Apple's AirPods Are Becoming Actual Hearing Aids

Last month, the FDA made something official that had been brewing for a while: besides their stated purpose as headphones, Apple AirPods can also be used as hearing aids. Under certain circumstances, at least; the FDA’s announcement gave the go-ahead for “individuals 18 years or older with perceived mild to moderate hearing impairment.”

The FDA’s approval, more specifically, was for software called Hearing Aid Feature, which Apple stated would “[boost] frequencies so sounds are more intelligible and vibrant to your ears” and would adjust itself automatically over the course of a given day. The software, designed to work with AirPods Pro 2, will offer hearing aid features along with a mode designed to protect the wearer’s hearing and a test feature.

This stands as a breakthrough for a few reasons — not the least of which is that this is the first over-the-counter device authorized by the FDA to address hearing loss. As the FDA’s announcement pointed out, 30 million Americans are currently living with hearing loss — and given that hearing loss can heighten your chances of developing dementia, addressing this is important for multiple reasons.

When can Apple users expect these new features to make their formal debut? According to Paula Span at The New York Times, they should be available in the next few weeks.

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The formal addition of these features has been in the works for a long time. As Business Insider reported last year, AirPod users were already aware of the device’s ability to enhance a wearer’s hearing — and a paper published in iScience in 2022 included the observation that “AirPods Pro may serve as a hearing assistive device for mild-to-moderate hearing loss.” Later this fall, that connection between AirPods and better hearing will become a little more official.