The Food and Drug Administration has approved Apple’s over-the-counter hearing aid feature. Designed for people with mild to moderate hearing loss, it turns the second-generation AirPods Pro into an OTC hearing aid. This follows the FDA’s 2022 decision to allow adults with less severe losses to use corrective consumer hearing devices without a professional test, prescription, or fitting.
The FDA says Apple’s software-based hearing test feature for AirPods Pro showed similar benefits to people who received a professional fitting of the wireless earbuds. “Results also showed comparable performance for tests measuring the level of amplification in the ear canal, as well as a measure of speech understanding in noise,” the FDA wrote in its announcement. The agency said it did not see any “adverse events” from using the device as an OTC hearing aid.
Apple’s hearing aid feature coming to iOS 18 starts with a hearing test on your paired iPhone or iPad. As the image above shows, the test begins by making sure your earbuds have a good seal. After that, it activates active noise cancellation (ANC) and asks you to tap the screen when you hear a tone in the left and right ears.
Once you’re finished, your results will go live in the iOS Health app, where you can see how your results change (or don’t) over time. You can download your results and give them to an audiologist at any time. (If the test determines you have severe hearing loss, it will recommend you get a professional evaluation since the AirPods feature is only approved for people with mild to moderate loss.)
Engadget’s Billy Steele got an early preview of the feature after Apple’s big iPhone 16 event earlier this week. “It seems as quick and easy as Apple describes,” our audio expert wrote. Although the demo was a simulation, it covered every step of the process, which was only five minutes long.
Apple developed the feature using 150,000 real-world audiograms and millions of simulations. The company’s FDA application was reviewed under the agency’s de novo premarket pathway, which provides a runway for new devices that don’t pose serious risks.
Apple’s hearing aid and hearing test feature won’t arrive until iOS 18 launches on September 16. AirPods Pro (second-gen) are required to use the feature.
The Switch 2 looks functionally identical to the original system, though it has a larger display, magnetic Joy-Cons, and a sleeker design. The company also confirmed that the upcoming console will be backward compatible with Switch games.
Although the reveal confirmed some rumors and gave some interesting details for those who’ve been paying attention, Nintendo is still keeping its cards close to its chest. We’ll have to wait until a special Nintendo Direct on April 2 for all the interesting details. What’s troubling is that that date is Wednesday and not Two-As-Day.