A new study has revealed that the Apple AirPods Pro can serve as hearing aids for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss.
The research, published in the journal Science, was conducted by a team of researchers at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan, and sampled 21 participants to test the performance of the AirPods. The team tested premium and standard hearing aids against AirPods Pro earbuds and AirPods 2.
During the experiment, the experts paired the AirPods with an iPhone and the environmental noise amplifier app “Live Listen” was running. Participants used pods while researchers read short sentences to them. They were asked to repeat the statements as once while the researcher was speaking.
Live Listen was launched by Apple in 2016. This is a feature that amplifies surrounding sounds, much like sound amplification devices designed to engage in activities such as bird watching, used by people with hearing loss.
AirPods 2 were found to perform as effectively as standard hearing aids in quiet environments. Surprisingly, the AirPods Pro performed like a premium hearing aid in noisy environments. The Pro Pods have a built-in noise canceling feature. The pods performed better when the sounds came from the sides (left or right) of the participants. However, if sound comes from the front, both Apple models fail to deliver as hearing aids.
“Two reasons may account for the difference between the two scenarios,” said study co-author Ying Hui Lai, a bioengineer at National Yangming Chiao Tung University in Taipei.
“This may be related to the speed at which sound waves travel, as well as the advanced signal processing algorithms used by premium hearing aids. Hopefully, this finding will help engineers design hearing aids and personal sound enhancement products.” will encourage those who are more sensitive in certain directions.”
The study’s corresponding author, Yin Fu Cheng, said in a media release that while the wireless earbuds weren’t perfect, they could be used by people who can’t afford professional hearing aids to get started.
“They will also see an increase in quality of life with these earbuds,” Cheng said.
The study’s authors also noted that people may be more comfortable wearing earbuds all the time than those with hearing aids who are surrounded by social stigma. AirPods can protect people from potential behaviors and also provide a comfort option. Additionally, hearing aids often need to be shown to health professionals who then fit and adjust the device accordingly. Earbuds don’t require any of these cumbersome steps.
AirPods 2 cost $129 and AirPods Pro cost $249, which is less than half the price of a basic hearing aid. Premium assistance can cost up to $10,000.
