AirPods Pro 2 Hearing Aids not available in Canada

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

That is not correct. I have been using my Airpods as hearing aids since September running IOS 17.7.1.

The firmware has changed three times since I started using them. They have behaved exactly the same way through all three updates. I understand that the latest firmware will allow the Airpods to produce a higher volume but that's about it.

I am still using IOS 17.7.1 and will continue to do so until approval has been given in the UK.

They work really well for me with my mild to moderate hearing loss.

Do you think the same process would work if I buy the Air pods- create

an US Apple ID, etc? The Sony hearing aids sound great but they are

$1000 US.

They will work as hearing aids if you set them up with an iPad or iPhone with IOS 18.01 pr older.

I think this is the only officially supported way to get them to work.

That is true but they will work very well unofficially if you haven’t updated to 18.1.

I have been using them since September and they work very well for me. Why would I stop them working by updating to 18.1? Seriously?

You mentioned in another post that you can get the "hearing aid functionality" with the Airpods Pro 2 without IOS 18.1 and without regard to where you are located.

Unfortunately, your “scenario” requires a workaround to do a hearing test with an app or to go to an audiologist, pay to get an audiogram and feed it to your iPhone to get it to adapt to your hearing specificities because your “scenario” does not give you access to the full Apple hearing test that comes with IOS 18.1. Furthermore, what you’re getting is very likely more akin to customized EQ than the actual hearing aid functionality that comes with IOS 18.1. How do you know whether you are getting the full hearing aid functionality of IOS 18.1 with your setup???

Your setup is undoubtedly better than nothing for countries that do not allow the sale of OTC hearing aids, where the full AirPods Pro 2 hearing aid functionality is blocked. But it is not a substitute for this functionality for millions who would benefit significantly from it at a reasonable cost.

Why would these millions of individuals be forced to go through any workaround because their country does not allow OTC sales of hearing aids? The issue is not finding a clever workaround that may or may not give users the full AirPods Pro 2 hearing aid functionality, but governments that should put an end to the audiologists-hearing aid manufacturers cartel and allow people to benefit from advances in technology to improve their day-to-day lives.

I tried to make that point early on in other threads. No one wanted to listen. Perhaps you'll have better luck. I hope so.

I wondered how long it would take for you to chip in.

In the end you and Lucster are really dancing on the head of a pin as to what constitutes "real" hearing aids.

The AirPod hearing aid setup prior to 18.1 was not promoted by Apple as hearing aids because the FDA would not have allowed them to be sold as hearing aids.

Apple put the features in and let customers find out for themselves. You only have to look on YouTube. There are dozens of videos showing how to set them up.

Here is the definition of hearing amplifiers.

Hearing Aids vs Hearing Amplifiers

Hearing Aid UK

https://www.hearingaid.org.uk › ... › Hearing Aid Advice

9 Sept 2024 — All sounds are amplified, unlike hearing aids that are programmed for the specific frequencies an individual with hearing loss needs to hear. ...

Note that it says that ALL sounds are amplified so we know that Apple did NOT release the Airpods as hearing amplifiers in 2022 because you can upload your audiogram to the Airpods and they work across a range of frequencies..

I have mild to moderate hearing loss in my ears in the high and mid tones and my left ear is much worse than my right.

Let's move onto hearing what people are saying to me when I am wearing them.

In a noisy restaurant last week using the Airpods, background noise drops in volume and voices are crystal clear from everybody sitting at the eight person table. You can manually adjust the volume of background noise and voices independently using Transparency Mode or use the Adaptive Mode so they adjust automatically.

If I am listening to a podcast or some music and somebody starts talking to me, because I have Conversation Boost and Conversation Awareness switched on too, as soon as I start talking, OR somebody starts talking to me, the music or Podcast or fades to nothing while I carry on a conversation and gradually fades back up where it left off. It took me a couple of days to gets used to the fact that all I needed was to start talking to get the music to fade out.

Listening to music was totally transformed for me. Previously all I heard in my left ear was a mush using a cheap set of ear buds.

The Loud Sound Reduction also works extremely well. Our peanut grinder is deafening when I used it and the first time I tried it the volume dropped to less than 50%.

Whether you both like it or not, my Airpods sound like a VERY sophisticated pair of hearing aids to me and guess what? I am using IOS 17.7.1 and using them in the UK where they haven’t been approved.

You won't lose any hearing assistance but only from what I have read, you won’t be able to change any of the Airpod settings, which of course, is the whole point.

I now have mine setup on a 2018 iPad and my iPhone and both are running 17.7.1.

@rasg

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.

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.

I sent an email asking the same thing to Health Canada October 31. The response was they would forward it to the correct department: Medical Devices Directorate. Like you, I did not receive a response. I’m glad you followed up with your M.P.

Ok. I purchased the airpods pro 2. I did not upgrade to ios 18. I took the hearing test on mimi with only mild deficit and I linked it with the health app. I linked the airpods on my iphone 15 plus. What should I do next?

Thanks.

Hi, I have the AirPods now and you offered to help me set them up for as hearing aids. I am still using the IOS 17. Looking forward for your instructions.

You will need to download the free Mimi app to do do a hearing test OR you can download your audiogram by taking a photo of it.

Assuming you have set them up using Bluetooth after you have taken a hearing test. The AirPods need to be in your ears.

To take an Ear Tip Fit test on your iPhone, go to Settings/Bluetooth and tap the info icon for the

AirPods Pro. At the very bottom choose Ear Tip Fit Test, then tap Continue and Play. Both ears should show the seal is ok before you carry on.

Go to Settings/Accessibility/Audio Visual and click on Headphone Accommodations. You may need to click on Custom Audio Set up but you should see Audiogram and it will ask you which one to use. If you used the Mimi app the test will appear with today's date. Select it. In the next menu you can hear a sample of music and toggle between music with your Audiogram applied and without it so you know your Audiogram is working.

Go to the bottom and click on Transparency Mode and also switch Conversation boost on.

With the Airpods connected to your phone or iPad, your Airpods will appear close to the top of the Settings menu. Click on it. Switch Conversation Awareness on. Switch Loud Sound Reduction on.

That's about it but there are loads of settings you can play around with. In the last menu I mentioned you can simply set them to Adaptive Mode which will automatically set Noise Cancellation volume according to your surroundings. Otherwise you tinker with the Background Volume and Hearing Aid Volume manually independently of each other.

Hope this helps. Copy it quick!

Out of curiosity I set up an appt at Costco to try out a hearing aid there. To my uneducated ear, I could not tell any difference between the professional hearing aid @ ~ $1800/pair and AirPods Pro 2 set up the way that rasg has detailed. Thanks again.

This is very helpful only under headphone accommodation I am not offered the option of using an audiogram. I have done the Mimi test and associated the audiogram with the Health app but still don’t get that option.

iPhone 12 Pro Max 18.2

Airpods Pro 2

Canadian resident obviously

Yes - it continues to work - but nervous about upgrading to 18.2 in Canada and losing the hearing over

So why would be in such a rush to update? I think you will lose the feature if you update. Let everybody else have the problems and iron out the bugs.

I will stay on IOS 17.7.1 as it works very well.