Apple AirPods as Hearing Aids
Are they really hearing aids or tricked up earphones?
Since 2021 and IOS14, Apple Air Pods have offered “Transparency mode”, which allows outside sound to pass through the occluded earphone and be amplified or masked. Once they allowed sound to be passed through – someone said – **Isn’t this what hearing aids do***? So what was once used to reduce background noise became hearing aids. oops, not hearing aids, but Transparency Mode, because the FDA tightly regulated and protected the hearing aid industry. (fn)*
I have been using AirPod Pro as a hearing aid for a year and a half!
So now we have a $250 Apple Product that challenges the $6,000+ hearing aids but has not yet been approved by the FDA as an OTC Hearing Aid. What is Apple going to do? I have spent hours on the internet trying to find info (Apple is very secretive about new products), but I cant believe that they don’t have a product ready to go once they get FDA approval for OTC hearing aids. It might be possible that they will go the way of Bose (who transferred at least their technology and name to Jabra ) and drop or sell the product rather than to expand into the hearing aid market. The elasticity of pricing in this market ($80 – $16,000) with over 800 models, makes everyones head spin. How can Apple who already has hearing aids baked into their existing product offer a new version and at what price?
Apple Airpods Pro can help manage your tinnitus and hearing loss. Airpods only cost a few hundred dollars, are very popular, and a lot of people already have them in their ears. Airpods are a low-risk tinnitus solution to try before hearing aids.– They have several background noises that are used to match your Tinnitus volume and pitch. I use the Ocean background when I am sitting at my desk and the ringing becomes annoying.
As far as I am concerned, Apple has everything I need in a hearing aid (mild to moderate hearing loss – and as an occasional user)
– Ear bud.{ A more hearing aid specific design would be better . The issue is that when you wear the AirPod pro, people don’t know whether you are being rude by listening to music, listening to a book, phone call, or just being a nerd} .
Apple Currently offers:
– Amplification
– Balance
– bluetooth – integrates with iPhone, Apple Watch, and music.
– best sound in the business!
– Tone ( darker/brighter )
– Ambient noise reduction
– Conversation boost
– Balanced tones
– Vocal range
– Brightness
– Background sounds
– Apply with – phone, media, transparency mode
– Customized audiology – through third party apps like Mimi and SonicCloud or just taking a photo of your audiogram and loading it into your health app.
– rechargable – only 4-6 hours, but a quick charge in the carrying case is easy.
The things they need to change are their charging time, and appearance. If I could buy a hearing aid with Apple’s existing technology with a better exterior design (non-nerd), and battery life for $250 – it would be a no-brainer decision, and they would rule the hearing aid business.
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Apples long awaited augmeyreality headset or smart glasses apple health – temperature
However If you were Apple and could deliver the ultimate OTC hearing aid for $250 when the world is pricing theirs at $1,000 and up – What would do?
