When Apple rolls out the firmware upgrade needed to utilize AirPods Pro 2 as a hearing aid, it will thrust the company into direct contention with existing over-the-counter (OTC) products.
Most OTC hearing aids come equipped with Bluetooth headphone functionality, meaning that regardless of which way you choose, a single device can fulfill both these functions. However, AirPods offer two distinct advantages…
Both AirPods and OTC hearing aids enable you to create a customized hearing profile tailored to address your specific issues. For instance, if you have trouble hearing certain frequencies, the device can boost the volume of those frequencies to compensate.
But as noted by Wired, nearly all OTC hearing aids revert to a dumb headphone mode when used for streaming content—that is, the compensation they provide for ambient sound is disabled.
One of the most remarkable features is something no one else has offered: these hearing settings are also applied to the streaming experience. So if you have difficulties hearing highs, those settings will also be applied to phone calls, music, movies, and games—all automatically. Most (if not all) other OTC hearing aids completely turn off their hearing aid features whenever you stream media, and this could represent a truly game-changing improvement for people with hearing loss.
Furthermore, one of the benefits of a prescription hearing aid is that it can be programmed using an audiogram generated by a professional audiologist, while simpler OTC devices are unable to do this. But in this regard, AirPods Pro 2 act like prescription devices, allowing you to upload an audiogram.
As Wired points out, this will place Apple in a highly unusual position for a company that typically charges higher prices compared to its competitors. While most OTC hearing aids typically cost between $300 and $400, Apple’s $249 price tag means it will actually offer a more affordable product and one that is of better quality.
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