw them across the room. Let’s get this fixed. More people need to be active and make the decision makers aware. We need the media to help us out. Anyone have any pull?
I posted this link some time ago indicating (to me) that it is up the Provinces to make the necessary approvals. I’m confused and disappointed.
https://mobilesyrup.com/2024/12/18/airpods-pro-2-hearing-aid-coming-2025/
@javajack,
The HA features (enabled while in Florida) have persisted across iOS updates on both iPhone and iPad. First, from 18.3 to 18.4. Then most recently to 18.4.1.
I have not yet updated to 18.5. I’m waiting for the dust to settle on it.
https://tidbits.com/2025/05/12/apple-releases-ios-18-5-macos-15-5-and-other-x-5-os-updates/
Incidentally, while I was in Florida I was able to do a hearing test on both the iPhone and iPad. The results from each test were then magically synced to iCloud - both sets of results appeared in the Health app on both devices, and could be selected for use by the HA equalization. (The two results were only slightly different).
However Canadians can order OTC hearing aids from Amazon. I have a set arriving today. I would have much preferred to use AirPods but returned them to Apple.
Image 1. In Canada the Hearing Test feature is not on the menu.
Image 2. In the United States and other countries the feature is activated and shows on the menu.
Hi, sadly it is still not available in Canada, even with iOS18.1.1 Glad to hear that it’s working for you in California and the feature is good.
Well, the latest update is 18.1.1. However, the hearing aid capability is simply NOT available in Canada yet. When will it be? No answer
I had already installed the update and it and it worked when I restarted my phone
AirPods Pro 2 Hearing Aids not available in Canada
