Thank you for sharing your experience! I’ve been down a similar path myself. I also have tinnitus (constant ringing in both ears) along with moderate to severe hearing loss. I’ve tried using AirPods Pro 2 as hearing aids, and they actually work surprisingly well. Considering how expensive traditional hearing aids can be, the AirPods seem like a bargain (also, possibly could be tax deductible or you can use HSA funds to buy them if you have a hearing loss). To make them work as hearing aids, I used the Mimi hearing test app you mentioned and uploaded the audiogram it generated to the Apple Health app. I then applied it to the hearing accessibility settings, just as you demonstrated in your video. I did tweak a few of the custom settings, like making the tone brighter, which is supposed to help those of us with high-frequency hearing loss, which often comes with age. This adjustment made conversations much clearer for me. Overall, the AirPods perform great, and music sounds much better too. The only issue I’ve encountered is that the transparency mode option in the headphone accommodations settings keeps turning off for some reason. I’ve read that others have had the same problem. Hopefully, this gets resolved soon because it’s a hassle to keep turning it back on.
I enjoyed the review as well. I did have a hearing test by an audiologist who said I needed hearing aids. I took the Mimi test and it said I hear well. I hear, but I can’t distinguish fine differences in speech. I am a speech therapist so I know what I’m doing and mixing up but it’s speech sounds. I am waiting for the firmware update. We shall see… i fixed the accessibility app for my own preference and i will see if it helps…
Hi - use the AirPods Pro 2 for the same reasons - transparency mode is brilliant & your suffering them turning off for some unknown reason is that they quieten down the music if you speak or are spoken to. Then when conversation stops the music comes back as before. Saves you removing them or changing settings if and when you need a pause for some reason if needed. Rogerbill77
Thanks man, you've helped demystify that first 'how do I get started' moment for me. Tomorrow a set of Airpods Pro 2 are being delivered and my augmented life begins. At 61 a youth of Motörhead concerts, my 30s spent as a roadie in the Aussie live music scene and since then 25 years as a pump operator in a fire brigade have collectively trashed my hearing. As Lemmy would have opined "Over the top, over the top."
Thanks. I had the exact same issue 4 weeks ago and went through the HT test. Today came across an article and set up the AirPods Pro 2. I have tinnitus for the last 4 weeks and mild hearing loss (26db) based on the mimi app results. Hope the fall update to make AirPods Pro 2 as a proper hearing aid should be good for many like us. Keeping fingers crossed.
I have a hearing loss that is significantly worse than yours in high end and is equal in both ears. Lots of tinnitus both ears. I have been down the prescription hearing aid road and I find it ridiculous, very expensive and they failed in four years. ($5000) I started down the path of OTC hearing aids and there were issues there mostly with things like the chargers failing etc., I went to the AirPod Pro 2 and went through all the processes to make them into hearing aids. Quite frankly, I believe it’s the best. Another UA-camr has a detailed description of how to set them up for hearing aids.
Wow, so glad I came across your channel. Another musician here, probably got a couple years on you, with similar tinnitus and moderate hearing loss, especially in the high frequency range. I attribute this to positoioning my Hammond organ's Leslie amp with its rotating horn a foot from my right ear. A guy can play "Black Magic Woman" only so many times before that shrieking Leslie brings on the whirlies. Now in my 70s, I'm at the stage of asking people to repeat themselves and discovering such requests get old pretty darn quick. Being a keyboard player I learned to riff vocally on the general mood of a conversation. Somebody would say something I didn't understand and, over time, I learned there are four stock phrases I can recite that give the impression I understood what came before. I am resigned to needing a tech solution for my hearing loss and I sense another instance of us being on parallel tracks: We both got into tech. I fell in love with microcomputers from day one, and learned early on that the developers of the first PC apps were unable to come up with user guides that anyone could undersstand. They'd assign their lowest ranked engineer to write the doc as a kind of penance. And here I found my niche. My major was English Lit so Iknew grammar and how to write. I went back to technical college and l earned the basics of digital technology. A few programming courses were required and I quickly discovered I hated coding. OTOH the technical writing courses I took unearthed my inner inclination toward expository writing. Within a few months, like Jake and Elwood Blues, I was on a mission from God. Only in my case my quest was to reduce the angst experienced by office workers who were terrified of tech but needed to get familiar with it or risk being left behind. Over 30+ years it worked out very well for me. Now I’m mostly retired but still social enough to be sering people in noisy environments. (I live in the Bay Area, just outside Oakland.) But the thought of shelling out $5k for a half-assed volume booster was more than I could stomach. For me Apple were always the leaders in mobile tech. I got on the iPhone band wagon early, but I fell in love with iPad, Steve Jobs's departure gift to Apple. And with iPad I needed good quality wireless sound. And that was was what brought me to the new AirPods Pro 2, a.k.a. Second Generation. It's early days but I suspect Apple is about to cause another disruption in tech. I've had my Pro 2s just a few days but happened upon a brilliant technology convergence. I was sitting in semi-noisy public place., waiting for a friend. To kill time I was scanning the news on my iPad and listening to tunes on my AirPods. When my friend showed up and we started talking, upon hearing our voices my AirPods aautomatically reduced the music volume and switched their focus to their hearing aid functionality, able to compensate for my high-frequency hearing shortconing and detect his voice for singling out as needing enhancement. Not long ago even the concept of such an event, completely in the background, would have been from the realm of science fiction. But here we are, living it! And to extract the maxinum from my devices I subscribe to channels like yours. What I liked about your channel right off was your laid-back narration style, and the just-right level of. tech. As I told my user docs clients over the decades, they don’t give a damn about your app. They are in a squeeze and need to accomplish one of more tasks. The tech is never the end product, the the means to an end. So you keep on describing ways technology can teach old dogs nee tricks, and I’ll keep reading!
First.. I have to say that seeing your audiogram compared to mine.. well, mine is much worse.. I only found out about using my airpods as hearing aid yesterday.. downloaded mimi app and set it up last night. and WOW.. this is so much better than any of the OTC hearing aids I have spend hundreds of dollars on in the past. And, it was something that I already had laying around. Apple is going to be marketing them as OTC hearing aids soon, so it is interesting to see what new things they may come out with. Although, looking at their marketing material, it looks like they are just integrating the mimi app into their apple health app.
Thank you Jason. I’m still running iOS 17 and tried to follow you all the way through. It required me to use headphones, not my AirPod pros for the test.. Then I tried to follow you through the rest of the setup. However, I was never able to get to the Customize Transparency Mode screen and have no idea if I actually have adapted my AirPods to work as hearing aids. I have a serious hearing loss (too many loud and nasty noises , booms and bangs from my prior careers. I’ve gone back through the video several times, including using MiMi for my test and seem to be stymied one step before I get there. Frustrating 😫
I found out about this some time ago and also have mild to moderate hearing loss (70% hearing as per the Mimi App). Too many yeares of playing the bagpipes indoors without hearing protection. One of the features the Airpod pro 2 have which is really useful for those with mild to moderate loss is the ability to focus sound reception in noisy enviromments so if you are having a conversation with someone face-on their voice is clearer and the backgrond noise is deminished.
Another great feature ( I use as a last resort), when really struggling in very busy/noisy areas is live listen. That’ll activate the microphone on your phone and you just put it in front of the person you’re having a conversation with. It’s a bit echoey but it really helps!
I have used hearing aids for years, and recently bought Air Pod Pro 2's to try. I am VERY impressed and the cost brings hearing aids into the range that most people can afford. Paying thousands of dollars for hearing aids has always been a total repugnant rip-off. The problems I have with Air Pods is they tend to easily slip out of my ear--I can't find attachments that allow a deeper fit. Also, It is very frustrating to have the Air Pods lose settings, especially Transparency Mode. I am constantly having to fiddle with the settings to get them back to my hearing aid level. Overall, this is the perfect business for Apple to be in and help out those of us with less financial means. I recommend the Air Pods Pro 2's ...
I’ve used these as hearing aids for nearly a year now and very much agree. There are great for the price, and also I think the five minute fast charge feature really helps make up for the battery shortfall a little bit. Hopefully, some custom tips and the ear seal test might be able to get them to stop slipping out your ears. Fingers crossed, the new hearing aid mode coming out in about 2 weeks fixes the lost settings problem. It’s great that AirPods are now going to be officially certified hearing aids with a full test baked in to the iOS. Hopefully there will be some performance improvements due to this very soon! All the best!
Hi, I’ve been using AirPods Pro as hearing aids about a year and it works pretty well overall. The fast charge feature really helps for all day usage. My doctor recommended the AirPods. My right ear hears about half volume (apart from constant tinnitus) after I had an operation to remove middle ear tumours. It’s great that apple have got certification now, and the AirPods will very soon have an official hearing aid mode with on board certified audiogram test. All new features will be available in iOS 18 in about 2 weeks time. All the best!
@@rickautry4822 a lot of people have and for much longer than I have, you can probably find quite a few videos on UA-cam. Until now, you’ve had to setup a custom transparency mode in accessibility settings, and upload a pre existing audiogram, or use a hearing test app like mimi and upload the results. Apple couldn’t advertise it before they received certification, but the tech hasn’t changed. It’s just software updates and certifications allowing them to market it. The only real difference are a dedicated hearing aid mode instead of using accessibility settings, a certified on board test, as well as a new hearing protection mode. Another way you can use your AirPodspro2 as hearing aids is by enabling Live Listen (again I’m sure there will be UA-cam tutorials). That’ll allow you to use your phones microphones and send it to the AirPods. It can be a bit echoey, but it can good when in very busy environments and trying to have an important conversation. Both of these features have been available since the AirPodsPro2 released. All the best!
a lot of people have for much longer than me, you can probably find quite a few videos on UA-cam. He tells you how to do it in this video. This video isn’t about the new update. Until now, you’ve had to setup a custom transparency mode in accessibility settings, then upload a pre existing audiogram, or use a hearing test app like mimi and upload the results. Apple couldn’t advertise it before they received certification, but the tech hasn’t changed. It’s just software updates and certifications, allowing them to market it. The only real difference are a dedicated hearing aid mode instead of using accessibility settings, a certified on board test, as well as a new hearing protection mode. Another way you can use your AirPodspro2 as hearing aids is by enabling Live Listen, (again I’m sure there will be UA-cam tutorials). That’ll allow you to use your phones microphones and send it to the AirPods. It can be a bit echoey, but it’s good when in very busy environments trying to have an important conversation. Both of these features have been available since the AirPodsPro2 were released. All the best!
Thank you so Jason, your video was very helpful . I had the 1st Ipods, they were great when using them on my cell, but were zip if I tried to use them as hearing aids. Yesterday I purchased 2 pairs of Ipos2 , on this one as you mentioned, I too downloaded the free testing app , got an audiogram which I programed into my cell and new Ipods, it was a little better, but still, not as good as I would need them to be. I understand that the whole thing derives from how much a person's hearing loss is, , I was told mine was higher on my right ear, like 80% , so I might have to get the ones you spoke of that go for $1,000 , hope they got them at Best Buy. Again, Thank you so Jason, God bless.
As a musician, all my life playing drums in rock bands my ears suffered. I also believe there are hereditary factors too since my mom and dad had problems with hearing later in life. I went right to prescription several years ago. They can be costly but although they don't cover aids some have discounts offered. Make sure they are Bluetooth and keep them basic to save some money. They help but are far from normal hearing. When I got my first pair I went outside and heard nature-like birds for the first time in years. You don't realize that you no longer hear.
Thank you so much for this informative presentation of the use of Apple AirPod Pro 2 as a hearing aid. I am trying to decide whether or not it might be what I am looking for as well. I was curious about the occlusion factor that you mentioned you encountered with the Sennheiser hearing aids. Did you find the same occlusion factor with the Apple AirPod Pro 2 as well? If so was it better, worse, or about the same? Thank you for any help you can give me.
The occlusion wasn’t as bad for me with the AirPods, but everyone experiences it differently. You kind of just have to try and see. People say you get used to it after a while and your brain tunes it out.
Jason, thank you for this video! I have according to my audiologist report, mild to moderate hearing loss. I have tinnitus, too. Also, worse in my left ear. My hearing loss is more in the upper range, I think, so going to try the other viewer's tweak. Right now all I have are Airpods 2nd generation, not Pro. I'll post back when I see if this helps at all. I also feel you when mention occlusion. I'm sure that would bug me, too.
Last week I ruined my already awful hearing by going to a very loud arcade, and when I saw that they had a new update on this, my mind is blown. Also someone who owns a hearing aid that sits in a box, while not perfect, it is truly a value.
Very interesting! I have been using prescription for 5 years and I still hate them - as soon as I get out of office, I take them out. They do a lot to your ears besides increasing the volume of what you hear. I am thinking about using air pods in less critical situations, simply by giving a change in the physical impact on the ears.
Thanks for the great video, I found it very helpful! One question I hope you can help me with: What version of iPhone do you need... 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 etc? I know iPhone 8 doesn't support this, so I am going to get a reconditioned phone and it has to be the right one. Thanks
I know where your hearing went...I see the guitars in the background 🙂 That's certainly where mine went (along with a day at the artillery range with no hearing protection on the Army). I have custom hearing aids, and yes, they cost over 5k, but I really want to set up my new AirPods 2 so I don't have to carry the expensive ones in my briefcase. I do not wear them 24/7, rather to watch TV or if I am in a meeting. It will be so handy to be able to use the AirPods. Thanks for this! I ordered my audiogram copy from my specialist. I'll compare them to my 5k ones and report back!
Good vid. Thanks. Im gonna get these soon as a backup to my prescription aids. Maybe wait til the next model. T he major downside is the battery life, but as this price I could get several pairs ands be money ahead. Iv been using Costco hearing aids for about 5 years and they are well reviewed and run about $1600 . Less than half most prescription aids. The do free hearing test and have great follow up service..
I have medically prescribed hearing aids as well. I have had two different pairs. Both are Phonak. The older pair of the two had less of the occlusion effect than the newest. It is something that I think is hard to avoid.
Thank you, I was getting very frustrated because I could not find Hearing Test anywhere. Who knew it was actually in Audio/Visual? Apple needs to group all the hearing aid functions together for us older rockers. Too many years of standing in front of a huge Amplifier. Thanks.
Thanks so much for this video! Really helpful for fellow tinitus suffering muso! I’d like to know whether this works for AirPods Pro (2nd generation) as well as AirPods Pro 2?
I have moderate hearing loss. I bought expensive hearing aids… which i find uncomfortable. I find the air pods solution to be pretty good… and more comfortable… easier to put in. I would say the down side is the air pods likely need recharging more often. One big advantage is that i can easily use siri to reply to text or answer calls because my air pods are often already in my ears….
How are they for hearing conversation in noisy environments? That’s the most difficult thing for hearing aids to accomplish. Since Apple‘s most recent announcement, they will soon be marketed as over-the-counter hearing aids.
I’m deaf in my L ear. Can I set the L pod to be heard in the R pod? Maybe if the pods wee set to mono! Lot’s of people have differential hearing and this would be a brilliant and elegant solution. Thanks for posting a very helpful video❤
There's an option for "mono audio" in the iPhone. I'm new to iPhone and can't remember where that mono setting is located. But it's in there somewhere....
Great informative video, thank you. Have you been able to test the newly released hearing aid feature yet? All the reviews I can find for this new feature are from people who don't have hearing loss, or at least very little. I'm in the UK, and we don't have the new feature yet, as Apple is waiting for approval to come through.
I wonder if Sennheiser offers vented sleeves for your HA’s? I ordered some replacement sleeves for my Sony OTC hearing aids, and they were offered in vented sleeves or non-vented sleeves. My experience has been that the vented sleeves made a big difference in terms of occlusion effect. My understanding is that the more severe the hearing loss, the more likely that you will need non-vented sleeves. You may want to retake the hearing test if you switch to vented sleeves.
Hello Jason, let me thank you very much for a very informative video, I really appreciate it. Great to show the mimi app, which is of key importance to create a reliable audigram. Best Wishes and again, thank you for ke information.
Ha my Mimi is close to yours 57 left and 69 right. I love it. It remains to be seen how long I can wear the air pods until my eardrums get filled with sweat.
I wear hearing aids I worked for Apple in 2017 I write a lengthy letter to Tim Cook advising of the hearing loss I have and the operations I’ve had so I can hear. My hearing loss is severe. I wonder if these are now available because of my email to Tim??? 🤔
Hello. I did a late night tutorial (we don’t sell the Sennheiser in England) there is an option to have a full hearing test & real ear measurements for I think $250 (I would assume you could also change domes to reduce occlusion) & you are correct aural rehabilitation takes months not a day & a half they are programmed through the Unitron software so should be pretty flexible
Hi Jason,, 66 year old here with Tinnitus in both ears and a defect of hearing in my left ear caused by Cochlear hydrops, also known as endolymphatic hydrops, is a condition that occurs when the fluid in the inner ear, called endolymph, builds up and causes the cochlea to swell. The cochlea is a snail-shaped structure in the inner ear that's responsible for interpreting low-frequency sounds. I tried a $3,800 pair of hearing aids. I wound up returning them for a refund less $500 to my hearing clinic and started using my air pods pro 2 with the Apple hearing test. I must tell you for $250.00 they work for me. Probably later Iĺl need something else but for now no OTC Hearing Aids for me because the ones that fit in the ear do not stream calls or music and if I´m going behind the ear I will just go ahead and get full hearing aids.Apple has done it again!
The screen to select audiogram for transparency mode has unfortunately been removed with iOS 18.1. I used to be able to use airpods pro as hearing aids with this option, however now they’re useless. I’m in a country where the new hearing aids functionality is not supported. It’s a really serious flaw and downgrade to the product
I have a new iPhone 16 Pro Max and I also bought Airpods Pro 2 in anticipation of the hearing aids feature. What I've noticed that's different on my settings, is that I don't have the option to select "Audiogram" as you are showing at 08mins 11 seconds. I don't know how to get Audiogram to show in those settings. I've already saved an audiogram in the Health App and it's clearly visible in there. But this issue is puzzling me. I'm currently on the phone to Apple Support and they haven't been able to figure it out either. Any suggestions? Thank you.
As audiologist pointed out AP Pro2 are not hearing aids per se, they can cancel noise well, can amplify in presence of nearby your iPhone, but cannot replace a prescription hearing aids. So with your already severe hearing loss (65%) you can not use Pro 2 as the only hearing aids, but you can use them like me (also severe hearing loss in high frequencies sound/speech range) as a music companion during your flight, or other occasions when noise cancelation is all you need to listen to music, podcasts, or else. But yes Apple further improves AirPod Pro 2 hearing capabilities especially in noisy environment, with this fall software update.
So a possible solution would be to have 2 Pairs of AirPod Pros to change between if the AirPod Pros where sufficient enough for the hearing loss one might have and then change between them when they needed to be recharged.
I guess that would be possible if you needed to wear them 24/7.. But in that case I think I would get prescription ones. I tend to wear my airpods when I am talking to people, in meetings, watching tv, etc.. but I put them in their charging case when i don't need them, like right now sitting here at my computer alone.
@ My Costco has 2 brands; Resound and Roxton. Both priced $1,999. I allowed $500 for accessories. I purchased the Roxtons on November 2 for $2,250 including the TV transmitter.
You need an iphone or ipad to do the hearing test and to set up the airpods.. but, once programmed, they will work on their own without the phone or ipad .
@@louispoche4312 great my mom needs hlan hearing aid for moderate sensoneural hearing loss audiologist suggested hearing aid cost above 1 lakh for recharge model ,gonna buy airpods pro 2 and set it up in someone's iphone then i have an audiogram
@@pa1kumarbhukya I think it would but with limitations.. there are three modes.. noise canceling (you hear NOTHING). transparent mode (that is the hearing aid mode where it passes outside audio through but with your equalization applied, and (i think it is called) adaptive mode.. where it still passes the audio through but also tries to compensate for loud external noises.... you can switch between the modes by pressing on the stem of the airpod.. but I am not sure if you can get to all of them.. I think for you to try this.. you should try to find a used iphone... It should not have to have cellular service.. it just needs to be able to run the latest IOS version..
@@pa1kumarbhukya I think you need to run at least IOS16.. the oldest iphone that can do that is an Iphone 8.. I see them refurbished for around 80 dollars us.. the airpods cost around 200.. so a used iphone and a new set of airpods would be less than 300... that is less than I paid for a pair of crappy OTC hearing aids that didn't work nearly as well as these things do.
Once they are setup to use as hearing aids, how does one use them as such? Do you just put them in your ears and they turn on and work or do you have to activate them each time?
I’ve found that you must start using transparency mode once setup. That allows you to hear the outside world. If you turn them off (bluetooth settings) while in transparency mode, they’ll return to that mode when you turn them back on. If not, there are ways in the AirPods adjustments to accomplish that manually.
Thank you for sharing your experience! I’ve been down a similar path myself. I also have tinnitus (constant ringing in both ears) along with moderate to severe hearing loss. I’ve tried using AirPods Pro 2 as hearing aids, and they actually work surprisingly well. Considering how expensive traditional hearing aids can be, the AirPods seem like a bargain (also, possibly could be tax deductible or you can use HSA funds to buy them if you have a hearing loss). To make them work as hearing aids, I used the Mimi hearing test app you mentioned and uploaded the audiogram it generated to the Apple Health app. I then applied it to the hearing accessibility settings, just as you demonstrated in your video. I did tweak a few of the custom settings, like making the tone brighter, which is supposed to help those of us with high-frequency hearing loss, which often comes with age. This adjustment made conversations much clearer for me. Overall, the AirPods perform great, and music sounds much better too. The only issue I’ve encountered is that the transparency mode option in the headphone accommodations settings keeps turning off for some reason. I’ve read that others have had the same problem. Hopefully, this gets resolved soon because it’s a hassle to keep turning it back on.
Maybe a new firmware update will help ,which is to be released soon
Thanks. Your review is really helpful.
I enjoyed the review as well. I did have a hearing test by an audiologist who said I needed hearing aids. I took the Mimi test and it said I hear well. I hear, but I can’t distinguish fine differences in speech. I am a speech therapist so I know what I’m doing and mixing up but it’s speech sounds. I am waiting for the firmware update. We shall see… i fixed the accessibility app for my own preference and i will see if it helps…
Hi - use the AirPods Pro 2 for the same reasons - transparency mode is brilliant & your suffering them turning off for some unknown reason is that they quieten down the music if you speak or are spoken to. Then when conversation stops the music comes back as before. Saves you removing them or changing settings if and when you need a pause for some reason if needed.
Rogerbill77
@@cindiparadise please do update me on this
Thanks man, you've helped demystify that first 'how do I get started' moment for me. Tomorrow a set of Airpods Pro 2 are being delivered and my augmented life begins. At 61 a youth of Motörhead concerts, my 30s spent as a roadie in the Aussie live music scene and since then 25 years as a pump operator in a fire brigade have collectively trashed my hearing.
As Lemmy would have opined "Over the top, over the top."
Thanks. I had the exact same issue 4 weeks ago and went through the HT test. Today came across an article and set up the AirPods Pro 2. I have tinnitus for the last 4 weeks and mild hearing loss (26db) based on the mimi app results. Hope the fall update to make AirPods Pro 2 as a proper hearing aid should be good for many like us. Keeping fingers crossed.
I have a hearing loss that is significantly worse than yours in high end and is equal in both ears. Lots of tinnitus both ears. I have been down the prescription hearing aid road and I find it ridiculous, very expensive and they failed in four years. ($5000)
I started down the path of OTC hearing aids and there were issues there mostly with things like the chargers failing etc., I went to the AirPod Pro 2 and went through all the processes to make them into hearing aids. Quite frankly, I believe it’s the best. Another UA-camr has a detailed description of how to set them up for hearing aids.
Wow, so glad I came across your channel.
Another musician here, probably got a couple years on you, with similar tinnitus and moderate hearing loss, especially in the high frequency range. I attribute this to positoioning my Hammond organ's Leslie amp with its rotating horn a foot from my right ear. A guy can play "Black Magic Woman" only so many times before that shrieking Leslie brings on the whirlies.
Now in my 70s, I'm at the stage of asking people to repeat themselves and discovering such requests get old pretty darn quick. Being a keyboard player I learned to riff vocally on the general mood of a conversation. Somebody would say something I didn't understand and, over time, I learned there are four stock phrases I can recite that give the impression I understood what came before.
I am resigned to needing a tech solution for my hearing loss and I sense another instance of us being on parallel tracks: We both got into tech.
I fell in love with microcomputers from day one, and learned early on that the developers of the first PC apps were unable to come up with user guides that anyone could undersstand. They'd assign their lowest ranked engineer to write the doc as a kind of penance.
And here I found my niche. My major was English Lit so Iknew grammar and how to write. I went back to technical college and l earned the basics of digital technology. A few programming courses were required and I quickly discovered I hated coding. OTOH the technical writing courses I took unearthed my inner inclination toward expository writing. Within a few months, like Jake and Elwood Blues, I was on a mission from God. Only in my case my quest was to reduce the angst experienced by office workers who were terrified of tech but needed to get familiar with it or risk being left behind. Over 30+ years it worked out very well for me.
Now I’m mostly retired but still social enough to be sering people in noisy environments. (I live in the Bay Area, just outside Oakland.) But the thought of shelling out $5k for a half-assed volume booster was more than I could stomach.
For me Apple were always the leaders in mobile tech. I got on the iPhone band wagon early, but I fell in love with iPad, Steve Jobs's departure gift to Apple. And with iPad I needed good quality wireless sound. And that was was what brought me to the new AirPods Pro 2, a.k.a. Second Generation.
It's early days but I suspect Apple is about to cause another disruption in tech. I've had my Pro 2s just a few days but happened upon a brilliant technology convergence. I was sitting in semi-noisy public place., waiting for a friend. To kill time I was scanning the news on my iPad and listening to tunes on my AirPods. When my friend showed up and we started talking, upon hearing our voices my AirPods aautomatically reduced the music volume and switched their focus to their hearing aid functionality, able to compensate for my high-frequency hearing shortconing and detect his voice for singling out as needing enhancement. Not long ago even the concept of such an event, completely in the background, would have been from the realm of science fiction.
But here we are, living it! And to extract the maxinum from my devices I subscribe to channels like yours. What I liked about your channel right off was your laid-back narration style, and the just-right level of. tech. As I told my user docs clients over the decades, they don’t give a damn about your app. They are in a squeeze and need to accomplish one of more tasks. The tech is never the end product, the the means to an end.
So you keep on describing ways technology can teach old dogs nee tricks, and I’ll keep reading!
First.. I have to say that seeing your audiogram compared to mine.. well, mine is much worse.. I only found out about using my airpods as hearing aid yesterday.. downloaded mimi app and set it up last night. and WOW.. this is so much better than any of the OTC hearing aids I have spend hundreds of dollars on in the past. And, it was something that I already had laying around. Apple is going to be marketing them as OTC hearing aids soon, so it is interesting to see what new things they may come out with. Although, looking at their marketing material, it looks like they are just integrating the mimi app into their apple health app.
Thank you Jason. I’m still running iOS 17 and tried to follow you all the way through. It required me to use headphones, not my AirPod pros for the test.. Then I tried to follow you through the rest of the setup. However, I was never able to get to the Customize Transparency Mode screen and have no idea if I actually have adapted my AirPods to work as hearing aids. I have a serious hearing loss (too many loud and nasty noises , booms and bangs from my prior careers. I’ve gone back through the video several times, including using MiMi for my test and seem to be stymied one step before I get there. Frustrating 😫
I found out about this some time ago and also have mild to moderate hearing loss (70% hearing as per the Mimi App). Too many yeares of playing the bagpipes indoors without hearing protection. One of the features the Airpod pro 2 have which is really useful for those with mild to moderate loss is the ability to focus sound reception in noisy enviromments so if you are having a conversation with someone face-on their voice is clearer and the backgrond noise is deminished.
Another great feature ( I use as a last resort), when really struggling in very busy/noisy areas is live listen. That’ll activate the microphone on your phone and you just put it in front of the person you’re having a conversation with. It’s a bit echoey but it really helps!
I have used hearing aids for years, and recently bought Air Pod Pro 2's to try. I am VERY impressed and the cost brings hearing aids into the range that most people can afford. Paying thousands of dollars for hearing aids has always been a total repugnant rip-off. The problems I have with Air Pods is they tend to easily slip out of my ear--I can't find attachments that allow a deeper fit. Also, It is very frustrating to have the Air Pods lose settings, especially Transparency Mode. I am constantly having to fiddle with the settings to get them back to my hearing aid level. Overall, this is the perfect business for Apple to be in and help out those of us with less financial means. I recommend the Air Pods Pro 2's ...
I’ve used these as hearing aids for nearly a year now and very much agree. There are great for the price, and also I think the five minute fast charge feature really helps make up for the battery shortfall a little bit. Hopefully, some custom tips and the ear seal test might be able to get them to stop slipping out your ears.
Fingers crossed, the new hearing aid mode coming out in about 2 weeks fixes the lost settings problem. It’s great that AirPods are now going to be officially certified hearing aids with a full test baked in to the iOS. Hopefully there will be some performance improvements due to this very soon!
All the best!
Hi, I’ve been using AirPods Pro as hearing aids about a year and it works pretty well overall. The fast charge feature really helps for all day usage. My doctor recommended the AirPods. My right ear hears about half volume (apart from constant tinnitus) after I had an operation to remove middle ear tumours.
It’s great that apple have got certification now, and the AirPods will very soon have an official hearing aid mode with on board certified audiogram test. All new features will be available in iOS 18 in about 2 weeks time.
All the best!
How have you been using them a year? The software update was just released last week.
@@rickautry4822 a lot of people have and for much longer than I have, you can probably find quite a few videos on UA-cam. Until now, you’ve had to setup a custom transparency mode in accessibility settings, and upload a pre existing audiogram, or use a hearing test app like mimi and upload the results. Apple couldn’t advertise it before they received certification, but the tech hasn’t changed. It’s just software updates and certifications allowing them to market it. The only real difference are a dedicated hearing aid mode instead of using accessibility settings, a certified on board test, as well as a new hearing protection mode.
Another way you can use your AirPodspro2 as hearing aids is by enabling Live Listen (again I’m sure there will be UA-cam tutorials). That’ll allow you to use your phones microphones and send it to the AirPods. It can be a bit echoey, but it can good when in very busy environments and trying to have an important conversation. Both of these features have been available since the AirPodsPro2 released.
All the best!
a lot of people have for much longer than me, you can probably find quite a few videos on UA-cam. He tells you how to do it in this video. This video isn’t about the new update.
Until now, you’ve had to setup a custom transparency mode in accessibility settings, then upload a pre existing audiogram, or use a hearing test app like mimi and upload the results. Apple couldn’t advertise it before they received certification, but the tech hasn’t changed. It’s just software updates and certifications, allowing them to market it. The only real difference are a dedicated hearing aid mode instead of using accessibility settings, a certified on board test, as well as a new hearing protection mode.
Another way you can use your AirPodspro2 as hearing aids is by enabling Live Listen, (again I’m sure there will be UA-cam tutorials). That’ll allow you to use your phones microphones and send it to the AirPods. It can be a bit echoey, but it’s good when in very busy environments trying to have an important conversation. Both of these features have been available since the AirPodsPro2 were released.
All the best!
Thank you so Jason, your video was very helpful . I had the 1st Ipods, they were great when using them on my cell, but were zip if I tried to use them as hearing aids. Yesterday I purchased 2 pairs of Ipos2 , on this one as you mentioned, I too downloaded the free testing app , got an audiogram which I programed into my cell and new Ipods, it was a little better, but still, not as good as I would need them to be. I understand that the whole thing derives from how much a person's hearing loss is, , I was told mine was higher on my right ear, like 80% , so I might have to get the ones you spoke of that go for $1,000 , hope they got them at Best Buy. Again, Thank you so Jason, God bless.
As a musician, all my life playing drums in rock bands my ears suffered. I also believe there are hereditary factors too since my mom and dad had problems with hearing later in life. I went right to prescription several years ago. They can be costly but although they don't cover aids some have discounts offered. Make sure they are Bluetooth and keep them basic to save some money. They help but are far from normal hearing. When I got my first pair I went outside and heard nature-like birds for the first time in years. You don't realize that you no longer hear.
Thank you for this video! I think there are many of us in the same situation.
Thank you so much for this informative presentation of the use of Apple AirPod Pro 2 as a hearing aid. I am trying to decide whether or not it might be what I am looking for as well. I was curious about the occlusion factor that you mentioned you encountered with the Sennheiser hearing aids. Did you find the same occlusion factor with the Apple AirPod Pro 2 as well? If so was it better, worse, or about the same? Thank you for any help you can give me.
The occlusion wasn’t as bad for me with the AirPods, but everyone experiences it differently. You kind of just have to try and see. People say you get used to it after a while and your brain tunes it out.
@@thejasontlewis thank you so much for your prompt response.
Jason, thank you for this video! I have according to my audiologist report, mild to moderate hearing loss. I have tinnitus, too. Also, worse in my left ear. My hearing loss is more in the upper range, I think, so going to try the other viewer's tweak. Right now all I have are Airpods 2nd generation, not Pro. I'll post back when I see if this helps at all. I also feel you when mention occlusion. I'm sure that would bug me, too.
Thanks!
Last week I ruined my already awful hearing by going to a very loud arcade, and when I saw that they had a new update on this, my mind is blown. Also someone who owns a hearing aid that sits in a box, while not perfect, it is truly a value.
Very interesting! I have been using prescription for 5 years and I still hate them - as soon as I get out of office, I take them out. They do a lot to your ears besides increasing the volume of what you hear.
I am thinking about using air pods in less critical situations, simply by giving a change in the physical impact on the ears.
Thanks for the great video, I found it very helpful! One question I hope you can help me with: What version of iPhone do you need... 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 etc? I know iPhone 8 doesn't support this, so I am going to get a reconditioned phone and it has to be the right one. Thanks
I know where your hearing went...I see the guitars in the background 🙂 That's certainly where mine went (along with a day at the artillery range with no hearing protection on the Army). I have custom hearing aids, and yes, they cost over 5k, but I really want to set up my new AirPods 2 so I don't have to carry the expensive ones in my briefcase. I do not wear them 24/7, rather to watch TV or if I am in a meeting. It will be so handy to be able to use the AirPods. Thanks for this! I ordered my audiogram copy from my specialist. I'll compare them to my 5k ones and report back!
I'd love to hear about how they compare.
Good vid. Thanks. Im gonna get these soon as a backup to my prescription aids. Maybe wait til the next model. T he major downside is the battery life, but as this price I could get several pairs ands be money ahead. Iv been using Costco hearing aids for about 5 years and they are well reviewed and run about $1600 . Less than half most prescription aids. The do free hearing test and have great follow up service..
I have medically prescribed hearing aids as well. I have had two different pairs. Both are Phonak. The older pair of the two had less of the occlusion effect than the newest. It is something that I think is hard to avoid.
Thank you, I was getting very frustrated because I could not find Hearing Test anywhere. Who knew it was actually in Audio/Visual? Apple needs to group all the hearing aid functions together for us older rockers. Too many years of standing in front of a huge Amplifier. Thanks.
Thanks so much for this video! Really helpful for fellow tinitus suffering muso! I’d like to know whether this works for AirPods Pro (2nd generation) as well as AirPods Pro 2?
I don't have an iphone. Can these be setup on my ipad 10?
I have moderate hearing loss. I bought expensive hearing aids… which i find uncomfortable. I find the air pods solution to be pretty good… and more comfortable… easier to put in. I would say the down side is the air pods likely need recharging more often. One big advantage is that i can easily use siri to reply to text or answer calls because my air pods are often already in my ears….
Do you need iOS18.1.1 to use the hearing aid features?
Yes!
How are they for hearing conversation in noisy environments? That’s the most difficult thing for hearing aids to accomplish. Since Apple‘s most recent announcement, they will soon be marketed as over-the-counter hearing aids.
I’m deaf in my L ear. Can I set the L pod to be heard in the R pod? Maybe if the pods wee set to mono! Lot’s of people have differential hearing and this would be a brilliant and elegant solution. Thanks for posting a very helpful video❤
Yes I only wear 1 in my right ear for that reason!
There's an option for "mono audio" in the iPhone. I'm new to iPhone and can't remember where that mono setting is located. But it's in there somewhere....
Great informative video, thank you. Have you been able to test the newly released hearing aid feature yet? All the reviews I can find for this new feature are from people who don't have hearing loss, or at least very little. I'm in the UK, and we don't have the new feature yet, as Apple is waiting for approval to come through.
I have avid wood ,y channel from last week
I wonder if Sennheiser offers vented sleeves for your HA’s? I ordered some replacement sleeves for my Sony OTC hearing aids, and they were offered in vented sleeves or non-vented sleeves. My experience has been that the vented sleeves made a big difference in terms of occlusion effect. My understanding is that the more severe the hearing loss, the more likely that you will need non-vented sleeves. You may want to retake the hearing test if you switch to vented sleeves.
Nice job Jason. So this feature will work with any AirPods Pro, not necessarily needing the one that was just announced last week by Apple.
Hello Jason, let me thank you very much for a very informative video, I really appreciate it. Great to show the mimi app, which is of key importance to create a reliable audigram. Best Wishes and again, thank you for ke information.
biggest problem for me is battery life. My aids go for nearly two days, my AirPod pros are lucky to get two hours. Non starter for me.
Ha my Mimi is close to yours 57 left and 69 right. I love it. It remains to be seen how long I can wear the air pods until my eardrums get filled with sweat.
I am a grandparent. Comes with the territory.
All I want to know is how they perform (as hearing aids) whilst listening to a decent hi fi system? Thanks for the review by the way!
Transparency cutting out is the biggest problem. Let’s hope apple is really working on it because when these are working they are great.
I just bought AirPods Pro 2nd gen as I have some hearing loss - but I just discovered the feature isn’t available in the UK 😔
I'm not 100% sure, but the process I describe in this video might working since it wass an "unofficial" feature.
I wear hearing aids
I worked for Apple in 2017 I write a lengthy letter to Tim Cook advising of the hearing loss I have and the operations I’ve had so I can hear.
My hearing loss is severe.
I wonder if these are now available because of my email to Tim??? 🤔
Maybe!?! Cool story. Thanks for sharing.
Hello. I did a late night tutorial (we don’t sell the Sennheiser in England) there is an option to have a full hearing test & real ear measurements for I think $250 (I would assume you could also change domes to reduce occlusion) & you are correct aural rehabilitation takes months not a day & a half they are programmed through the Unitron software so should be pretty flexible
The more profound the hearing loss the more the occlusion inserts are needed ❤❤❤❤❤
Is there access to a 10 or 12 band equalizer to fine tune the results of the audiogram?
When does it come to the UK
I don’t know. Sorry.
I did open heart surgery on myself with a kit from Amazon, I'm vert satisfied with the results.
I can imagine.
Hi Jason,, 66 year old here with Tinnitus in both ears and a defect of hearing in my left ear caused by Cochlear hydrops, also known as endolymphatic hydrops, is a condition that occurs when the fluid in the inner ear, called endolymph, builds up and causes the cochlea to swell. The cochlea is a snail-shaped structure in the inner ear that's responsible for interpreting low-frequency sounds. I tried a $3,800 pair of hearing aids. I wound up returning them for a refund less $500 to my hearing clinic and started using my air pods pro 2 with the Apple hearing test. I must tell you for $250.00 they work for me. Probably later Iĺl need something else but for now no OTC Hearing Aids for me because the ones that fit in the ear do not stream calls or music and if I´m going behind the ear I will just go ahead and get full hearing aids.Apple has done it again!
Have you had a chance to try them I. A noisy situation yet. How are they at reducing background noise? Thanks
Great help, thank you
The screen to select audiogram for transparency mode has unfortunately been removed with iOS 18.1. I used to be able to use airpods pro as hearing aids with this option, however now they’re useless. I’m in a country where the new hearing aids functionality is not supported. It’s a really serious flaw and downgrade to the product
You said in the video you'd leave links.. where are they?
I have a new iPhone 16 Pro Max and I also bought Airpods Pro 2 in anticipation of the hearing aids feature. What I've noticed that's different on my settings, is that I don't have the option to select "Audiogram" as you are showing at 08mins 11 seconds. I don't know how to get Audiogram to show in those settings. I've already saved an audiogram in the Health App and it's clearly visible in there. But this issue is puzzling me. I'm currently on the phone to Apple Support and they haven't been able to figure it out either. Any suggestions? Thank you.
you need ios 18.1, just released
I do not see links to any products you mention.
I thought he said he would have links to everything he mentioned, but I don’t see in links in the Description Box!! 🤷🏼
Can you use this with smart TV ? I tried to connect Bluetooth and it woukd stay connected then disconnected?? Help
You can use them with AppleTV with handoff.
Thank you but I don’t have an Apple TV. Samsung
Thank you, but this feature is not available in most countries. Wouldn’t be a bad idea to point that out.
I’m profound 85 db. This airport pro 2 ain’t helping my hearing I guess it only work for moderately to slight
As audiologist pointed out AP Pro2 are not hearing aids per se, they can cancel noise well, can amplify in presence of nearby your iPhone, but cannot replace a prescription hearing aids.
So with your already severe hearing loss (65%) you can not use Pro 2 as the only hearing aids, but you can use them like me (also severe hearing loss in high frequencies sound/speech range) as a music companion during your flight, or other occasions when noise cancelation is all you need to listen to music, podcasts, or else.
But yes Apple further improves AirPod Pro 2 hearing capabilities especially in noisy environment, with this fall software update.
Here in the UK, we get our subscription hearing aids for free through our NHS
@@mickbear413 We in America we generally oppose helping each other in healthcare, especially if it’s government funded.
Yes free in the uk, but can wait 2years to get an appointment!
@@robertclapperton3203 I only waited 2 weeks, which included my hearing test, and the fitting of my hearing aids.
So a possible solution would be to have 2 Pairs of AirPod Pros to change between if the AirPod Pros where sufficient enough for the hearing loss one might have and then change between them when they needed to be recharged.
I guess that would be possible if you needed to wear them 24/7.. But in that case I think I would get prescription ones. I tend to wear my airpods when I am talking to people, in meetings, watching tv, etc.. but I put them in their charging case when i don't need them, like right now sitting here at my computer alone.
Costco prescription hearing aids run under $2,500.
Depends on which one you get from Costco
@ My Costco has 2 brands; Resound and Roxton. Both priced $1,999. I allowed $500 for accessories. I purchased the Roxtons on November 2 for $2,250 including the TV transmitter.
Can I use this without an iphone?
You need an iphone or ipad to do the hearing test and to set up the airpods.. but, once programmed, they will work on their own without the phone or ipad .
@@louispoche4312 great my mom needs hlan hearing aid for moderate sensoneural hearing loss audiologist suggested hearing aid cost above 1 lakh for recharge model ,gonna buy airpods pro 2 and set it up in someone's iphone then i have an audiogram
@@louispoche4312 will it perform similar when not connected and also when connected to android?
@@pa1kumarbhukya I think it would but with limitations.. there are three modes.. noise canceling (you hear NOTHING). transparent mode (that is the hearing aid mode where it passes outside audio through but with your equalization applied, and (i think it is called) adaptive mode.. where it still passes the audio through but also tries to compensate for loud external noises.... you can switch between the modes by pressing on the stem of the airpod.. but I am not sure if you can get to all of them.. I think for you to try this.. you should try to find a used iphone... It should not have to have cellular service.. it just needs to be able to run the latest IOS version..
@@pa1kumarbhukya I think you need to run at least IOS16.. the oldest iphone that can do that is an Iphone 8.. I see them refurbished for around 80 dollars us.. the airpods cost around 200.. so a used iphone and a new set of airpods would be less than 300... that is less than I paid for a pair of crappy OTC hearing aids that didn't work nearly as well as these things do.
Airpods 3 does not have hearing aid feature ig only pro
Once they are setup to use as hearing aids, how does one use them as such? Do you just put them in your ears and they turn on and work or do you have to activate them each time?
Just put them in your ears and they turn on. They work by themselves if you happen to not have your phone with you.
I’ve found that you must start using transparency mode once setup. That allows you to hear the outside world. If you turn them off (bluetooth settings) while in transparency mode, they’ll return to that mode when you turn them back on. If not, there are ways in the AirPods adjustments to accomplish that manually.
Thank you for the reply. I just did as you suggested and it now works! Thank you so much!
Good info but man you whizzed through the menus. No hurry! Thanks.
Great video, but its quite out of sync like last time.
Yeah, only available in the United States
All I want to know hearing aid but how deaf ? People how use this without AirPods. Hear?
Are they stand alone to listen to people talking
Sorry, but that was a terrible guy to have to set it up for hearing loss… impossible to follow
You talk to fast
@@edmorefield8248 I think he talks too long.
That's your subjective opinion, for me his speed is perfect. There is option to slow down payback speed as well (under Settings)